Clemson 24, FSU 14: Halftime instant analysis

Jake Briningstool caught a red zone TD in the first half. (Photo: Melina Myers / USATODAY)

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Sat Oct 15 21:25:25 GMT-04:00 2022

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Clemson took Florida State's best punch in the first half of Saturday night's game and still took a 24-14 lead to the locker room at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Clemson's defense came up big with a turnover on downs and a fumble recovery during the last minutes of the half to allow Clemson to score ten points and grab the lead.

PLAYERS OF THE HALF: Freshman wide receiver Antonio Williams has made his presence known since he stepped on the practice field for the first time in June. Williams had two catches for 76 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown, Clemson's first score of the game.

Nate Wiggins hasn't shown up a lot on the stat sheet, but he's getting better and better every week. He made several big plays in the first half, including batting down a pass on 4th-and-2 that gave Clemson the ball back on the 31-yard line.

STAT OF THE HALF: Coming into the game, Clemson was giving up an average of 62.2 yards rushing per game. Florida State had 23 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns during the first half.

WHAT'S WORKING FOR THE TIGERS: Clemson hasn't found much success running the ball, but the passing game has had the Florida State defense on its heels. DJ Uiagalelei has specifically had success on the sidelines. His first touchdown pass was a 59-yard strike to Williams down the Clemson sideline and the second touchdown was to Jake Briningstool near the front pylon.

While Clemson's defense struggled for much of the first half, it came up big on Florida State's final drive of the first half. The defensive line got pressure on quarterback Jordan Travis, Myles Murphy ripped the ball out, and Tyler Davis fell on it to give the Tigers the ball with under a minute to play before halftime.

*Clemson continues to take advantage of the half's final four minutes. The last three weeks, the Tigers have built their leads by scoring in the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. During the last minutes of the second quarter, Clemson scored 10 points to take the lead to the locker room.

WHAT'S NOT WORKING FOR THE TIGERS: It feels like I'm turning into a broken record as I write that big plays are killing the defense yet again. Just in the first quarter, Clemson gave up seven plays of ten yards or more, including a 31-yard punt return. The defense has to limit the big plays if Clemson is going to escape Tallahassee with a win.

*Part of the issue for the defense is they are missing tackles all over the field. Many of Florida State's big gains were because someone missed a tackle at or near the line of scrimmage.

WHAT THE TIGERS NEED TO DO WIN: Stop the Florida St. run game. The Seminoles are facing one of the best defensive lines in the country, and they're doing it without their top running back. But through the early drives, the Seminoles are having success with outside runs. Linebackers, defensive ends, and corners are all at fault, as several defenders have been out of position. Clemson needs to put the clamps on the FSU run game.