Florida State was already going to have a difficult time competing with Clemson, but penalties and a turnover have only hurt their chances of pulling a big upset in the ACC this afternoon. Clemson is taking a 28-0 lead into the second half in Doak Campbell Stadium, moving the defending ACC champions one half closer to maintaining sole possession of first place in the ACC Atlantic Division.
Florida State’s defense managed to keep things interesting early on by keeping Clemson’s offense out of sync. Trevor Lawrence had a rough start to the game but has kept his poise and managed to throw a pair of touchdowns while Travis Etienne is fighting for every yard he can when given the chance to run.
Clemson ended up taking advantage of a penalty on Florida State’s special teams unit in the second quarter. After the Seminoles were flagged for roughing the kicker on a missed Clemson field goal, the Tigers capitalized on the free first down with Lawrence completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins on 3rd & 5.
Lawrence would connect with Higgins again on Clemson’s next possession to take a 14-0 lead. After Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois was intercepted on a 3rd and 20 pass attempt by Tre Lamar, Clemson added to their lead with a goal-line touchdown run by Christian Wilkins. Clemson would score a fourth touchdown on their fourth straight drive the offense’s next time up late in the half to push the lead to 28-0.
Florida State has been flagged seven times for 59 penalty yards. Further complicating things for Florida State is an apparent injury to Dontavious Jackson, who was helped off the field late in the half. The linebacker’s status was unknown but his potential loss would be a tough blow for Florida State’s defense. Defensive back Stanford Samuels also came off the field on the same drive.
It’s already been one long half for Florida State, and there are still 30 minutes to go in Tallahassee.