CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Jordan Travis threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Keon Coleman to start overtime on Saturday, and No. 4 Florida State trailed Clemson by 31 at the end of the second half. -24, ending the losing streak against Clemson University at 7. Tigers.
Travis also looked to score another point for the Seminoles (4-0, 2-0), who hadn’t beaten Clemson (2-2, 0-2) since an overtime victory in 2014. He scored two TDs and ran.
FSU linebacker Karen DeLoach forced a Cade Klubnik fumble and scooped it up for a 56-yard TD return to tie the game at 24-all with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.
Clemson had a chance to take the lead late, but graduate student Jonathan Weitz, who left the team before the season and returned after the Tigers had issues with the kicking game, scored with less than two minutes to play. His 29-yard try missed the left side of the box. .
Instead, the game went to OT, where Travis, who was 21-of-37 for 289 yards, lofted a perfect pass that Coleman caught in stride, silencing the raucous Death Valley crowd on the first extra possession. .
Clemson didn’t get a first down on the possession when Klubnik’s 4-and-2 pass went wide, but Florida State players ran to celebrate on a field they hadn’t won since 2013.
Clemson had only lost twice in its 10 years in Death Valley, dating back to a memorable 51-14 win over the Tigers in 2013 when the Seminoles and quarterback Jameis Winston defeated the Tigers.
And Florida State struggled to find space for much of the first half, holding just 21 yards with less than eight minutes left.
That’s when Travis and his talented army of playmakers found their groove.
Travis completed two 75-yard touchdown drives in the final five minutes, the first of which ended with Coleman left alone just inside the goal line for a 7-yard scoring catch.
Clemson responded quickly with a TD drive of its own, with Travis going 4-of-4 for 67 yards and ending with a 2-yard touchdown run to get within 17-14.
Clemson started at No. 9 in the preseason rankings, but after a 28-7 loss to unranked Duke in Week 1, they fell down the rankings and were eventually dropped from the rankings.
Three weeks after learning their season was over, the defending ACC champions were clearly reeling from their most effective offense of the season.
Weitz, Clemson’s backup kicker for four seasons, received a call from coach Dabo Swinney at his home in Charleston to rejoin the team. Weitz worked while earning a graduate degree online.
He started the scoring for the Tigers. 30 yard field goal. He had only three extra points in four seasons with the team before taking a job in finance.
Take out
Florida State: The Seminoles have overcome perhaps the biggest ACC hurdle to replace Clemson as the league’s heavyweight. If Florida State can continue to show the mettle it showed in raucous Death Valley, it will be a strong bet to play for its first ACC Conference crown since 2014.
Clemson: The Tigers needed a win here to get back in the ACC and College Football Playoff chase. Instead, they suffered two losses in September for the second time in three seasons and will need a conference upset to have a chance to compete for the league title.
next
Florida State will take a week off and begin a three-game homestand against Virginia Tech on Oct. 7.
Clemson heads to Syracuse on Saturday.
