CLEMSON, S.C.- Florida State football survived another Atlantic Coast Conference game with a victory in a 31-24 overtime thriller win against Clemson
The No. 3 Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 ACC) trailed by as many as 10 points and overcame the early deficit to beat the Tigers (2-2, 0-2) for the first time since 2014 and for the first time in Death Valley since 2013.
Wide receiver Keon Coleman came down with his second touchdown grab of the game in overtime on a pass from Jordan Travis for the game-winning score. The FSU defense then stopped the Tigers on fourth-and-2 to secure the win.
Linebacker Kalen DeLoach delivered the game-tying score in the third quarter with a strip sack of Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik . He returned the fumble for a 56-yard touchdown.
Dating back to last season, head coach Mike Norvell has led FSU to 10 straight victories and back into national prominence.
The Seminoles head into their bye week before beginning a three-game homestand against Virginia Tech Oct. 7. They return to practice Tuesday. And, despite the dramatic win, FSU fell one spot to No. 4 in the US ULM Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the Associated Press poll Sunday.
This is the team's highest ranking this late into the season since 2014.
Here are our grades for the thriller in Clemson.
'Disrespected': FSU football quarterback Jordan Travis felt 'disrespected all game' in overtime win over Clemson
FSU's receiving corps and passing game guided the offense once again to victory.
Travis threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns in the win, both of which were caught by Coleman. One of those grabs was in overtime to snap the 10-year Death Valley drought.
Johnny Wilson had another impressive showing with 94 yards on five receptions. Even running back Trey Benson had 50 receiving yards. The Seminoles passing game was once again healthy and flowing.
However, its rushing game continues to struggle.
FSU rushed for only 22 yards.
Benson had 25 but Travis and Jaheim Bell both lost two yards on their rushing attempts. Rodney Hill had a gain of one and Lawrance Toafili had no yards on two attempts.
This is by far the worst rushing performance FSU has had all season and needs to find some sort of stability to keep winning down the road.
The Seminoles passing game was key in the victory, but it's hard to not think about how different of a game this could've been if FSU got its rushing game going.
Let's also not forget that FSU did not turn the ball over for the second time this season.
Clemson entered Saturday with a takeaway in 16 consecutive home games, the longest active streak in the country.
The grade actually breaks down into two halves. The first half defense gets a D. The second half defense earned itself an A.
The Seminoles allowed 17 points in the first half and the Tigers were able to move the ball up-and-down the field with ease. In the second half, the FSU defense scored as many points as it allowed: seven points.
FSU limited star running back Will Shipley to 18 rushes for 67 yards, or just 3.7 yards per carry. His longest run went for 16 yards. Phil Mafha had a better game with 10 runs for 69 yards, though 46 yards came on one play.
DeLoach , along with Joshua Farmer and Patrick Payton recorded a sack for the Seminoles, while Farmer had 1.5 tackles for loss, as one of seven players with at least 0.5 tackles for loss.
Seven different Seminoles were also responsible for at least one pass breakup. The Tigers were just 3 for 8 on third down and 0 for 1 on fourth down in the second half after going 3 for 6 and 1-1 in the first half, respectively.
FSU was also aided by a missed field goal by Clemson walk-on kicker Jonathan Weitz to end a Clemson drive deep in its territory late in the game. The turnover caused by DeLoach also was in Clemson territory.
The Seminoles' special teams did just about everything they needed to do.
Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald made all four of his PATs and a 48-yard field goal, which tied the game at 17 in the third quarter. Punter Alex Mastromanno was lights out, recording 296 punting yards on six punts, averaging 49.3 yards.
Mastromanno also dropped a punt at the Clemson four-yard line. It was one of four punts that went for over 50 yards.
The punt return unit didn't get too much work as a lot of Clemson's punts went into the end zone. The only stats logged were from Coleman, who had a punt return for nine yards.
It was overall a good day for FSU's special teams. It got the job done and really wasn't too pressed overall.
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It felt like the defensive adjustments in the first half took too long to happen, though whatever changes were made at halftime seemed to work.
The offense struggled to get the run going again this week and that seems to be a long-term concern for this team now with the issues so far this season outside of the Southern Miss game. It took too long for FSU to move away from the run game and work on more short passes.
The Seminoles also had a chance to set up a field goal attempt for Fitzgerald before the end of the game but opted to continue throwing deep and eventually punted and sent the game to overtime.
Per usual, Norvell continued to be aggressive on fourth downs.
A decision to go for it on fourth-and-one from near midfield proved to be a boon for the team, as Travis completed the first down by keeping the ball on the read-option and FSU ended the drive with its first touchdown of the game.
For the second straight week, the Seminoles eeked out a road victory in conference play. The team left Clemson feeling much better than they did when it came to the win in Boston.
The Seminoles now sit in the driver's seat of the ACC and their College Football Playoffs aspirations. FSU has passed its two biggest tests of the season with flying colors.
Now it can enjoy a bye week before opening a three-game homestand beginning against Virginia Tech.
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football report card: Grading Seminoles after Clemson victory
