Tony Elliott Finds Positives, Confidence-Builders in Clemson's Win Over Florida State

Clemson's offense enjoyed 17 first-half points and a fourth-quarter scoring drive when they had to have one in a 30-20 win over Florida State on Saturday.

For much of this season, Tony Elliott has been forced to address so many negatives in his post-game press conferences. 

Following Saturday's 30-20 victory over Florida State at Memorial Stadium, there was still some of that, but the Clemson offensive coordinator was able to pick out some real positives from his struggling, banged-up unit. 

"There were definitely enough positives to make us say this is what we're capable of," Elliott said. "I think the guys continue to believe and they needed to have that success in the first half and that success there at the end of the game."

The Tigers (5-3, 4-2 ACC) scored 17 points and racked up 248 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes of the game. Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei threw an impressive 11-yard touchdown to tight end Davis Allen, and Will Shipley scored on a 2-yard run in the second quarter. 

Clemson got bogged down in the third and parts of the fourth and couldn't finish a few drives, but when the Tigers needed one, they got it. Following a fumble by D.J. Uiagalelei that was scooped up for an FSU touchdown that put the Seminoles up 20-17, Elliott's group found a way in a big moment. 

Clemson started the drive at its own 42 with 3:48 remaining in the game. A pass interference call on FSU and a late hit penalty when Uiagalelei was running out of bounds put the Tigers at the Seminoles 21. That's when Shipley did the rest, scoring on a hard run that put Clemson up for good.

"For those guys, when their backs were against the wall, to go out and have success, I think that's what this offense needed," Elliott said. "Hopefully, these guys will show back up on Monday with a little more confidence." 

Young players like Shipley, who had 128 rushing yards, and Phil Mafah, who had a 63-yard run, can take a lot from the game. Veteran Justyn Ross caught six passes for 85 yards. There haven't been many of those highlights in 2021, so they are something Elliott said he and the staff can harp on and mix in with the teachable moments as well.

"Guys are playing hard. Guys are playing banged up," Elliott said. "There's a lot of positives. There's still a lot of things we can clean up. We've got to get better on third down. We've got to eliminate the TFLs. We can't give up sacks. We've got to make sure from a protection standpoint we're giving our quarterback time."

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