What We Learned From Clemson's 'Don't Care How' Win at FSU
No. 4 Clemson doesn't really have to explain how it got to 7-0.
It just has to enjoy it, move on and get ready for the biggest game of the season next week.
That was head coach Dabo Swinney's message after the 34-28 victory at Florida State on Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. that extended the Tigers' winning streak in the rivalry series to seven games.
"I don't care how we win," Swinney said. "I have a great appreciation for winning. We celebrate the win and we'll get back to work tomorrow and see if we can get better."
But Clemson's best right now is an undefeated season, something only seven other teams in FBS can say right now. The Tigers are also 5-0 in ACC play and host No. 18 Syracuse, another undefeated, on Oct. 22 at noon inside Memorial Stadium.
FSU was a big win that Clemson had to have, and after a week of a fluttering betting line that left many people perplexed, the Tigers got the job done and are now getting more national respect.
It's a good time for that to happen with the first College Football Playoff rankings release scheduled for Nov. 1.
Here's what else we learned from Clemson's fourth road ACC victory of the season:
Clemson does have a perimeter game
At times this season, it's felt like Clemson's offense has tried to run too much between the tackles and not tested defenses enough outside the hashes. The opposite was the game plan at FSU. From the very beginning, it was evident the Tigers wanted to get running back Will Shipley to the perimeter more and stretch the Seminoles out. It worked pretty well as Shipley averaged 6.5 yards every time he touched the ball on offense.
"If you really watched the game closely, you saw us on the perimeter a lot," Swinney said. "We wanted to make them run, get them moving. So we're going to have to block well on the perimeter. I think the tape is going to show that we did."
It's a good element to have and something that Clemson should utilize more moving forward. And since there's more film on it, the perimeter game is something else opponents have to prepare for now.
Tigers take their foot off the gas
This was the ugliest blemish on what otherwise was a solid night for the Tigers. Up 34-14 entering the fourth quarter, Clemson gave up 139 yards and two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes, much to the chagrin of Swinney.
"We just didn't put it away when we had the opportunity," Swinney said, "Defensively, we let them back in the game."
The easiest explanation is that the Tigers lack a "killer instinct" or whatever you want to call it. Up 20, they did get more conservative on offense, taking fewer shots and looking like they wanted to just get out of there. They did the opposite the week before at BC. Defensively, there was a lack of aggressiveness, and FSU took advantage of it. But that's how college football works if the other team doesn't roll over and quit. It's hard to call it a problem and say that this will get Clemson beat because the Tigers are 7-0, but it's frustrating for fans to see what should've been a proud, easy win turn into sweating an onside kick late in the game.
Special teams can make an impact
Clemson's third facet of the game has been a little bit of a mixed bag this season. The Tigers ranked 60th nationally in ESPN's SP+ special teams rankings, but they continue to find ways to make big plays, whether it's a blocked field goal or a long field-goal make or something else. This has been a feast unit at times.
Well, that happened again on Saturday night when Shipley took the opening kickoff of the second half 65 yards to set up a Clemson TD on the next play. B.T. Potter also made a clutch 47-yard field goal right before halftime. The punt coverage team recognized an FSU fake and stopped that. This unit probably deserves more credit than it's getting.
"The story of the game was special teams and offense," Swinney said. "Potter becomes the scoring kicker leader ever at Clemson. Really proud of him. Aidan Swanson was 48.5 (yards per punt), his best game. Really proud of our special teams."
DJ is dialed in
Clemson's starting quarterback continues to impress, and Saturday night, DJ Uiagalelei showed that he could carry over that final drive at Boston College into the next game. Uiagalelei was dialed in on his passes, hitting receivers and putting the ball where it needed to be. He threw a 59-yard TD pass to Antonio Williams with just one flick of the wrist. It was a thing of beauty.
Statistically, Clemson only needed him to throw 23 passes, but he completed 15 of them for 203 yards and three touchdowns. It was his lowest passing output in terms of yards this season, but Uiagalelei produced his second-highest pass-per-attempt average (8.8) of the season. That's a strong number and shows just how on he is. His numbers and production are not flukes. Uiagalelei, who added a TD run as well, has it this year. He isn't perfect and still misses some opportunities, but honestly, he's simply getting it done.
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