Sean Maguire vs. Clemson: Stat Line, Highlights, Twitter Reaction

With Jameis Winston serving a one-game suspension, Florida State watched backup quarterback Sean Maguire led the team to an overtime win over Clemson. 

It was certainly an up-and-down performance for the sophomore, but he did what was necessary to help his team come through in an important game.

Comp/Att	Yards	Avg	TD	INT
21/39	305	7.8	1	2

These numbers seemed unrealistic at halftime after the quarterback completed just six of 17 passes in the first half for 106 yards as the Seminoles trailed 10-3 at home. While the statistics were bad, the quarterback did not deserve all the blame, as ESPN's Jared Shanker pointed out:

Benjamin Allbright of Yahoo Sports noted the offensive line was letting him down:

Without a rushing attack and facing pressure throughout the game, it was hard to have high expectations for a player making his first career start. Dan Wolken of USA Today explained that the first drive was nothing to write home about:

However, he bounced back on the second series, converting a third down early before completing a big, 27-yard pass to Karlos Williams. After that play, Ralph D. Russo of The Associated Press was impressed:

ESPN's David Hale also noted that Florida State was not afraid to throw the ball early on with the inexperienced play:

This did not help much, as Maguire struggled to find much consistency in a disappointing first half.

Things looked better at the start of the second half as he was able to find his most talented teammates through the air, as Dane Brugler of NFL Draft Scout noted:

Unfortunately, trouble finally came in the form of a interception. The ball was tipped, but Kareem Copeland of the Associated Press still explained why it was the quarterback's fault:

Florida State trailed by seven points late in the fourth quarter and seemed unlikely to come from behind. This was until Maguire was able to even things up with a 74-yard touchdown pass to Rashad Greene, as described by Bonnie Bernstein of College Insiders:

"

HOLY FIRST GAME STARTING BOMB OF A TOUCHDOWN, SEAN MAGUIRE WITH 6 MINS TO GO! #TieGame #CLEMvsFSU

— Bonnie Bernstein (@BonnieBernstein) September 21, 2014"

ESPN's Skip Bayless provided his thoughts on the play:

A late interception put the team's backs against the wall, as noted by College GameDay:

However, the rest of the squad stepped up and found a way to pull out the overtime win.

The young quarterback came into the game excited about his chance to show what he can do on the big stage.

“It’s going to be pretty awesome, I’d like to imagine,” Maguire said before the game, via Tim Linafelt of the Miami Herald. “I’ve pictured this since I started playing little league ball, to be given an opportunity like this.”

Fortunately, he had a lot of support from the fans when he came out for warmups, according to Natalie Pierre of the Tallahassee Democrat:

Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post points out that this continued up until game time:

This seemed to help give Maguire some added confidence, as he took the field for the first time with the pressure on. There were certainly some ups and downs, but he did what was needed to help his team win.

Winston will return to the starting role in the next game as Florida State hopes to contend for another national championship. However, Maguire can be happy about coming through for his squad when needed.

If the young quarterback is ever asked to come through in the future, the Seminoles know they can trust him to provide a strong effort. 

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