Sean Maguire Overcomes Shaky Start to Help Save Florida State's Season

"I can't put it into words," Sean Maguire said. "It's the greatest feeling of my life so far, that's for sure. To get this win for our team, it's just awesome."

In the first half it was painfully obvious that it was the Florida State quarterback's first start, as Maguire was beaten, battered and inaccurate for the first 30 minutes of play on Saturday. But the redshirt sophomore shook off his 6-of-17 start to complete 15 of 22 passes for 199 yards and a critical touchdown bomb to Rashad Greene in the second stanza.

FSU survived to beat Clemson 23-17. It is not a stretch to say Maguire's second half saved the Seminoles' season. 

"I can't be prouder of Sean Maguire tonight, all he did for our team, the resolve he had," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said.

"I saw a guy determined to lead his team to a victory," Greene said. "To give it all he had for us. I just tip my hat off to that guy the way he stepped up and the way he prepared for that game in two days."

Maguire's turnaround started on the Noles' first drive of the second half. Playing more frequently in the shotgun, he looked comfortable. He led FSU on a nine-play, 68-yard drive to open the third quarter. Mario Pender's one-yard touchdown run tied the game at 10 with 11:05 left in the third quarter.

"Coming out of the second half, that first drive, we were like, 'All right, we got this. We got to go. We got to start driving the ball and scoring some points,'" Maguire said.

The Seminoles have now won 19 straight games, keeping their chances of reaching the College Football Playoff alive. They will enjoy a quick respite in the schedule before an Oct. 18 showdown at home against No. 9 Notre Dame.

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The Noles' ACC title-game chances also skyrocketed with the win. FSU (3-0, 1-0 ACC) now enjoys a leg up on Clemson (1-2, 0-1) in the Atlantic Division battle. The FSU-Clemson winner has won the Atlantic Division each season since 2009.

Despite serving as Maguire's clipboard guy for much of the game, the suspended Jameis Winston still found a way to impact his team both positively and negatively. 

Winston started as a distraction as he warmed up with the Seminoles an hour before game time, taking snaps and throwing passes while in a full uniform. But then, after a heated chat with Jimbo Fisher, he went to the locker room and returned with his garnet No. 5 jersey, black warm-up pants and a garnet FSU hat.

However, according to Maguire, Winston's impact on the game was unquestionably positive.

"He's been my biggest supporter since I found out I was starting," Maguire said. "He stayed in that room with me until 10, 10:30 at night, watching film. He was telling me what he was seeing; I was telling him what I was seeing. He was awesome."

Winston spent the game on the sideline, effusively cheering on his teammates while helping Maguire after each offensive drive.

Bob Ferrante is the Florida State Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bob on Twitter. All stats are courtesy of Seminoles.com.