Florida State vs. Clemson: 5 Things We Learned About the Seminoles

On Saturday afternoon into Saturday evening, the No. 21 ranked Clemson Tigers took on the No. 11 ranked Florida Seminoles.  

The game promised fireworks, and it certainly delivered, with the two ACC rivals combining for 65 points.  Both quarterbacks threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, and the game came down to a drive within the final two minutes by Florida State. 

On 4th-and-9, Seminoles quarterback Clint Trickett got obliterated on a sack by Rennie Moore.  Clemson proved they are the real deal, with back-to-back wins over Auburn and Florida State. 

While Clemson proved they are a force to be reckoned with, what does this loss say about Florida State?

Let's take a look inside for five things we learned about the Seminoles.  

5. Clint Trickett Can Throw the Football

With EJ Manuel nursing a shoulder injury, Seminoles fans had to be worried the offense would be stagnant with Clint Trickett running the offense. 

Trickett proved that simply wasn't the case, as he threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns.  While he also threw a pick, it was a gutsy performance by the second stringer. 

No. 9 is a true freshman and this was his first start in college, so Seminoles fans should not expect any drop off when EJ Manuel tries his luck with the NFL.  

4. Secondary Was Overrated

While Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd and wide receiver Sammy Watkins are two of the best players at their respective positions, after holding top-ranked Oklahoma to 23 points, fans had high hopes for the Seminole defense in this game.  

Either Boyd and Watkins are that good or the defense just didn't show up, or a combination of the two, but the Florida State defense got burned routinely in this one. 

Boyd had 344 passing yards and four touchdowns (one rushing) to just one interception, while Watkins just looked uncoverable amidst an eight catch, 141-yard, two touchdown effort.  

3. Florida State Can Be Pretty Sloppy

Florida State had 11 penalties for 124 yards in Week 4 against Clemson.  That tells the story right there, but the worst part is that most of the penalties were during critical times.  

The final play of the game should have been a 4th-and-4, but it turned out to be a 4th-and-5 due to a false start.  

A 72-yard kick return was negated due to a hold.  Florida State had opportunities to win this game, but they just kept shooting themselves in the foot.   

2. Florida State Has No Run Game

Chris Thompson had a measly 36 yards on 11 carries against Clemson.  While a prolific passing attack is never a bad thing, it is tough to win without a balanced approach on offense.  

The brunt of the blame should not be put on the junior running back though: he has just 28 carries in four games this season.  

Additionally, this was the first time all year the tailback received double-digit carries in a game.  

The Seminoles need to find their identity in the run game to get their season back on track. 

1. Florida State Can't Hang with the Big Boys

While the score was close, the Clemson Tigers beat the Florida State Seminoles in virtually every aspect. 

Clemson had a more balanced attack offensively, came up with bigger plays defensively and just looked like they came in with a better game plan; and they certainly executed a heck of a lot better. 

Losing by 10 to Oklahoma is nothing to be ashamed of, and realistically, neither is a five-point loss to a surging Clemson squad.  

But in a year that was thought to be the Seminoles year, finishing with less than 10 wins and not being ranked within the Top 25 by the season's end all of a sudden seems very possible.