Snap judgments: Clemson survives FSU to extend home winning streak

CLEMSON — One streak ended and another continued for Clemson Saturday evening against Florida State. Both were good for the Tigers.

Clemson extended its home winning streak to 32 games and ended its streak of failing to score 20 points in regulation against FBS teams in a 30-20 victory over the Seminoles at Memorial Stadium.

Will Shipley’s 21-yard touchdown run with 2:53 remaining ended up being the difference as the Tigers improved to 5-3 (4-2) and won their sixth straight game against FSU.

“I’m just proud of our guys and proud of our team. They’ve battled all year,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Thirteen years at Alabama and 19 years at Clemson, I’d probably put that in the top-5 all-time wins that I’ve been a part of. It was special.”

Shipley’s run gave Clemson a 24-20 lead before the Tigers pushed the final margin to 10 on the final play of the game. As FSU was pitching the ball around to try to somehow work its way down the field for a miracle touchdown, Barrett Carter picked up the loose ball and ran it into the end zone as time expired.

Shipley finished with 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns, leading the way for a Tigers offense that continues to struggle but showed some signs of improvement on Saturday.

Fellow freshman Phil Mafah added 69 yards on the ground, with the majority of them coming on a 63-yard run in the second quarter.

We’ll start there as we get into some snap judgments from Saturday’s victory:

Will Shipley/Phil Mafah provide dynamic 1-2 punch

It’s safe to say Clemson’s running back situation is in good hands. Freshman Will Shipley had 22 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns while playing through pain. Fellow freshman Phil Mafah had a 63-yard run, bouncing off tacklers as he sprinted down the sideline. Those two combined to make several plays Saturday and will continue to for a long, long time.

“These are two true freshmen. I mean y’all think they’re going to get worse or better?” Swinney said. “These are two special young guys. Our offensive line was getting it done up front for most of the night.”

Tigers are sticking with DJ Uiagalelei at QB

After Clemson’s coaching staff spoke all week about a quarterback battle and how both QBs would play, DJ Uiagalelei played the entire game. The sophomore did some good things, making quick decisions and accurate throws at times. But he did plenty of bad as well. Uiagalelei was picked off on a throw into double coverage and was sacked and fumbled, leading to a Florida State touchdown on a scoop and score. Whether for good or for bad Uiagalelei is QB1 for the Tigers.

“He got in a good rhythm out there and was making throws. We moved the ball the whole game,” Swinney said. “I thought he was throwing the ball well, made good checks in the run game.”

Frustration is mounting for Tigers fans

Clemson fans created great environments early in the season, even with the offense struggling. But the crowd was kind of out of it on Saturday. Several thousand fans exited at the half, and for most of the final three quarters the crowd was quiet. Fans finally got back into the game late, but it was a very weird vibe for a Clemson-FSU game until the final few minutes.

“The fourth quarter was awesome. … I was looking for everybody, it looked like a lot of people were gone in the third quarter,” Swinney said. “But they kind of got back in there and the fourth quarter it was incredible.”