Tait Reynolds scores three times as Clemson handles Florida State 36-24 in Tallahassee
Freshman Tait Reynolds threw two TDs and ran 79 yards for another, and Nolan Hauser kicked five field goals as Clemson won 36-24 at Florida State.
Clemson's freshman quarterback picked a good night to end his touchdown drought. Tait Reynolds threw two touchdown passes, his first in four games, and then put the game away with a 79-yard run on third-and-12 with 3:17 left. Clemson won 36-24 at Florida State on Saturday night, according to the Associated Press recap on ESPN.
The win came a week after a 20-16 home loss to Virginia Tech. It moves Clemson to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC, and it gives the Tigers three straight wins over the Seminoles. Reynolds hit Christian Bentancur and Olsen Patt-Henry for first-half scores, and Clemson led 23-10 at halftime. He finished 18 of 32 for 189 yards through the air. Nolan Hauser did the rest, making field goals from 50, 49, 46, 35 and 35 yards. He is now 23 of 24 on the season.
By the AP's count, Clemson scored on eight of its 13 possessions before kneeling out the clock, its most efficient night of the year against a Power 4 opponent. Its 36 points were the most it has put up against a Power 4 team this fall and second only to the 37 it scored against Charleston Southern. There was one worry. Starting left guard Elyjah Thurmon lay on the field for about 10 minutes in the second quarter and was taken off on a backboard and a cart. He gave a thumbs-up as he left. No update on his condition was included in the report.
For Florida State, the yardage hid the mistakes. Ashton Daniels threw for 350 yards on 21-of-33 passing, with touchdown throws of 46 yards to Micahi Danzy and 41 yards to Jasen Lopez, and he also ran for a 13-yard score. But he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. With leading rusher Ousmane Kromah out for the first time, the Seminoles ran 29 times for just 65 yards. The two fourth-quarter touchdowns cut into the deficit but never seriously threatened the lead. Florida State has now lost three in a row and is 3-5, 1-4 in the ACC.
What it means for next week
Clemson travels to Syracuse on Saturday, Nov. 7, on ESPN2. The Orange are 4-4 and 2-4 in league play, the kind of opponent this Clemson team has mostly beaten. All three of the Tigers' losses came against Miami, LSU and Virginia Tech, and LSU and Miami were both ranked at the time. Clemson has averaged about 23 points a game and allowed about 22, but the 41- and 51-point losses skew the second number. Leave those two out and the defense has held five of its other six opponents to 20 points or fewer. The offense has been the bigger question. It scored 16 or fewer in three of its eight games, so getting Reynolds back to throwing touchdowns matters as much as the result. Thurmon's status will also be one to watch along the line.
Florida State goes to Boston College the same day on the ACC Network. The Eagles are 4-4 and 2-3 in the ACC. The Seminoles' defense is the concern. It has given up 36, 43 and 44 points during the losing streak, about 41 a game. A team that won its first two league games convincingly enough now has four games left to keep its season from slipping away.
