Clemson’s offense has shown flashes here and there but has been largely stuck in a rut this season. The defense? It’s been one of the best in keeping opposing offenses from putting a bunch of points on the scoreboard but has had its moments of vulnerability, the first half at Syracuse and Pitt’s 464 total yards being among the examples.
But when all else fails, the Tigers have been able to count on the consistency of the third facet of the game. And with two veterans leading the special-teams unit, it’s easy to understand why.
Seniors Will Spiers and B.T. Potter have been among the most reliable kicking tandem in the ACC this season, but Clemson’s special teams had perhaps their most adventurous game Saturday against Florida State, helping the Seminoles stay in it and ultimately doing their part to keep FSU at a distance in the Tigers’ 30-20 win at Memorial Stadium.
It started with something Clemson hadn’t pulled off in almost three years. FSU took a 6-3 lead in the final seconds of the first quarter when Jordan Travis flipped a 1-yard touchdown pass out to Jashaun Corbin, but defensive end Myles Murphy pushed through the line on the extra-point attempt to block the kick. Given Clemson hadn’t blocked any sort of kick since Bryan Bresee blocked a field goal in last year’s season opener against Wake Forest and hadn’t blocked a point-after attempt since Christian Wilkins against Louisville on Nov. 3, 2018, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he had been emphasizing that with his team during practice.
With the Seminoles lacking that additional point, that made their deficit four points instead of three whenever Clemson scored a go-ahead touchdown. A field goal did them no good in that scenario.
“I had been really challenging them, especially this week,” Swinney said. “Felt like we could have an opportunity, and that blocked extra point was the difference in the game. There’s a big difference when you need a touchdown versus a field goal. Just thought that was a huge, huge play.”
Clemson finished with 377 total yards and either started or moved eight drives into FSU territory, giving the Tigers their fair share of chances to either tie or extend their lead throughout the course of the game. But an uncharacteristically off night from Potter kept that from happening at times.
A Lou Groza Award semifinalist last season, Potter entered the game having missed just one field goal all season, and that was more of a Hail Mary type of attempt on a 58-yarder at the end of the first half against South Carolina State back on Sept. 11. Things on Saturday started well for Potter, who split the uprights on a 47-yard attempt with 5 minutes, 32 seconds left in the first quarter.
But Potter missed each of his last three attempts. The first was a 49-yarder with FSU leading 6-3 early in the second quarter. The second missed the mark from 37 yards out with Clemson leading 17-13 with 10:57 left in the third quarter. The Tigers led by the same margin early in the fourth quarter when Potter trotted out for his shortest attempt of the game — a 30-yarder — but he yanked a knuckling line drive left with 11 minutes remaining.
“The last one, he said his foot got stuck in the ground,” Swinney said. “Obviously something happened.”
The other two were struck well, but Swinney chalked it all up to a rare bad night for his veteran placekicker, who made four field goals to help Clemson hold off Boston College in a six-point win on Oct. 2. He also connected on his only attempt against Syracuse for what proved to be the difference in a three-point victory earlier this month.
Swinney’s message to Potter afterward?
“Shake it off, man,” Swinney said. “He’s been there for us all year. We don’t have five wins if not for B.T. He’s been money for us all year long. He had a rough night, but he’s had this team’s back all year, and tonight the offense and defense needed to have his back. And they did.”
After a scoop and score by FSU midway through the fourth quarter gave the Seminoles the lead, Clemson went on a 58-yard drive with less than 4 minutes left capped by Will Shipley’s 21-yard touchdown run that put the Tigers back on top, 24-20. Clemson’s defense sent the Seminoles backward on their next drive and forced a punt, and the Tigers ran the ball on their next three plays to force FSU to use all of its remaining timeouts.
Clemson sent out the punt team with 34 seconds left, and Spiers saved his best for last to end the game on a high note for the special teams. Spiers got off a low knuckler that FSU wasn’t able to field. Instead, it rolled all the way to the Seminoles’ 9 for a 56-yard boot that took 11 seconds off the clock.
Needing a touchdown because of that early blocked extra point, FSU was forced to scramble with just 23 seconds left, which ultimately led to a lateral situation and a fumble near the goal line. Linebacker Barrett Carter recovered the loose ball in the end zone with no time left on the clock.
“Just well executed at the end of the game,” Swinney said of Spiers’ punt. “Really proud of that.”
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