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No. 1 Florida State outlasts Clemson in OT

Sep 21, 2014 - 6:03 AM Tallahassee, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - In the absence of reigning Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston, top-ranked Florida State managed to steal an overtime win over No. 22 Clemson on Saturday and continue the nation's longest winning streak.

Karlos Williams rushed for 25 of his 45 yards in the extra session and his 12- yard touchdown gave the Seminoles a 23-17 win.

Winston, who was originally suspended for the opening half for shouting a lewd comment at the student union earlier in the week, was given a game ban by school officials late on Friday night.

Sean Maguire, Winston's replacement, made his first-career start and threw for 305 yards on 21-of-39 passing with a touchdown and two interceptions for Florida State (3-0, 1-0 ACC), which has won 19 consecutive games.

"Tremendous atmosphere out there tonight," Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher. "Unbelievably proud of them. I'm proud to coach them. I can't be more prouder in Sean Maguire tonight."

With the game tied at 17-17 heading into overtime, Clemson (1-2, 0-1) opened with the ball and was faced with a 4th-and-1. Tigers kicker Ammon Lakip missed a pair of field goals in regulation, so head coach Dabo Swinney opted to go for it. The Florida State defense stepped up, stuffing Adam Choice at the line for a turnover on downs.

Williams then bolted up the middle for 13 yards on the Seminoles' first play in the extra session before bouncing a run to the outside for the winning touchdown.

"We couldn't run it until we had to run it at the end," said Fisher.

Rashad Greene hauled in nine passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Nick O'Leary had six receptions for 78 yards in the win.

Deshaun Watson, who did not start the contest for the Tigers, finished with 266 yards on 19-of-28 passing and ran for a touchdown. D.J. Howard also had a rushing touchdown in the setback.

Clemson's defense harassed Maguire throughout the entire first half, sacking the signal caller three times and limiting the hosts to -22 yards rushing over the first two quarters.

The Seminoles orchestrated a quick 9-play, 68-yard drive to open the second half and tie the game at 10-10. Maguire used a three-step drop on numerous plays to open the half and converted a few short passes throughout the drive, which Mario Pender capped with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone.

Watson completed a 19-yard pass to Stanton Seckinger down the far sideline on the Tiger's next touch that placed the ball on the FSU 1. On second-and-goal, the snap got away from Watson and rolled all the way back to the 24. Lakip opened the fourth quarter by missing a 40-yard kick.

The Seminoles moved the ball past midfield on the ensuing possession, but a tipped pass from Maguire was intercepted by Jayron Kearse.

Clemson took advantage of the game's first turnover by punching it into the end zone to restore the halftime lead.

A horse collar tackle turned a 6-yard play into a 21-yard gain on Clemson's first play of the drive. Watson then lofted a deep pass to Mike Williams, who made a superb diving catch in traffic down to the Seminoles 2 for a 39-yard pitch-and-catch. Watson plunged into the end zone on the following play for a 17-10 lead.

Following a punt from each team, Corey Crawford sacked Maguire for a loss of 14 that set up a long second down attempt. Greene proceeded to blow past the secondary and hauled in a 74-yard TD from Maguire to tie the game at 17-17.

Clemson went three-and-out prior to Maguire throwing an interception to Jadar Johnson with under three minutes left.

The Florida State defense answered, however, jarring the ball out of C.J. Davidson's hands at the Seminoles 18 as Nate Andrews pounced on the fumble to recover for the hosts.

Earlier, after each team went three-and-out on their opening possession, Cole Stoudt rushed for 14 yards before hitting Artavis Scott on a 32-yard screen pass to move Clemson deep into Seminoles territory. Florida State dug in defensively, however, forcing a short field goal that Lakip hooked wide.

Maguire converted a 27-yard pass to Williams on 2nd-and-10 which moved the Noles to the Tigers 35, where Roberto Aguayo booted a 50-yard field goal to open the scoring.

Lakip made amends for his first miss by splitting the uprights from 30 yards out to tie the game early in the second.

Florida State managed to lose 11 yards over its next two possessions which set up a short field for Clemson midway through the second. Watson threw a back shoulder pass to Germone Hopper for 28 yards to the FSU 17. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-6 from the 13, Watson rolled to his right and tossed a 12-yard pass to Jordan Leggett to keep the drive alive. Howard followed with a 1-yard TD run for a 10-3 lead.

With less than three minutes until the break, Greene tried helping his inexperienced quarterback by returning a Bradley Pinion punt 28 yards to the Clemson 38. The Seminoles went backward, though, as Vic Beasley sacked Maguire on the first play of the drive and the Tigers' front seven kept bringing pressure to force a punt with Clemson leading by a touchdown at the half.

Game Notes

The Seminoles last lost on Nov. 24, 2012 against then-No. 6 Florida ... Winston came out for pregame warmups in full uniform until Fisher sent him back to the locker room ... Florida State defensive end Mario Edwards left the game with a concussion ... Clemson is now 0-5 all-time vs. AP No. 1 teams ... The Tigers have lost 11-of-12 in Tallahassee.