In his first career start, Florida State quarterback Sean Maguire passed for 305 yards and a touchdown as top-ranked Florida State rallied from a touchdown down in the final quarter to beat 22nd-ranked Clemson in overtime, 23-17 on Saturday.
Maguire started in place of reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, whose suspension was extended from a half to a game late Friday night.
With Florida State trailing 17-10 in the fourth quarter, Maguire found Rashad Greene for a 74-yard touchdown to knot the game at 17 with 6:04 to play.
For a moment, Maguire looked to potentially go from a hero to the goat after being intercepted by Clemson safety Jadar Johnson with just over two minutes to play. Johnson returned the interception to the Seminoles’ 26-yard-line.
With Clemson driving to potentially win the game, running back C.J. Davidson was stripped of the football by Florida State defensive tackle, Eddie Goldman. FSU recovered and the game went to overtime.
Goldman came up huge again in the extra session. On the first possession of overtime, Goldman was able to get penetration and get a hand on Clemson’s Adam Choice who was then stopped by a pair of Florida State tacklers on 4th-and-1.
It took the Seminoles just two plays on offense to end the contest as Karlos Williams scored from 12 yards out to complete the comeback. With the victory, Florida State extended a school-record and the nation’s longest winning streak to 19 games.
For the Tigers, it was a night of missed opportunities. Clemson finished with just 17 points on seven trips to the red zone.
The most notable miscue came late in the third quarter as tight end Stanton Steckinger caught a pass near the goal line over Florida State’s Chris Casher. The catch was initially ruled a touchdown, but replay review marked the ball just short of the goal line.
Two plays later, a snap sailed over the head of Clemson freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson for a 23-yard loss. The drive concluded with a missed 40-yard field goal attempt by Ammon Lakip — his second miss of the night.
While Maguire put up big passing numbers, the first-time starter was sacked five times and intercepted twice.
Senior Rashad Greene led the Seminoles in receiving for a third straight game this season with 135 yards and a score on nine receptions. Greene now sits 716 receiving yards shy of Ron Sellers’ Florida State career record.
Mario Pender also found the end zone for the Seminoles in the victory — his second touchdown of the season.
Watson and D.J. Howard each scored rushing touchdowns for the Tigers in the loss. In extended action, Watson passed for 268 yards and rushed for 30 more.
After escaping the Tigers, Florida State (3-0, 1-0 ACC) will return to the site of its last ACC loss next Saturday as it visits North Carolina State for its first true road game of 2014. The Wolfpack defeated the Seminoles 17-16 in October of 2012 in Raleigh.
Clemson (1-2, 0-1 ACC) will be home for its next three games, beginning next week with North Carolina.
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