Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney did not sugarcoat it when he described the way his defense played against No. 19 Florida State on Saturday night. The third-ranked Tigers did not play their best game. In fact, they played perhaps their worst game this season.
They were called for multiple pass inference penalties, they gave up 449 yards and allowed nine plays of 20 or more yards, including runs of 38, 43 and 70 yards to running backs Dalvin Cook and Freddie Stevenson.
Before Saturday’s 37-34 victory over the Seminoles, Clemson had allowed just 22 explosive plays in the first seven games.