The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2011 season / Reign #278 · Game 1,438 of 1,641
September 24, 2011 Week 4 · Regular Season Belt defended

Clemson defends the belt, 35–30, at home over Florida State.

Home · Defending Holder
ClemsonAP No. 21 35
AT
Away · Challenger
Florida StateAP No. 11 30

AP poll, week 4: Florida State No. 11 at Clemson No. 21 · No. 1 that week: West Virginia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Clemson came in 7 days into reign #278, which began with a win over Auburn, with no defenses yet; this was its first defense. Clemson went on to defend it 4 more times before Georgia Tech took it on October 29, 2011, 42 days after the reign began.

For Florida State this was its 7th shot at the belt; it had held the belt twice before.

It was the 3rd of 3 belt games between the two; going in, Florida State led the belt series 2–0; all-time Florida State leads 2–1. Every meeting →

AI-Written

Recap

Clemson's high-powered passing attack proved too much for Florida State in this back-and-forth affair, with quarterback Tajh Boyd leading the Tigers to a 35-30 victory and a successful belt defense. The game was a showcase of explosive plays, particularly early on as Clemson scored twice in the first quarter—a 24-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins and a 1-yard rushing score from Boyd—to jump out to a 21-3 lead after Florida State's opening field goal. Florida State kept things competitive with a 57-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Smith late in the first quarter, and though Clemson extended the lead with Dwayne Allen's 12-yard scoring catch in the second quarter, the Seminoles answered with a defensive touchdown when Bjoern Werner returned an interception 25 yards for a score. The momentum swung late when Greene's 30-yard touchdown reception brought Florida State within striking distance, but Clemson put the game away with Watkins' 62-yard touchdown reception with under 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 ClemsonFlorida State
Total yards443365
Rushing yards9929
Passing yards358354
First downs2619
3rd down conv.9/173/10
Turnovers21
Penalties–yards5–5011–124
Time of possession21:2414:42

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 14:23Florida State+21 ydClint Trickett pass complete to Christian Green for 21 yards to the Clem 46 for a 1ST down.
Q1 10:23Florida State+32 ydDustin Hopkins 32 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 9:08Clemson+20 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 20 yards to the FlaSt 35 for a 1ST down.
Q1 7:47Clemson+24 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 24 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 7:47Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 2:40Clemson+50 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 50 yards to the FlaSt 2 for a 1ST down.
Q1 1:54Clemson+1 ydTajh Boyd rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 1:54Clemson+29 ydSpencer Benton kickoff for 70 yards returned by Karlos Williams for 29 yards to the FlaSt 29.
Q1 1:54Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 0:14Florida State+57 ydClint Trickett pass complete to Rodney Smith for 57 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 0:14Florida State+0 ydDustin Hopkins extra point GOOD.
Q1 0:14Florida State+21 ydDustin Hopkins kickoff for 70 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 21 yards to the Clem 21.
Q2 13:56Clemson+33 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Martavis Bryant for 33 yards to the FlaSt 28 for a 1ST down.
Q2 11:31Clemson+12 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Dwayne Allen for 12 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 11:31Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q2 11:22Florida State+4 ydClint Trickett pass intercepted by Quandon Christian at the FlaSt 24, returned for 4 yards to the FlaSt 20.
Q2 9:38Clemson+35 ydChandler Catanzaro 35 yard field goal MISSED.
Q3 13:40Clemson+25 ydTajh Boyd pass intercepted by Bjoern Werner at the Clem 25, returned for 25 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 13:40Florida State+0 ydDustin Hopkins extra point GOOD.
Q3 9:32Florida State+41 ydClint Trickett pass complete to Rodney Smith for 41 yards to the Clem 43 for a 1ST down.
Q3 3:03Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 3:03Clemson+1 ydAndre Ellington rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 14:55Florida State+30 ydClint Trickett pass complete to Rashad Greene for 30 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 13:06Clemson+62 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 62 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 13:06Clemson+32 ydSpencer Benton kickoff for 68 yards returned by Lamarcus Joyner for 32 yards to the FlaSt 34.
Q4 13:06Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q4 11:50Florida State+22 ydShawn Powell punt for 54 yards, returned by DeAndre Hopkins for 22 yards to the Clem 26.
Q4 7:21Florida State+9 ydClint Trickett pass complete to Kenny Shaw for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 8:00Florida State+32 ydClint Trickett rush for 32 yards, fumbled, recovered by FlaSt Clint Trickett at the FlaSt 33, CLEMSON penalty 15 yard Roughing Passer accepted for a 1ST down.
Q4 7:21Florida State+0 ydDustin Hopkins extra point GOOD.
Q4 7:02Clemson+34 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Dwayne Allen for 34 yards to the FlaSt 46 for a 1ST down.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Clemson

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Tajh Boyd22/353449.83071.4

Florida State

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Clint Trickett24/383368.83170.0

Rushing

Clemson

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Andre Ellington23713.1119
Tajh Boyd16191.2111
Sammy Watkins3134.306
Roderick McDowell263.005
Mike Bellamy2-1-0.500

Florida State

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Chris Thompson11363.3013
Clint Trickett4-7-1.8011

Receiving

Clemson

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Sammy Watkins714120.1262
DeAndre Hopkins57815.6050
Dwayne Allen46716.8134
Martavis Bryant13333.0033
Jaron Brown11313.0013
Andre Ellington273.506
Adam Humphries166.006
Brandon Thomas1-1-1.00-1

Florida State

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Rodney Smith411829.5157
Rashad Greene Sr.89812.3132
Christian Green77711.0021
Nick O'Leary3237.7011
Kenny Shaw22010.0111
Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Clemson

PlayerINTYDSTD
Quandon Christian140

Florida State

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Sammy Watkins12121.0210

Florida State

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Lamarcus Joyner26030.0320
Karlos Williams12929.0290

Kicking

Clemson

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Chandler Catanzaro0/10.005/55

Florida State

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Dustin Hopkins1/1100.0323/36

Punt Returns

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
DeAndre Hopkins22914.5220

Florida State

No recorded stats in this category.

Punting

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Spencer Benton26633.00043
Dawson Zimmerman14343.00043

Florida State

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Shawn Powell521442.80055

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 312670228) · This game in the downloadable dataset