September 24, 2011 Week 4 · Regular Season Belt defended

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

Home · Defending Holder

Clemson 35

Away · Challenger

Florida State 30

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.

Tajh Boyd's 24-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins in Q1 — established early Clemson dominance
Clint Trickett's 57-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Smith before half in Q1 — kept Florida State within reach early
Bjoern Werner's 25-yard interception return for a touchdown in Q3 — gave Florida State hope after falling behind
Sammy Watkins' 62-yard touchdown reception in Q4 — sealed Clemson's belt defense

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

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 14:23	Florida State	+21 yd	Clint Trickett pass complete to Christian Green for 21 yards to the Clem 46 for a 1ST down.
Q1 10:23	Florida State	+32 yd	Dustin Hopkins 32 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 9:08	Clemson	+20 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 20 yards to the FlaSt 35 for a 1ST down.
Q1 7:47	Clemson	+24 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 24 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 7:47	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 2:40	Clemson	+50 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 50 yards to the FlaSt 2 for a 1ST down.
Q1 1:54	Clemson	+1 yd	Tajh Boyd rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 1:54	Clemson	+29 yd	Spencer Benton kickoff for 70 yards returned by Karlos Williams for 29 yards to the FlaSt 29.
Q1 1:54	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 0:14	Florida State	+57 yd	Clint Trickett pass complete to Rodney Smith for 57 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 0:14	Florida State	+0 yd	Dustin Hopkins extra point GOOD.
Q1 0:14	Florida State	+21 yd	Dustin Hopkins kickoff for 70 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 21 yards to the Clem 21.
Q2 13:56	Clemson	+33 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Martavis Bryant for 33 yards to the FlaSt 28 for a 1ST down.
Q2 11:31	Clemson	+12 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Dwayne Allen for 12 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 11:31	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q2 11:22	Florida State	+4 yd	Clint Trickett pass intercepted by Quandon Christian at the FlaSt 24, returned for 4 yards to the FlaSt 20.
Q2 9:38	Clemson	+35 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 35 yard field goal MISSED.
Q3 13:40	Clemson	+25 yd	Tajh Boyd pass intercepted by Bjoern Werner at the Clem 25, returned for 25 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 13:40	Florida State	+0 yd	Dustin Hopkins extra point GOOD.
Q3 9:32	Florida State	+41 yd	Clint Trickett pass complete to Rodney Smith for 41 yards to the Clem 43 for a 1ST down.
Q3 3:03	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 3:03	Clemson	+1 yd	Andre Ellington rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 14:55	Florida State	+30 yd	Clint Trickett pass complete to Rashad Greene for 30 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 13:06	Clemson	+62 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 62 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 13:06	Clemson	+32 yd	Spencer Benton kickoff for 68 yards returned by Lamarcus Joyner for 32 yards to the FlaSt 34.
Q4 13:06	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q4 11:50	Florida State	+22 yd	Shawn Powell punt for 54 yards, returned by DeAndre Hopkins for 22 yards to the Clem 26.
Q4 7:21	Florida State	+9 yd	Clint Trickett pass complete to Kenny Shaw for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 8:00	Florida State	+32 yd	Clint 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 7:21	Florida State	+0 yd	Dustin Hopkins extra point GOOD.
Q4 7:02	Clemson	+34 yd	Tajh 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

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Tajh BoydClemson	22/35	344	9.8	3	0	71.4
Clint TrickettFlorida State	24/38	336	8.8	3	1	70.0

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Andre EllingtonClemson	23	71	3.1	1	19
Tajh BoydClemson	16	19	1.2	1	11
Sammy WatkinsClemson	3	13	4.3	0	6
Roderick McDowellClemson	2	6	3.0	0	5
Mike BellamyClemson	2	-1	-0.5	0	0
Chris ThompsonFlorida State	11	36	3.3	0	13
Clint TrickettFlorida State	4	-7	-1.8	0	11

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Sammy WatkinsClemson	7	141	20.1	2	62
DeAndre HopkinsClemson	5	78	15.6	0	50
Dwayne AllenClemson	4	67	16.8	1	34
Martavis BryantClemson	1	33	33.0	0	33
Jaron BrownClemson	1	13	13.0	0	13
Andre EllingtonClemson	2	7	3.5	0	6
Adam HumphriesClemson	1	6	6.0	0	6
Brandon ThomasClemson	1	-1	-1.0	0	-1
Rodney SmithFlorida State	4	118	29.5	1	57
Rashad Greene Sr.Florida State	8	98	12.3	1	32
Christian GreenFlorida State	7	77	11.0	0	21
Nick O'LearyFlorida State	3	23	7.7	0	11
Kenny ShawFlorida State	2	20	10.0	1	11

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Quandon ChristianClemson	1	4	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Sammy WatkinsClemson	1	21	21.0	21
Lamarcus JoynerFlorida State	2	60	30.0	32
Karlos WilliamsFlorida State	1	29	29.0	29

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Chandler CatanzaroClemson	0/1	0.0	0	5/5	5
Dustin HopkinsFlorida State	1/1	100.0	32	3/3	6

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
DeAndre HopkinsClemson	2	29	14.5	22	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Spencer BentonClemson	2	66	33.0	43
Dawson ZimmermanClemson	1	43	43.0	43
Shawn PowellFlorida State	5	214	42.8	55

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

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