TCI hands out grades by position group from Saturday’s 23-13 win over Florida State…

Quarterbacks: A-

It’s no secret that Deshaun Watson was not himself in the first half against the Seminoles. He was out of sync and made some questionable decisions. His teammates picked him up for a while, but eventually, Watson got it together. He threw for 297 yards and rushed for another 107 yards in the game. Watson made some sensational reads down the stretch and calmly guided the Clemson offense to a monumental victory after shaking off some nerves of his own.

Running Backs: A-

It took some time to reach maximum effect, but the Wayne Gallman experience was a punishing one. Down the stretch, the sophomore bruised and battered the Florida State front before busting through the line for a 25-yard touchdown run that clinched the victory. In addition, Gallman was a factor in the passing game. He was targeted five times and hauled in three balls for 32 yards. It was a complete performance for Clemson’s workhorse back, who accounted for all but one of the tailback carries in the game.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A-

The receivers shoulder some of the blame for Watson’s poor start, as a couple of drops really hurt Clemson offensively in the first half. Just like the rest of the unit, however, this crew figured out its issues and executed well down the stretch. Jordan Leggett inched over the 100-yard mark receiving, while Artavis Scott snagged nine balls and a bunch of other players made contributions with multiple catches. Blocking in the run game was, once again, stellar.

Offensive Line: A-

These grades are getting repetitive, but they all reflect a poor start followed by an uneven second quarter and a much better second half. The biggest plus for the offensive front came late, when Clemson was able to push around a worn-out Florida State defensive line in order to seal the victory. Dabo Swinney said it was fun to look in the eyes of the offensive linemen late in the game to see their confidence and desire to lead a charge to victory.

Defensive Line: B+

This group did not play its best game overall, but as was the norm, it got stronger as the game wore on. Shaq Lawson was banged up and faced double teams for much of his time on the field, and Dalvin Cook rushing for almost 200 yards has to be noted (although he very well might be the best back in the country). Austin Bryant came off the bench and provided a much-needed spark, as did Christian Wilkins. When it needed stops, the line won the battles late in the game to seal the win.

Linebackers: A

This grade gets elevated because of the way the linebackers were exposed for much of last week’s game against N.C. State. Fast forward one week, and the results were much different. The Seminoles ran lots of slow developing back side run plays early and caught this group committing up the field too often. Brent Venables made some adjustments, and B.J. Goodson and Ben Boulware ended up with fine games. The punctuation mark came when the two combined for the strip-and-recovery to give the Tigers the ball for the final time.

Defensive Backs: B+

Frankly, it’s a wonder this group wasn’t exposed more in this game. Pre-snap communication seemed poor, and it led to some misalignment and confusion at the line of scrimmage. There was one occasion where two receivers were uncovered at the snap because of a botched switch, but fortunately for the Tigers, it was a run play. Those issues cannot be ignored, but functionally in coverage, this group played very well. The play that led to Adrian Baker’s interception was hard to defend, but it was executed perfectly by the coverage tandem.

Special Teams: B

It was a better showing for Clemson’s special teams, but the results were far from perfect. Andy Teasdall had a much better day overall, pinning half of his six punts inside the Florida State 20. Other than one 44-yard kickoff return, the Tigers covered kickoffs better. Hunter Renfrow muffed a punt that did not come back to bite Clemson and was replaced by Scott. The biggest plus was Greg Huegel, who made all three of his pressure-packed field goals and is a perfect 10-for-10 in his last five games.