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Noles take another hit with Clemson loss

The Associated Press

Clemson's Dwayne Allen runs for a touchdown in front of FSU's Ochuko Jenue during the first half.

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By COREY CLARK

The Tallahassee Democrat

Published: November 7, 2009

Updated: 11/08/2009 12:47 am

CLEMSON, S.C. - The quarterback couldn't save them this time.

Florida State junior QB Christian Ponder, who was having one of the finest seasons in school history, threw four interceptions - including two critical ones in the fourth quarter - as the Seminoles were dominated in the final 15 minutes of a 40-21 loss at Clemson on Saturday night.

Ponder, who was battling severely bruised ribs before the game, then appeared to get injured even worse while making a tackle on the final interception.

"He separated his shoulder," Fisher said. "It's the right one. So we'll evaluate him and see what happens. But he's got bruised ribs and a separated shoulder."

The redshirt junior had three interceptions on the season coming into Saturday. He had four in 32 attempts against the Tigers, finishing 20 of 32 for 264 yards and one touchdown as the Seminoles (4-5, 2-4 in the ACC) were outscored 19-0 in the fourth quarter.

Early in the final period, Ponder was intercepted by Clemson's Rashard Hall, who returned it for 11 yards and then lateraled the ball behind him and Kavell Conner scooped it up and returned it 29 more yards.

It ended up being the play of the game.

Five plays later, the Tigers were in the end zone on an Andre Ellington nine-yard run. Clemson missed the extra point (the second miss of the night) and the Tigers had a 27-24 lead with 9:30 left.

"(Ponder) said it slipped out of his hand," Fisher said of pivotal interception. "It's not his fault. I should have never called the play. It's not a time to call a double move right there.

"... I went for a big play. I put him in a position he shouldn't have been in. It's my fault. I shouldn't have called it."

After the FSU offense couldn't sustain anything on its next drive, Clemson put the game away with a 73-yard touchdown march that ended on a two-yard pass to Durrell Barry with 4:06 left.

Ponder was then intercepted for the final time by DeAndre McDaniel, who returned it to the 5 and set up a C.J. Spiller five-yard run.

This was the play where Ponder injured his shoulder.

"He's a competitor and a player," Fisher said of his QB. "And he's played super all year and he didn't play his best tonight."

Spiller did.

The Lake Butler native finished the night with a Clemson record 312 yards of total offense (165 yards rushing, 67 receiving and 71 on kick returns).

"That's what great players do," said senior linebacker Dekoda Watson. "Great players make great plays. That's exactly what he did."

The lightning-fast senior beat Kendall Smith (to be fair, no linebacker in the country could cover the track star one-on-one) for a 58-yard touchdown pass to give Clemson a 21-17 lead early in the third.

"I thought Spiller was the difference in the ball game," FSU head coach Bobby Bowden said. "The happiest I was, was when he was off the field. I knew he couldn't get the ball."

After his 58-yard touchdown (the 20th TD of his career of 50 yards or more), Ponder and the offense answered right back.

The junior completed four straight clutch third-down passes and Jermaine Thomas capped off the 16-play drive with a one-yard run to give the Seminoles a 24-21 lead.

It was the last lead of the night for FSU, which gained 392 yards of total offense but turned the ball over five times.

"Our problem was turnovers," Bowden said. "I was concerned last week when our quarterback was unable to practice ... I was concerned that he would lose his timing by not throwing much."

Clemson gained 483 yards of total offense on the night - 241 yards rushing and 242 yards passing.
"We just made too many mistakes," Bowden said.

The first quarter was one of the best 15-minute stretches the Seminoles have played all season.
Freshman Dustin Hopkins nailed a 35-yard field goal. Ponder then hit Hopkins' roommate, running back Lonnie Pryor, on a beautiful 49-yard TD pass down the left sideline. And senior safety Jamie Robinson intercepted a Kyle Parker pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown to give the Seminoles a stunning 17-6 lead over the Tigers.

Then came the second quarter. And it got real ugly real quick.

Florida State freshman Chris Thompson fumbled at midfield and Clemson responded with a 43- yard touchdown pass to Xavier Dye (Spiller ran in the two-point conversion) to cut the lead to 17-14.

Ponder then threw interceptions on back-to-back passes, but Clemson wasn't able to capitalize on either. Florida State defensive end Markus White forced a fumble inside the FSU 10 to stop one scoring opportunity and then Clemson kicker Richard Jackson missed a 38-yard field goal attempt with less than two minutes left in the half.

The two teams combined for five turnovers in the first half and 12 penalties (nine of which were accepted).

Ponder was 11 of 13 for 156 yards in the first half and sophomore Jermaine Thomas added 67 yards on 13 carries.

Thomas finished with over 119 yards rushing on 26 carries - his second straight 100-yard effort.

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