’Noles grab early lead but can’t hold on

Florida State jumped out to a seven-point lead in the first quarter against No. 4 Clemson on Saturday but couldn’t find a way to slow down quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei and the Tigers offense, which scored 27 straight points to roll to a commanding lead before prevailing 34-28 over the host Seminoles.

Uiagalelei passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another as Clemson scored 10 points in a 1-minute, 30-second stretch at the end of the first half for a 17-14 lead.

The Tigers kept up the pressure as Davis Allen scored on a 31-yard pass 19 seconds into the second half and B.T. Potter kicked a 34-yard field goal to extend the lead to 34-14 with 7:32 left in the third quarter.

“Those times around halftime are critical,” said FSU coach Mike Norvell. “We’ve got to make sure as we come in, as the second half unfolded, our guys did well with adjustments.But we have to come out and start fast.”

FSU quarterback Jordan Travis rallied the Seminoles with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes: 6 yards to Ja’Khi Douglas and 25 yards to Kentron Poitier with 2:17 left. The redshirt junior finished the evening 24 of 42 with 254 passing yards and two TDs while adding 64 rushing yards and a 20-yard score in the first quarter.

It was the first time Travis had a passing and rushing touchdown in the same game since Nov. 27, 2021, against Florida.

“We had a couple of extreme momentum swings, [but] I’m proud of how our guys fought,” said Norvell. “Our guys do battle and they believe. When you’re playing good football teams — and that’s what we faced the last three weeks — it’s going to come down to a handful of plays. We have to be more consistent throughout.”

FSU outgained Clemson in total yardage 460-370, with much of that yardage coming in the fourth quarter.

The Seminoles became the first team to rush for over 200 yards against Clemson since Louisville on Nov. 6, 2021, with Trey Benson (69 yards), Lawrance Toafili (68) and Travis (64) leading the way.

“I liked the game plan coming in and we knew you had to maintain some balance,” Norvell said of the ground game. “Our guys fought up front and there were some challenges, but the backs worked hard and Jordan made himself a factor in the run game as well.”

Uiagalelei finished with 203 yards with four total touchdowns while running back Will Shipley had a game-high 121 rushing yards and 48 receiving yards.

It was the third straight loss for FSU, which opened the season with four wins.

PHIL SEARS/AP Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis scores his second rushing touchdown of the season in the first half Saturday against Clemson.