Clemson Football: Tigers troll FSU with Christian Wilkins touchdown run

Clemson football is having fun in their Week 9 game with Florida State, letting defensive lineman Christian Wilkins score his first offensive touchdown of the season.

There was a time when the annual contest between Florida State and Clemson decided the winner of the ACC. A down ACC Coastal over the past several years set this game up as the de facto conference championship game with a trip to the College Football Playoff often hanging in the balance.

The 2018 version of the rivalry has been quite different from those heavyweight battles. No. 2 Clemson entered the game as a hefty favorite over unranked Florida State. So far the Tigers have calmly controlled both sides of the ball, stamping their trademark grit all over the Week 9 contest.

Then Clemson busted out an unconventional play that added insult to a game that was already trending away from Florida State. Defensive lineman Christian Wilkins, who projects as a first round pick in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft, got the call from the goal line. He rumbled in for a touchdown which put the Tigers on top 21-0.

Big man touchdowns are fun for the fans, but this one was a bit of a slap in the face to Willie Taggart and the Seminoles. Before Wilkins rumbled into the endzone this was a 14-0 game in the second quarter. Clemson was in the driver’s seat, but the game was far from over. A schoolyard play like a defensive lineman touchdown run is typically reserved for blowouts, and while this game might get there soon, it was still close at the time.

For Florida State and Taggart, the deficit is their own creation. The Seminoles’ offense has been lethargic, unable to get rolling with Cam Akers or Deondre Francois. If they can’t figure thins out during halftime Wilkins might just get another call before this one is through.