Clemson Football: 3 takeaways from ACC rivalry win vs. Florida State

2. Seminoles receivers and coaches repeatedly failed Deondre Francois

Throughout the first half of the game, Deondre Francois was repeatedly let down by his receivers. The Florida State quarterback would put the ball on the numbers only to see his targets drop the pass. He would put it right on their fingertips only to watch it squirt through. An interception only served as an additional injury to go with the insult of finishing just 10-of-22 for 69 yards.

Once the game was well out of reach, Francois was still in the contest trying in vain to get Florida State back into a game that they had no chance to win. It proved costly, as Francois was injured and forced to go to the locker room early.

Why was the coaching staff even playing Francois in that situation? After watching how costly the premature end to his season proved in 2017 for the Seminoles, it was a curious decision by a new coaching staff that seemed unconcerned with the inherent risk of continuing to play their starter late in the blowout.

Now we will wait to see whether Francois is injured more critically or if this was just a precautionary measure. Either way, Florida State’s quarterback was let down repeatedly on Saturday.