Boyd, Clemson upend No. 11 Florida State

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Tajh Boyd threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as No. 21 Clemson opened Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 35-30 victory over No. 11 Florida State yesterday.

Boyd threw for 344 yards for the Tigers, who reached 4-0 for the first time since 2007. Freshman Sammy Watkins had two of Boyd's scoring passes for 24 and 62 yards as Clemson beat the Seminoles (2-2, 0-1) for the fifth straight time in Death Valley.

Watkins had eight catches for 141 yards, his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game.

Florida State played without starting quarterback EJ Manuel, hurt in last week's 23-13 loss to top-ranked Oklahoma. Backup Clint Trickett threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns.

His 9-yard touchdown throw to Kenny Shaw brought Florida State to 35-30 with 7:21 to go. The Seminoles had one final chance, but Trickett was sacked by lineman Rennie Moore on fourth down and the Tigers ran out the clock.

The Seminoles were ranked fifth in the country two weeks ago and considered a national championship contender. Now, they're not even tops in the ACC Atlantic after their second straight defeat.

The Seminoles had 11 penalties for 124 yards.

Trickett, son of FSU offensive line coach Rick, was 24-for-38 with an interception and two sacks, both in the second half.-- AP