By Will Vandervort.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — There isn’t a quarterback controversy anymore at Clemson – Deshaun Watson is the Tigers starter.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said following Saturday’s heartbreaking 23-17 overtime loss to top-ranked Florida State that the true freshman has earned the right to be the Tigers’ starter next week when they host North Carolina at 7 p.m. in Death Valley.

“Deshaun really separated himself and made some big time plays,” Swinney said.

Watson finished the game 19 of 28 for 266 yards, while also running for 30 more, and including a two-yard score in the fourth quarter that gave No. 22 Clemson a 17-10 lead at the time.

“For true freshman to come into that environment – he made some great plays,” Swinney said.

Watson made a lot of plays. On his first drive, he hit Mike Williams for 33 yards over the middle and then found Germone Hopper for 33 yards to the Florida State 18. That set up a 30-yard Ammon Lakip field goal that tied the game at 3-3 with 14:52 to play in the first half.

On Clemson’s next scoring drive, Watson completed a pass for 28 yards to Hopper to the FSU 17. Then on third-and-six from the 13, he hit tight end Jordan Leggett for 12 yards that put the ball at the one and set up D.J. Howard’s one-yard run for a 10-3 lead with 5:56 to play in the second quarter.

“I just tried my best to help the team out,” Watson said. “They kept putting me in there and I went out there and did my best.”

Watson continued to make plays in the second half with both his arms and his legs. One time he converted a third down when he avoided pressure, kept his eyes up field and hit Adam Humphries with an 18-yard gain for a first down. He threw a back should fade to tight end Stanton Seckinger that moved the football to the one yard line at one point and also hit Charone Peake with a 17-yard gain late in the game on third-and-long.

The freshman also had a 39-yard pass to Williams in the fourth quarter that set up his own two-yard score.

“He made a few plays with his feet early on so we decided to stick with him and he brought us a good spark,” Swinney said.

Swinney said he feels for Cole Stoudt because he played well in the first two games of the season, but against top-ranked Florida State, when the whole world was watching, it was obvious Watson was the better player and deserved to stay in the game.

“I hurt for Cole because he has performed well, but he missed on a couple of opportunities,” Swinney said.

One of those opportunities came on Clemson’s second drive when the Tigers marched down the field and had a third-and-three from the FSU six-yard line. The Tigers called a play-action pass where Leggett was wide open in the flats and would have easily scored. But the Seminoles brought pressure and Stoudt threw the ball at Leggett’s feet. Lakip missed a 23-yard field goal try on the next play.

After a three-and-out on Clemson’s next possession, as planned, offensive coordinator Chad Morris brought in Watson and the freshman played the rest of the night.

“It was a decision I had to make based on that time,” Swinney said. “Deshaun really separated himself and made some big-time plays.

“He had some awesome runs and he extended some plays. He gave us a chance to win the game.”

And now he has earned the chance to be a starter.

“You can say I earned it. I don’t take a backseat to anyone,” Watson said. “I just go out there and work hard every day. If it is my time and that’s what they want to do, then I’m up for it.”