Clemson, SC — It is Game Day at Death Valley where Clemson looks to take down Florida State.
The Tigers look to continue the home win streak which stands at 31 games.
Location: Memorial Stadium (Death Valley)
Kickoff: 3:30 PM
Television: ESPN
Announcers: Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III, Quint Kessenich
2021 Record: Clemson 4-3, Florida State 3-4
ACC Record: Clemson 3-2, Florida State 2-2
Series History: Florida State leads 20-13
Last Meeting: Clemson won 45-14 on October 12, 2019
CLEMSON TO HOST FLORIDA STATE AT DEATH VALLEY
After an open date and two road games, Clemson will return to Death Valley for the first time in four weeks when the Tigers host the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, Oct. 30. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Clemson returns to Death Valley riding the nation’s longest home winning streak, dating to 2016. Clemson’s current 31-game streak is presently tied with 1890-93 Yale, 1990-95 Texas A&M and 2001-05 Boise State (31
each) for the 18th-longest home winning streak in FBS history. That streak includes two home victories against Florida State, a 31-14 win in 2017 and a 45-14 win in 2019.
Clemson’s active 31-game winning streak includes 19 wins against ACC opponents, four wins against SEC opponents, one win each against Conference USA, MAC and Sun Belt opponents and five FCS wins. Clemson has outscored opponents 1,316-367 in the streak, an average
score of 42.5-11.8.
From 2015-19, Clemson became the first school to defeat Florida State in ACC play in five consecutive games, a streak Clemson will attempt to push to six straight games with a win on Saturday. Miami (Fla.) previously defeated Florida State in six straight games from 2000-04, including a bowl game, but only the final game of that streak came during Miami’s ACC membership.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK
– Clemson attempting to win its 32nd consecutive home game to extend its school record for both the longest home winning streak and longest home unbeaten streak in school history (as well as extend the nation’s longest active home winning streak). Of the 132 players on Clemson’s 2021 roster, 127 have never experienced a home loss in their Clemson careers. Five sixth-year “super seniors” on Clemson’s 2021 roster were on the 2016 team that recovered from a home loss to Pitt by winning the national championship that season.
– Clemson (31) attempting to pass 1890-93 Yale, 1990-95 Texas A&M and 2001-05 Boise State (31 each) for sole possession of the 18th-longest home winning streak in FBS history.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 29-7 in games following a loss under Dabo Swinney, including season openers following a loss in the previous season finale. Clemson has not lost back-to-back games in the same
season since November 2011.
– Clemson and Florida State meeting in 2021 after having represented the conference in the ACC Championship Game every year since 2009, Dabo
Swinney’s first full season as the Tigers’ head coach. Clemson represented the division (or earned a divisionless berth in 2020) in the championship game eight times in those 12 years, with Florida State doing so in the other
four. The winner of this annual game has won the ACC Championship in nine of the last 10 years, with the lone exception in that span coming in 2020 after cancellation of the Clemson/Florida State game.
– Clemson attempting to win six consecutive games against Florida State for the first time in series history.
– Clemson, which was already the first school to defeat Florida State in ACC play in five consecutive games, attempting to push that winning streak to six straight games. (Note: Miami previously defeated Florida State in six straight games from 2000-04, including a bowl game, but only the final game of that streak came during Miami’s ACC membership.)
– Clemson attempting to earn its 14th all-time victory against Florida State.
– Clemson attempting to improve to 9-8 against the Seminoles in Death Valley all-time to give Clemson the advantage in its all-time home record against Florida State for the first time in series history.
CLEMSON, DABO SWINNEY REMEMBER THE LIFE & LEGACY OF BOBBY BOWDEN
Clemson and the entire college football community suffered a tremendous loss in August upon the passing of legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden.
Though Bowden is inextricably and undeniably linked to Florida State, his influence remains large in Clemson’s program in the present day. Head Coach Dabo Swinney came to Clemson as wide receivers coach in 2003 under
Bobby’s son, Tommy, who was Clemson’s head coach at the time. Terry Bowden, another of Bobby’s children, would also spend time at Clemson, serving as an unpaid graduate intern for two seasons from 2019-20 before
taking the head coaching job at Louisiana-Monroe.
The family atmosphere for which the elder Bowden was famous at Florida State remains a staple at Clemson now. Staff children are routinely present around Clemson’s facility and the program hosts family dinners every Wednesday for student-athletes to be able to see coaches and staff not just in a professional capacity but also as models of the importance of being a good husband and good father. Clemson will honor the Bowden family with a
video tribute during a first-half timeout this week.
RECLAIMING THE VALLEY
With a win on Saturday, Clemson can hold the advantage in its all-time home record against Florida State for the first time in series history.
Despite a number of memorably close contests, Florida State won its first seven games at Death Valley from 1975-2001. Clemson earned its first home win in the series in 2003, when Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden defeated his father, Bobby, for the first time and did so on his father’s birthday. That win kickstarted a five-game home winning streak for the Tigers against the Seminoles prior to a Florida State victory in 2013.
Clemson has since won the last three meetings in Death Valley and has accrued wins in eight of the teams’ last nine meetings in Memorial Stadium to even the series in the facility at 8-8.
Clemson has faced 60 different programs at Death Valley since the facility opened in 1942. With a win Saturday, Florida State would be the 47th opponent against whom Clemson would hold a winning record in Memorial Stadium. Eight programs other than Florida State presently have .500 records against Clemson in Death Valley, and only five programs hold winning records against Clemson at the site (Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Alabama, George Washington and Marshall).
TCI Predictions
Robert – Clemson 31, Florida State 17
Sam – Clemson 20, Florida State 16
Davis – Clemson 19, Florida State 16