From 1992-2014, the Clemson Tigers posted only one win at Doak Campbell Stadium against the Florida State Seminoles. On Saturday, they’ll be searching for their fourth straight victory in Tallahassee.
Much like the recent history of the rivalry, which has seen the Tigers win seven of the last eight meetings with the Seminoles, Clemson and Florida State are two programs that are going in opposite directions heading into their Week 6 showdown.
The Tigers (3-1) have won three straight games since opening the year with a loss to preseason No. 1 Georgia and have outscored opponents by an average of 32 points in that span. Clemson is ranked No. 14 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll.
As for Florida State, everything that could have gone wrong for Mike Norvell’s team has. After going 13-0 last season to win the ACC, the Seminoles are 1-4 after last Saturday’s 42-16 loss at SMU.
Former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has not been what Seminoles fans had hoped for after transferring from Oregon State. Uiagalelei will miss Saturday’s game with a broken finger as Norvell turns to backup QB Brock Glenn, who started last year’s ACC Championship Game against Louisville.
The problems don’t begin and end at quarterback, though. The Seminoles’ defense gave up 458 yards to SMU in their most lopsided regular season loss since the 2020 season, Norvell’s first with the team. FSU has also struggled up front along the offensive line and not had many explosive plays or consistency from their running backs.
None of that matters to Dabo Swinney, who will be in his 16th game as a head coach in the Clemson-FSU rivalry this Saturday when the Tigers visit Tallahassee for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff. The game will be televised on ESPN.
“Florida State is always a really tough place to play,” Swinney said this week. “Their fans do a great job. There’s always a ton of energy down there. It’s Clemson-Florida State. Lot of well-documented history with this matchup. It doesn’t matter what the records are. None of that matters. There’s good players on both sides. Florida State’s got a bunch of guys that will be playing on Sunday.”
Swinney has seen his fair share of highlights and lowlights in the Clemson-FSU series, beginning with his first visit to Tallahassee as a member of Tommy Bowden’s coaching staff in 2004.
His first experience at Doak Campbell Stadium wasn’t a pleasant one. Florida State won, 41-22, with the Tigers in the midst of a four-game September losing streak.
“’04 was my first experience down there,” Swinney recalled. “I’d never been down there. We actually beat them in ’03. That’s probably why I’m still standing at this podium. I’m probably living in Boise or something if we’d have lost that game that year.”
A few years later in 2006, Clemson scored a 27-20 upset victory over the ninth-ranked ‘Noles in Tallahassee in Week 3, one week after falling 34-33 at Boston College in overtime.
Swinney lost in his first trip to Tallahassee as head coach in 2008 after replacing Tommy Bowden earlier in the season. Three more losses at Doak Campbell would follow until the Tigers won there in 2016.
In that game, Clemson got out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter before needing a 17-point fourth quarter to outlast Florida State, 37-34, and keep the Tigers’ unbeaten season alive.
“The ’16 game down there, Jordan Leggett in the fourth quarter was awesome,” Swinney said of the tight end’s 34-yard game-winning touchdown catch with two minutes remaining. “We were on the right side. We were down and had to rally. That was a big-time win. So, we’ve had a lot of great moments for sure.
“I thought our win down there in ’22 was big. Obviously that helped us win the ACC Championship. DJ had a great game in that game.”
With a win Saturday, Swinney would become the winningest coach at an ACC program and surpass Bobby Bowden with his 174th career victory.
“Got a lot of good memories and got some bad ones, too,” Swinney said of the Clemson-Florida State rivalry. “But it’s a great series and Florida State has been a great opponent for a long time.”
Florida State leads the all-time series, 21-15. A win by Clemson would give the Tigers eight victories in their last nine games against FSU.
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