Clemson–Florida State football rivalry
| First meeting | November 7, 1970 Florida State 38, Clemson 13 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | October 29, 2016 Clemson 37, Florida State 34 |
| Next meeting | 2017 in Clemson |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 30 |
| All-time series | Florida State leads, 20–10 |
| Largest victory | Florida State, 57–0 (1993) |
| Longest win streak | Florida State, 11 (1992–2002) |
| Current win streak | Clemson, 2 (2015–present) |
The Clemson–Florida State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Clemson Tigers football team of Clemson University and Florida State Seminoles football team of Florida State University. The schools have played each other annually since 1992. Both universities are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and since the ACC initiated divisional play in 2005, both teams have competed in the ACC's Atlantic Division. For several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the matchup was known alternatively as the Bowden Bowl for the father, former head coach Bobby Bowden of the Seminoles, and the son, Tommy Bowden, formerly head coach of the Tigers.
Similar to a period in the late 1980s, the now annual football game has recently seen a resurgence with national implications as both programs have returned to the national spotlight. In 2016, CBS Sports named the Clemson–Florida State matchup as "the best annual game in college football", stating "Clemson–Florida State has supplanted Alabama–LSU as the one annual game you can bank on needing to watch to figure out the postseason." Both programs have accounted for over 30 ACC titles, and have represented the Atlantic Coast Conference consistently in the post season since 2011.
Clemson and FSU first played in 1970, predating Florida State's membership in the ACC. The actual rivalry started to emerge in 1988 when the No. 3 Clemson Tigers hosted the No. 10 Seminoles in a "clash of styles" marked by FSU's highly touted skill talent and passing attack, versus Clemson's well regarded option, linemen and linebackers, that was ultimately decided by Leroy Butler's 78-yard "puntrooskie" run, costing Clemson the victory and dashing their national title hopes. Clemson avenged the loss in 1989, dominating the trenches, with a 34–23 victory in Tallahassee, marked by a 73-yard scoring run by Terry Allen and a 73-yard interception return by Wayne Simmons. The Seminoles and Tigers finished the 1989 season with 10–2 records, and ranked No. 3 and No. 12 in the final AP poll, respectively. The series also marked the only two games coached by Danny Ford and Bobby Bowden, who were the 3rd and 9th ranked coaches in winning percentage in college football at the time.
...
Wikipedia