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Game Notes: Clemson 36, Florida State 24

Game Notes: Clemson 36, Florida State 24Game Notes: Clemson 36, Florida State 24

WITH THE WIN…

  • Head Coach Dabo Swinney (192-56) passed Nick Saban and Bob Stoops (191 each) for sole possession of the second-most wins through the first 20 seasons of a head coaching career in FBS history, behind Tom Osborne (195). Swinney accomplished the feat in his 19th season (and only his 18th full season). Note: Stoops is not credited on the NCAA’s official list of most wins through 20 seasons since he did not coach 20 years. 
  • With his 117th career ACC regular season victory, Swinney tied Bobby Bowden’s conference record for career head coaching wins in ACC regular season play. Swinney already holds the conference record for overall wins as an ACC head coach.
  • Swinney improved to 12-6 all-time against Florida State.
  • Clemson earned its 18th all-time victory against Florida State and its eighth all-time victory in Tallahassee.
  • Clemson improved to 10-1 against Florida State since 2015.
  • Clemson won a fifth consecutive game at Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time in series history. 
  • Clemson became only the third program ever to win five consecutive road games against Florida State in Tallahassee, joining Florida (six straight from 1966-76) and Miami (Fla.) (five from 1957-77).
  • Clemson improved to 16-7 all-time in games played on Halloween, including a 10-5 all-time mark in Halloween games away from home. 
  • Clemson improved to 43-13 in games following a loss under Dabo Swinney, including season openers following a loss in the previous season finale. 
  • Clemson has now won 38 consecutive games against teams with a losing record, the third-longest active streak in the country. Clemson has not lost to a team with a losing record at the time of kickoff since losing to 2-5 Boston College in 2010.
  • Clemson pushed its road record this season to 2-1.
  • Clemson improved to 11-2 in its last 13 regular season road games.
  • Clemson improved to 62-19 in games away from home since 2015, including a 46-11 mark in true road games in that span.
  • Clemson extended its road winning streak against ACC opponents to five games, dating to last season. It represents Clemson's first five-game road winning streak in ACC play since 2021-22.
  • Clemson improved to 38-13 in night games since the start of the 2018 season and 59-16 in night games since 2015.
  • Clemson improved to 115-23 in regular season play since the start of the 2015 season. 
  • Clemson improved to 86-16 against ACC opponents since the start of the 2015 season.
  • Clemson is now 24-17 in games started by true freshman quarterbacks since the NCAA instituted permanent freshman eligibility in 1972.
  • Clemson is now 132-7 since 2011 when scoring 30 or more points, the nation's second-highest winning percentage in such games.
  • Clemson is now 97-10 when scoring first since the start of the 2015 season.
  • Clemson is now 92-6 when winning the turnover margin since 2011, including a 1-0 mark this year.
  • Clemson is now 46-1 when intercepting multiple passes in a game since the start of the 2015 season.
  • Clemson is now 165-12 under Dabo Swinney when leading at halftime, including a 148-8 mark since the start of the 2011 season.
  • Clemson is now 155-8 when leading after three quarters since the start of the 2011 season. Clemson is 171-11 in such games under Swinney.

GAME NOTES

  • Clemson recorded a season-high four takeaways, its most since November 2025 at South Carolina (four).
  • Conversely, Clemson produced no giveaways and has now recorded zero giveaways in consecutive games for the first time since 2024 against Florida State and Wake Forest.
  • Clemson produced a third straight giveaway-free game in its series with Florida State for the first time in series history. Clemson had zero giveaways in wins against Florida State in both 2024 and 2025.
  • Clemson snapped an eight-game streak in which it hadn't won the turnover margin, dating to last season. In that span, Clemson has finished even in the turnover margin five times and lost the turnover margin three times. 
  • Clemson recorded a positive turnover margin for the first time since a plus-three performance in the 2025 regular season finale at South Carolina.
  • Clemson has now held opponents to 24 or fewer points in 11 straight ACC road games, the Tigers’ longest streak since an 11-game stretch of ACC road games from 1976-80. Clemson has not surrendered more than 24 points on the road to an ACC team since Miami (Fla.) required double overtime to score 28 points on Clemson in 2023.
  • Clemson outscored Florida State, 10-0, in the “Middle Eight,” defined as the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. In Clemson’s five-game winning streak in Tallahassee, the Tigers have cumulatively outscored the Seminoles by a 57-7 margin in the Middle Eight.
  • Clemson is now 82-5 since 2015 when outscoring opponents in the Middle Eight.
  • Clemson held Florida State to 1-of-10 on third downs. It marks the second time this season Clemson has held an opponent to one or fewer third-down conversions (0-for-11 vs. Charleston Southern).
  • Quarterback Tait Reynolds completed 18-of-32 passes for 189 yards and a career-high two passing touchdowns. He also led Clemson with a career-high 85 yards on 14 carries with one rushing touchdown.
  • Reynolds became the first Clemson quarterback to lead the Tigers in rushing yards in back-to-back games since DJ Uiagalelei against NC State and Boston College in 2022.
  • Reynolds became the first Clemson quarterback to rush for a touchdown in consecutive games since a three-game streak by Cade Klubnik in September 2024.
  • Reynolds sealed the game with a 79-yard touchdown scramble late in the fourth quarter.
  • The 79-yard run by Reynolds was Clemson’s longest run of the season.
  • Reynolds’ 79-yard run was the longest by a quarterback in Clemson history. The previous record was 75 yards, shared by Steve Fuller (vs. Virginia Tech in 1978) and Woodrow Dantzler (at Virginia in 2000).
  • The 79-yard run by Reynolds was the longest by a Clemson freshman since Travis Etienne’s 81-yard touchdown run at Louisville in 2017.
  • Tight end Christian Bentancur recorded his second touchdown reception of the season on an 18-yard first-quarter catch-and-run.
  • The touchdown reception was the fifth of Bentancur’s career.
  • Tight end Olsen Patt-Henry added his first touchdown reception of the season on a four-yard reception in the second quarter.
  • The touchdown reception was Patt-Henry’s fourth career receiving touchdown and his first since a two-touchdown game against Virginia on Oct. 19, 2024.
  • Wide receiver T.J. Moore extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 35 games, passing Aaron Kelly (34 from 2006-08) for sole possession of the sixth-longest streak in Clemson history.
  • Safety Jerome Carter III recorded his first career sack on the game’s opening drive, forcing Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels out of bounds shy of the line of scrimmage.
  • Carter added his first interception as a Tiger in the second quarter. It was the seventh interception of his career.
  • Carter is the son of former Florida State defensive back Jerome Carter Jr. Carter tied his father for both sacks and interceptions at Doak Campbell Stadium, as only one of the elder Carter’s 2.5 career sacks and one of his three interceptions came at home.
  • Cornerback Elliot Washington II recorded a career-high-tying two interceptions, matching his two picks at Cal in September.
  • Washington became the first Clemson player to record two multi-interception games in a season since 2009, when DeAndre McDaniel did so against Georgia Tech and Miami (Fla.)
  • Washington added to his career high with his team-leading fourth and fifth interceptions of the season.
  • The game was the second multi-interception performance of the season for Clemson’s defense (two at Cal).
  • Clemson recorded its third takeaway of the game on the first forced fumble of defensive lineman Darien Mayo’s career. The fumble was recovered by Jahiem Lawson, the second fumble recovery of his career and his first since 2024 at Pitt.
  • Mayo added a sack on a forced intentional grounding in the fourth quarter.
  • Linebacker Sammy Brown recorded his second sack of the season in the third quarter.
  • Defensive end Will Heldt recorded his seventh sack of the season by forcing an intentional grounding on the final play of the third quarter. With 7.0 sacks on the season, Heldt is now a half-sack shy of his career high (7.5 in 2025).
  • With 2.5 tackles for loss in the game, Heldt (11.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks) reached double digits in tackles for loss on the year to record his third consecutive collegiate season with at least 10.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. He became the 35th FBS player in the College Football Playoff era to reach those marks in three different seasons.
  • Clemson’s defense forced three-and-outs on each of Florida State’s first three drives. It marked the second time this season Clemson’s defense opened a game with three or more consecutive three-and-outs (six vs. Georgia Southern).
  • It was Clemson’s first time forcing three three-and-outs to start a game against a power conference opponent since 2021 at South Carolina. 
  • Kicker Nolan Hauser went 5-for-5 on field goals, 3-for-3 on PATs and averaged 44.0 yards on two punts. 
  • Hauser is now 23-of-24 on field goals this season and 58-of-69 for his career.
  • With the performance, Hauser (84.0) moved past Bob Paulling's Clemson record for career field goal percentage (82.9 from 1979-83).
  • After entering the game outside the top 10 in the category, Hauser’s 23 made field goals this season are now tied with B.T. Potter (23 in 2021) for the fourth-most in a season in Clemson history.
  • Hauser converted a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter. On the kick, he recorded a field goal in his 17th consecutive game to pull within one game of Greg Huegel's school record of 18 set across the 2015-16 seasons.
  • Hauser’s second field goal — a 35-yarder in the second quarter — was his 10th consecutive made field goal. The streak joined streaks of 11 straight field goals in 2025 and 10 straight field goals earlier in the 2026 season to make him the first kicker in Clemson history to record three career streaks of 10 or more consecutive successful field goal attempts.
  • On his third field goal — a 50-yarder to end the first half — Hauser became the first Clemson kicker with three or more field goals in three consecutive games since Greg Huegel in 2015 against NC State, Florida State and Syracuse.
  • Hauser leads the nation in games with three or more field goals this season (five). 
  • Hauser recorded his sixth career field goal of 50 or more yards to pass Donald Igwebuike (five from 1981-84) and Chris Gardocki (five from 1988-90) for sole possession of second-most in Clemson history.
  • Hauser recorded his third field goal of 50 or more yards this season to match the single-season school record shared by B.T. Potter (three in 2019), Richard Jackson (three in 2009) and Chris Gardocki (three in 1990).
  • Hauser added a 46-yarder in the third quarter, giving him his fourth career game (and second this season) with four or more field goals.
  • Hauser converted a 49-yarder in the fourth quarter, matching his career-high with his fifth field goal of the night.
  • Hauser tied Nelson Welch (three) for the most career three-field-goal games in Clemson history.
  • On the kick, Hauser extended his streak of consecutive made field goals to a career-long 13 attempts. The 13 consecutive made field goals tie B.T. Potter (2021) for the fourth-longest streak in Clemson history.
  • Hauser has now recorded 13 career field goals against the Seminoles, including 10 at Doak Campbell Stadium.
  • With the performance, Hauser (58) passed No. 7 Greg Huegel (54) and No. 6 Aaron Hunt (55) on Clemson's leaderboard for career field goals in school history.
  • Hauser’s field goals covered 215 yards, two shy of the single-game school record (217, Richard Jackson vs. Boston College in 2009). It was the second time in Clemson history a kicker converted 200 yards worth of field goals. 
  • Hauser punted twice, including a long of 53 yards. The 53-yarder was his second punt of 50 or more yards on four punts this season.
  • Clemson recorded four sacks and has now reached four or more sacks in three consecutive games for the first time since a five-game streak to end 2022 against Louisville, Miami (Fla.), South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.
  • Kick returner Chris Johnson Jr. recorded a 38-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. He has a return of 38 or more yards in three of Clemson’s last four games.
  • The game was played on the 130th anniversary of the first game in Clemson history, a 14-6 win against Furman on Oct. 31, 1896.
  • Clemson played its sixth night game of the season to match the 1949 campaign for Clemson's most night games through the first eight games of a season in school history.
  • Clemson’s captains for the contest were safety Jerome Carter III, cornerback Ashton Hampton, wide receiver T.J. Moore and tight end Olsen Patt-Henry.