PHOTO GALLERY | BOX SCORE | GAME NOTES
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds broke through for a 79-yard rushing touchdown on third-and-12 with 3:17 to play to lift Clemson (5-3, 3-2 ACC) to a 36-24 win over Florida State (3-5, 1-4 ACC) on Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium. Reynolds broke a tackle and took off down the Clemson sideline with a final block from T.J. Moore for the longest run by a quarterback in program history.
With the victory, Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney tied Florida State legend Bobby Bowden’s conference record for career wins in ACC regular season play (117 each). Two years ago in the same location, Swinney passed Bowden for the ACC record for overall career wins as an ACC head coach.
Florida State had cut a 29-10 Clemson advantage to five points with 5:30 to play. Clemson took over and got behind the chains after a holding call on first down, setting up Reynolds’ heroics.
Placekicker Nolan Hauser hit all five of his field goal attempts and Reynolds completed 18-of-32 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns (one rushing), adding 85 rushing yards.
Clemson’s opportunistic defense forced a season-high four turnovers, including a pair of interceptions by Elliot Washington II, and the unit added nine tackles for loss, four of which were sacks. 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).
The Tigers took a 23-10 lead into halftime behind two Reynolds passing touchdowns to tight ends Christian Bentancur and Olsen Patt-Henry as well as three field goals from Nolan Hauser, including a 50-yarder as time expired. The Tigers added 10 points in the final 1:38 on the back of a pair of interceptions.
Clemson capitalized on favorable starting field position on its second possession and drove 30 yards in two plays, capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass from Reynolds to Bentancur to take an early 7-0 lead.
Following a Clemson punt on its ensuing possession, Florida State responded with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Ashton Daniels to Micahi Danzi to cap a two-play, 67-yard drive, leveling the score at 7-7 with 7:08 remaining in the first quarter.
Clemson reclaimed the lead, finishing a 10-play drive with a 35-yard field goal by Nolan Hauser to get back in front, 10-7, with 2:01 remaining in the opening stanza. The drive was set up by a 38-yard kickoff return by Chris Johnson Jr.
Florida State drove into Clemson territory on its next possession, but was ultimately forced to settle for a field goal attempt of its own. Gabe Panikowski made the 35-yarder to tie the game at 10-10 early in the second quarter.
Hauser made his 20th field goal of the season to give Clemson a 13-10 lead with 7:21 remaining in the first half. The 35-yarder punctuated a 13-play, 58-yard drive.
Jerome Carter III recorded the first takeaway of the game, intercepting Daniels on third-and-6 to give Clemson possession at its own 49-yard line with 4:40 remaining in the opening half. Clemson then added to its lead, finishing an 11-play, 51-yard drive with a four-yard passing score from Reynolds to Patt-Henry.
Three plays later, Washington intercepted Daniels with 52 seconds remaining in the half, giving Clemson the ball in Seminole territory at the 39-yard line. Clemson capitalized with a Hauser 50-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, taking a 23-10 lead into the halftime break.
After the teams traded punts on the first two drives of the second half, Hauser made a 46-yard field goal, his fourth of the night, to extend the Clemson lead to 26-10 with 8:00 remaining in the third quarter.
On the next possession, Florida State drove into Clemson territory before Darien Mayo forced a Daniels fumble on fourth-and-3 that was recovered by Jahiem Lawson for the Tigers’ third takeaway of the contest.
Hauser added to the lead with his fifth field goal of the contest, a 49-yarder which extended Clemson’s advantage to 29-10 with 11:04 remaining. Florida State answered with a 13-yard Daniels touchdown run and a two-point shovel pass to Desirrio Riles to trim the lead to 29-18.
After a Clemson three-and-out, Florida State scored quickly, cutting their deficit to 29-24 with a 41-yard strike from Daniels to Jasen Lopez and an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.
Facing a critical third-and-12, Reynolds scampered 79 yards for a touchdown to extend Clemson’s lead back to two scores. A successful Hauser PAT gave the Tigers a 36-24 advantage with 3:17 remaining.
Florida State drove to the Clemson nine-yard line, but Washington’s second interception of the game put Clemson’s 36-24 victory on ice.
Clemson will remain on the road next week when the Tigers face Syracuse at noon ET on Saturday, Nov. 7. The Tigers will return to Memorial Stadium a week later on Saturday, Nov. 14, against Georgia Tech; ticket information for that Senior Day game is available at ClemsonTigers.com/FootballTickets.