The Clemson football program has had its fair share of failures against Florida State. Here are five moments Tiger fans absolutely hate.
The direction of the Clemson football program is not what it was just a little more than a decade ago. As a result, the Tigers had several times where they were beaten soundly by other programs or just couldn’t come up with key wins when they needed to.
This is epitomized in the rivalry between the Tigers and the Florida State Seminoles.
Florida State leads the overall series 20-12, but the Tigers are currently on a four-game winning streak.
Because of the success that Dabo Swinney has had in building the Clemson football program, it seems that many Tiger fans have forgotten that you don’t have to look too far back to find a time that Florida State was absolutely dominating Clemson on the field.
The Seminoles became a hated-rival over the 1990s and, especially in the 2000s with the Bowden Bowl. That was amplified over the course of the 2011-16 seasons where the two programs battled for national prominence and the conference each season.
Earlier this week, we took a look at five of the most memorable wins in Clemson football history against Florida State.
Now, we will take a look at five moments in the rivalry in which Tiger fans absolutely hate. If these don’t get your blood boiling, I’m not sure what will.
5. The Bowden Bowl beginnings (1999)
The very first Bowden Bowl happened in Death Valley in 1999. For those unfamiliar, the ‘Bowden Bowl’ is referred to as the games between Clemson and Florida State in which Tommy Bowden (Tiger coach) and his father Bobby Bowden (FSU coach) were the head coaches of the respective programs.
The Bowden Bowl took a turn in Clemson’s favor over the course of the mid-2000s, but the very first matchup went to the Seminoles.
Clemson led Florida State 14-6 late in the third quarter, but the Seminoles rallied. Ultimately, FSU kicker Sebastian Janikowski hit a 39-yard field goal with less than six minutes to go to give Florida State the lead and Clemson kicker Tony Lazzara missed a 41-yard attempt with just a little over a minute remaining.
It was a heart-breaking loss and it served as win No. 300 in Bobby Bowden’s career.
This would be the closest game Florida State would play all year on its way to a National Championship.
4. Upset Rejected (2014)
This is one of the more recent games on our list and it’s one filled with the question of ‘What if?’
In 2014, Clemson had already lost a game to Georgia and the Tigers were set to travel down to Tallahassee to take on the No. 1 ranked Florida State Seminoles.
Florida State was without its QB Jameis Winston, who had been suspended, and the Tigers had an upset on their mind.
Cole Stoudt started the game and missed on an easy throw early in the game. From that point, freshman Deshaun Watson took over as the QB. The Tigers battled for most of the night and seemed to have finally gotten the momentum-shifting play they needed when Jadar Johnson intercepted FSU QB Sean Maguire and returned the ball to Florida State 30-yard line with the game tied at 17 apiece.
Unfortunately, Adam Choice fumbled just two plays later and that allowed Florida State to force overtime. Clemson was stopped on a fourth down conversion and the Seminoles held on for a 23-17 victory.
3. Shutout in 1993
You want to talk about an embarrassing moment in Clemson football history? How about being blown out 57-0 by Florida State in 1993?
This was supposed to be a top-25 matchup, but it certainly didn’t turn out that way. Trailing 23-0 in the second quarter, Clemson had 1st-and-Goal from the 4-yard line. The Tigers couldn’t achieve the yardage in four tries and the rout was officially on from that point.
FSU QB Charlie Ward threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns and the Seminoles had two non-offensive touchdowns.
In an era where the Tigers were trying to recover, this game set the program back in a big way.
2. Beatdown in front of the nation
Perhaps a blowout more embarrassing than the 1993 debacle came in 2013 at home.
This was the only top-five matchup in the history of the rivalry and Clemson was absolutely overwhelmed.
With Jameis Winston at quarterback, Florida State embarrassed Clemson 51-14 with the eyes of the nation watching.
This game was thought to be a propeller into the National Championship game for whichever team won and that’s exactly what happened. The Seminoles went on to win the National Championship and the Tigers lost a game to South Carolina to close out the regular season with a 10-2 record.
A night that had the makings of magic and electric atmosphere in the pregame soon turned to utter disappointment for the Clemson football faithful.
1. Puntrooskie
This is the most infamous moment in the history of the Clemson-FSU rivalry, if you’re looking at it from the Tigers’ perspective.
With less than two minutes to play in a tied game in 1988, Clemson’s defense had forced a stop inside FSU’s 25-yard line.
The Seminoles sent out the punt team and it looked as if the best they could hope for was a tie in the battle of top-10 teams.
What happened next will live in the lore of College Football for the rest of history: It’s known as the ‘Puntrooskie.’
FSU Punter Tim Corlew faked as if the snap had gone over his head while upback Dayne Williams took the snap and handed the ball to safety LeRoy Butler. Williams ran to the right and Butler remained motionless. As Tiger defenders began to rush after Williams, Butler took off down the left side of the field going 78 yards all the way down to the Clemson 1-yard line.
Florida State would kick a game-winning field goal with a little over 30 seconds remaining and Tiger fans were left stunned.