If the black hat fits
Clemson football feels more compelling when Seminoles are real threat
Life is full of duality.
Joy needs sorrow. Yin needs yang. Light needs darkness.
Heroes need villains.
If you are of a persuasion to view the Clemson Tigers as the protagonist of the movie that is college football, there is no team that has been an antagonist as consistently over the last 40 years as the Florida State Seminoles.
Yes, South Carolina should fit that role more naturally, but the Seminoles’ position within the Tigers’ conference and periods of dominance set them apart from the Gamecocks.
Growing up as a Clemson fan during the late 90s and early 2000s when both schools were coached by Bowdens (legendary coach Bobby in Tallahassee and his son Tommy in Clemson), Florida State was juggernaut you could never see the Tigers being able to compete with.
But first came wins on the field and then came wins on the recruiting trail, and suddenly the playing field began to feel more equal as the collective Bowden eras ended with Dabo Swinney and Jimbo Fisher becoming the coaching combatants. By the late 2000s, it seemed like Clemson was edging ahead, but then Fisher found his quarterback in Jameis Winston and the Seminoles rattled off two gut-punch victories in a row in the series — a beatdown in what was supposed to be a top-5 showcase in Death Valley en route to a national title in 2013 and then a heartbreaker in overtime in Doak Campbell in 2014.
With Clemson finding a championship-caliber quarterback of its own in Deshaun Watson around that time and the Gamecocks’ streak of victories over the Tigers ending later in 2014, it felt like the only thing standing in the Tigers’ way was Florida State.
The pair played out a couple of epics over the next two years with the Tigers winning both late — a Wayne Gallman touchdown run to seal the 2015 win in Clemson, then Jordan Leggett’s legendary dive into the Doak Campbell endzone for the last of four second-half lead changes in a 37–34 Clemson victory that was one of the most indelible moments of the Tigers’ run to the national championship.
The rivalry hasn’t seen any moments like those since Ben Boulware and Christian Wilkins took Seminole quarterback Deondre Francois to the turf to seal that 2016 victory. After 2017, Fisher departed for Texas A&M thanks to an outrageous contract offer from the Aggies, and his replacement, Willie Taggert, lasted only two seasons before being ousted for Mike Norvell. Going into last season, the Tigers had won each of the last five games against the Seminoles and each of the last six ACC titles with the only indelible moment in games between the two teams being one of internet lore as a hefty Florida State fan was caught on camera reading a book shirtless in the Tallahassee sunshine as the Tigers were putting the final touches on a 51–14 win in 2018.
But there are signs the rivalry is returning. After a day-of-game COVID cancellation saw the Tigers and Seminoles not play in 2020, Norvell’s first game against Clemson went right down to the wire with a late desperation play by the Seminoles ending in a fumble recovery touchdown for the Tigers making the final scoreline of 30–20 rather misleading.
And now this weekend, Norvell gets his first crack at the Tigers at home to start trying to turn back the tide in the ACC. The Seminoles got off to their best start since 2015 with four straight wins but have lost two straight to Wake Forest and N.C. State. Nevertheless, this seems like a more cohesive team in that famous Garnet and Gold than they’ve had since the Fisher era.
Meanwhile, Clemson appears to have rebounded from their 2021 swoon, starting 6–0 with only the overtime thriller in Wake Forest going down to the wire. Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei has epitomized the team’s rebound by stringing together consistent performances to help the Tigers overcome any moments of shakiness.
With Clemson’s good play and Florida State’s back-to-back losses, a betting line where you only need to give 3.5 points in order to bet on the Tigers may raise your eyebrows. And with the midweek recruiting news of a former Clemson commit removing his pledge and likely to flip to Florida State, there’s certainly reason to believe Swinney will have a smattering of fire and brimstone in his pregame messaging to his team.
No matter how the game transpires, this previously dormant rivalry may be regaining its heartbeat. Although Clemson always seems to find a primary antagonist any season Florida State declines the role, there’s no denying whose head the proverbial black hat fits the best.
Sherlock Holmes had Professor Moriarty. The Batman had the Joker. This baseball season reminded us that the Braves have the Mets.
Under the lights of that famous stadium in the state capital of the Sunshine State with that eerie chant echoing through the cauldron of energized Seminole fans, it’ll be another chance to see if Clemson has its Florida State back.
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Robbie Tinsley is an award-winning columnist from his time as the sports editor of The Journal in Seneca, S.C. He now works on a freelance basis from his home in Massachusetts. He can be reached either via Twitter @RTinMan13 or email at robtinsley13@gmail.com.
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This column also appears in the Saturday edition of The (Seneca) Journal on October 15th.
