ACC no Longer Belongs to Clemson

CHARLOTTE — Though Clemson fans were not happy with the Tigers’ overtime loss to Florida State last year, in reality, it was probably one of the best things that happened to the ACC.

The Seminoles not only beat Clemson in Death Valley last year, but they went on to win the league championship, too. It created a little more balance in a league that Clemson had owned in seven of the last eight years.

“It was big because for a long time it was the ACC’s biggest rivalry,” Florida State’s Patrick Payton said Monday from the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte. “It was either Clemson or Florida State. We are now back to where we are not losing that game. It is going to be a battle every year from here on out.”

Prior to last year, the Tigers had beaten FSU seven straight times. Payton says last year’s win brings some substance back into the rivalry, while also proving the ACC is not a one-team race anymore.

“That is always a big game. We respect those guys and they respect us, but when we get on the field it is two different things.”

FSU leads the all-time series 21-15, but Clemson has dominated the rivalry since 2003. The Tigers have won 14 of the last 21 meetings.

From 2009-2019, the winner of the Clemson-FSU game represented the Atlantic Division in the ACC Championship Game. From 2011-2020, Clemson or Florida State won the ACC Championship every year.

The only time someone other than Clemson or FSU won the ACC came in 2021 when Pittsburgh won the championship.

This year’s Clemson-FSU game will have an even different spin on it. Once known as the Bowden Bowl, when Tommy Bowden (Clemson’s head coach) and his father Bobby Bowden (FSU’s head coach) coached against each other, former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei could be the Seminoles’ starter when the two teams meet in Tallahassee, Fla., on Oct. 5.

“If you look at college football in general, there are a lot of people moving around in general,” FSU center Darius Washington said. “So, for me, are you coming in to really help us or are you coming in just for yourself.

“He is coming in to help us. He is genuine. He is a great leader. It does not really matter where he has come from or how he did [at Clemson].”