Clemson – Florida State football rivalry The Clemson – Florida State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Clemson Tigers football team of Clemson University and Florida State Seminoles football team of Florida State University . Both universities are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) , and since the ACC initiated divisional play in 2005 , both teams have competed in the ACC ' s Atlantic Division . For several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s , the matchup was known alternatively as the Bowden Bowl for the father , former head coach Bobby Bowden of the Seminoles , and the son , Tommy Bowden , formerly head coach of the Tigers . Series history . Clemson and FSU first played in 1970 , predating Florida State ' s membership in the ACC . The actual rivalry started to emerge in 1988 when the No . 3 Clemson Tigers hosted the No . 10 Seminoles in a grueling match - up , that was ultimately decided by Leroy Butler ' s 78 - yard " puntrooskie " run , costing Clemson the victory and dashing their national title hopes . Clemson avenged the loss in 1989 , with a dominating 34 – 23 victory in Tallahassee , marked by a 73 - yard scoring run by Terry Allen and a 73 - yard interception return by Wayne Simmons . The Seminoles and Tigers finished the 1989 season with 10 – 2 records , and ranked No . 3 and No . 12 in the final AP poll , respectively . Prior to FSU ' s arrival , Clemson was a dominant team in the ACC winning six of the past 11 ACC titles from 1981 – 91 . However , after the departure of Clemson ' s national championship winning coach Danny Ford in 1989 , the 1991 ACC title would be their last until 2011 , as Florida State ' s success continued for much of the 1990s , with less consistent opposition in the conference . The rivalry picked up , however , when Tommy Bowden , son of FSU coach Bobby Bowden was hired at Clemson University in 1999 , in an attempt to help rebuild the program . Tommy vs . Bobby . When Tommy Bowden was named head coach of Clemson on December 2 , 1998 , the opportunity arose for the first ever meeting between a father and his son as opposing head coaches on the football field . This became known as " The Bowden Bowl " . Florida State and Clemson have faced each other on a yearly basis since Florida State joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1992 . In 2005 , when the ACC expanded to twelve teams , Clemson and Florida State were placed together in the Atlantic Division ; this allowed the teams to continue to face each other without interruption . The first meeting in 1999 was the largest crowd ever to watch a game at Memorial Stadium at Clemson University with an attendance of 86 , 200 . Bobby won the all - time series , with five wins and four losses . Tommy Bowden ' s first win came in 2003 on his father ' s birthday , defeating then third - ranked FSU , damaging their prospects for a national championship . The Bowden vs Bowden editions of the series ended when Tommy resigned as head coach six games into the 2008 football season . Post Bowdens . The rivalry lives on past the departure of Tommy Bowden , who was replaced mid - season by Wide Receivers and Interim Head Coach Dabo Swinney in 2008 . The games in 2008 and 2009 both came down to the 4th quarter with the home teams winning respectively , and influencing the Atlantic Division standings . In 2009 , Clemson went on to clench the Atlantic Division after a 40 – 24 win in Death Valley , while similarly , Florida State won the division after a 16 – 13 decision the following year . In 2011 , Clemson brought the ACC Championship back to the Atlantic Division with a dominating win over Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game . In the last decade , the series is 6 – 4 in favor of the Tigers . At the end of the 2009 season Bobby Bowden retired from Florida State University leaving his Offensive Coordinator and Head Coach in Waiting Jimbo Fisher as head coach of the team . Fisher ' s first victory over the Tigers came on a walk - off game winning FG by kicker Dustin Hopkins to give the Seminoles a 16 – 13 victory . Fisher is currently 2 – 1 vs Dabo Swinney and Clemson , while Swinney is 2 – 2 as head coach vs the Seminoles . Both teams were once again ranked in the Top 10 in their last meeting . Game results . " Clemson victories are colored ██ orange . Florida State victories are colored ██ garnet . Ties and future games are white . " Records table sources : " 2011 Clemson Football " , " 2010 Florida State Football Media Guide " , and College Football Data Warehouse .