No. 3 Clemson rallies for 37-34 win over No. 12 Florida St.

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson scrambles during the first half of the team’s NCAA college football game against Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Deshaun Watson had 430 yards of total offense and third-ranked Clemson held off No. 12 Florida State 37-34 on Saturday night.

The junior completed 27 of 43 passes for 378 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. His 34-yard pass to Jordan Leggett with 2:06 remaining gave Clemson the lead. Watson also had 52 yards rushing on 17 carries, and Leggett had 122 yards on five receptions.

It is the first time that Clemson has won at Doak Campbell Stadium since 2006 and only the second time since Florida State joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1992. It is also only the second time the Tigers have defeated the Seminoles in consecutive seasons.

“I’m glad to finally walk in this room and be happy. When we had to have the drive and to get a play, we got it,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.

It is the second straight game that Watson has had over 400 yards of offense against Florida State. He had 404 yards last year in a 23-13 victory. He is the first quarterback to beat Florida State in consecutive seasons since Oklahoma’s Landry Jones in 2010-11.

“His leadership has been off the charts this year,” Swinney said of Watson. “He’s not perfect. He’s not a robot. But I don’t know any other player that is.”

Wayne Gallman had 82 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns to help the Tigers (8-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended their regular-season winning streak to 22 games.

Florida State (5-3, 2-3) was able to drive into Clemson territory with under a minute left but could only get to the Tigers’ 34. The Seminoles self-destructed due to penalties and Deondre Francois was sacked on the final two plays.

FSU fell short despite Dalvin Cook’s career-high four touchdowns. The junior had 136 of his 169 yards in the second half and had two touchdown runs of 40-plus yards.

“Dalvin had another great game. I’ve seen him play a lot of good ones. He had space and he outran angles,” Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. “They’re going to throw haymakers, we’re going to throw haymakers. We battled back but unfortunately we came up short.”

Francois was 17 of 35 for 286 yards with a touchdown and interception.

THE TAKEAWAY

Clemson: With wins over Louisville and Florida State, the Tigers have a firm grip on the Atlantic Division, but Swinney isn’t claiming victory just yet. He said after the game that “we’ve got two hands on the steering wheel, but we didn’t win it.”

Florida State: The Seminoles were penalized 13 times for 111 yards. One of those calls was a chop block on Freddie Stevenson on what would have been a long Cook run deep into Clemson territory.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Clemson will most likely remain ranked third and will be in the top four when the first College Football Playoff rankings are released on Tuesday. Florida State will fall but it might not be far after rallying but falling short.

UP NEXT

Clemson: The Tigers return home to face Syracuse.

Florida State: The Seminoles travel to North Carolina State.