Ranking Dabo's wins: 7

Seven days after the win over Auburn, Clemson had another huge showdown on the schedule. This time, the Tigers hosted ACC rival Florida State.

7.) Sept. 24, 2011

Clemson 35 Florida State 30

What happened
Thanks to a stellar performance by Tajh Boyd, Clemson picked up win No. 4 in 2011.

Boyd completed 23 of 37 passes for 344 yards. Sammy Watkins turned in another solid performance with eight catches for 141 with touchdown catches of 24 and 62 yards.

It was the fourth time of the season that the Tigers accumulated 455 yards of total offense or better, and it was Boyd's second straight with 300-plus passing yards.

Florida State was without starting quarterback E.J. Manuel, who was hurt a week earlier in the loss to Oklahoma. Backup Clint Trickett didn't play like a second team quarterback. He threw for 336 yards and three touchdown passes.

A 9-yard touchdown throw to Kenny Shaw brought Florida State to 35-30 with 7:21 left to play.

The win gave Swinney his second home win over Florida State.

The Seminoles had one last possession to take the lead, but a fourth-down sack by Rennie Moore preserved the Tigers' win.

Boyd's afternoon wasn't without a flaw. While stumbling to the ground, he threw an interception to Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner, who returned the pass for a 25-yard touchdown. The pick-6 cut the Tigers' lead to 21-17.

Quandon Christian's interception of Trickett was one of the more impressive plays by a Clemson defender in 2011.

The stakes
Clemson needed the win to get a leg up on Florida State in the ACC Atlantic. The Tigers improved to 4-0 [1-0 ACC] as the Seminoles fell to 2-2 [0-1 ACC].

Before and after
Clemson went on to win four more games before picking up the first loss of the season.

The Tigers claimed the ACC Championship with an impressive win over Virginia Tech.