Reliving 2016: Leggett, Watson Stave off Ghosts of Halloween Pasts
By: Ashby Mixon October 30, 2026

No. 3 Clemson 37, No. 12 Florida State 34

Editor’s note: Each week, the Clemson Insider honors Clemson’s 2016 National Championship Team by reliving that week’s game on the schedule. Follow all season long as we talk to players and coaches who lived through the ups and downs of a dramatic season that brought Clemson its first national championship in 35 years.

CLEMSON – By Halloween weekend of 2016, Clemson fans had gotten woefully used to spooky football games.

By October 29, 2016, the third-ranked Tigers had already won five games by a margin of seven or fewer points in only eight opportunities. Head coach Dabo Swinney, in the meantime, had improved his record to 16-2 in career one-score games.

Clemson had already narrowly defeated Auburn, Troy and Louisville by six points, and most recently bested NC State in overtime before an open date gave fans a week to lower their heart rates.

On the other side of some well-needed rest, the Tigers were thrown right back into the throws of ACC competition, heading down to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on the Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Though the Seminoles had already suffered two losses at the hands of Louisville and North Carolina, this would be no easy task for quarterback Deshaun Watson and the undefeated Tigers.

At the time, Clemson had not won a game in Tallahassee since 2006, though three of the four losses down there had come down to a singular score. For whatever reason, Swinney and his fighting Tigers had not figured out the recipe to silence the “War Chant” emanating from Doak Campbell Stadium.

“We had some really tough losses down there. Like some crazy things had happened,” Swinney said.

Nothing was crazier than the previous trip to Tallahassee in 2014. Though the Seminoles were ranked No. 1 the country heading into that game, a young freshman quarterback by the name Deshaun Watson came off the bench and had the Tigers in position to win the game in regulation.

At one point in the game, the Tigers had a first-and-goal at the one-yard line, but a bad snap went over Watson’s head for a 23-yard loss. That led to a miss field goal. Clemson missed two easy field goal attempts in the game.

Clemson also had an opportunity to win the game late in regulation with another offensive trip inside the 20-yard line, but a lost fumble prevented the Tigers from winning the game.

Despite running for 13 yards, including overtime, Florida State scored on a 12-yard run in overtime to beat the Tigers 23-17.

“That was brutal. We had a lot of opportunities to win that one,” Swinney said.

Additionally, Florida State would be out for revenge after Watson and the Tigers earned a 23-13 win at Memorial Stadium the season prior, largely off of a 102-yard, six catch performance from tight end Jordan Leggett, who grew up in Navarre, Fla., which is not too far from Tallahassee.

On top of it all, Clemson had to face the ghosts of weekends past, as the Tigers lost five games on Halloween weekends in the 2000s.

As it turned out, though, the most spine-chilling thing Clemson saw in Doak Campbell Stadium that night was running back Dalvin Cook. But like all good scary movies, it all started out as planned for Clemson.

As expected, the Tigers struck first, driving 68 yards down the field to score a game-opening touchdown. Watson and Leggett connected for a 41-yard reception to set up an easy, one-yard touchdown for running back Wayne Gallman that put Clemson on the board.

After the Tigers’ defense got a stop, Watson found Hunter Renfrow for a 17-yard pass, ran 29 yards of his own, handed it off to Gallman for an 11-yard gain and ultimately found Renfrow for a four-yard touchdown pass.

With 1:41 to play in the first quarter, Clemson had taken a 14-0 lead.

In the second quarter though, the Seminoles responded. After four other carries for 19 yards, Cook found the end zone for the first time to cut the Tigers’ lead 14-7. After Clemson kicked a field goal, Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois led his team down the field for another touchdown, cutting the lead 17-14 at the halftime break.

After Watson threw his second interception of the evening in the third quarter, Cook blasted off for a 43-yard burst into the end zone and a 21-20 Florida State lead. Once more in that period, the shifty speedster notched a 70-yard touchdown, his third of the evening.

As quick as a Florida tide changes, the Seminoles led 28-20.

Quickly, the Tigers got their own run game going, and Gallman rushed in for his second score to cut the lead to one point. After Cook recorded his fourth and final touchdown of the game and Clemson tacked on a field goal, Watson and the Tigers’ offense found themselves in a familiar position.

Clemson tight end Jordan Leggett (16) runs 34-yards for the game-winning TD in the Tigers’ 37-34 victory over Florida State on October 29, 2016 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. (Rex Brown/The Clemson Insider)

Down five points. 

Game on the line.

Just over two minutes remaining.

There was no better time for Leggett, a Navarre, Fla., native with his entire family in the stands, to take over.

As time started to wind down in the fourth quarter, Watson found his big tight end for a 25-yard reception to get to the 50-yard line. Three plays later, Leggett made another catch to put the Tigers in Florida State territory.

On the next play, the pair connected again for a 34-yard touchdown.

“It was just a great play call. We’ve seen it all game and called it at the right time,” Watson said of the touchdown.

For the first time since the early third quarter, the Tigers led. With one more stop and a successful two-point conversion, Clemson officially beat the Seminoles 37-34.

“I’m glad to finally walk into this room and be happy. It’s been a long time coming,” Swinney said after his first head coaching win in Tallahassee. “We had a couple of lulls, but when we needed to make plays we got them.”

Alongside Swinney in making history was Watson, who became the first Clemson quarterback in program history to beat Florida State in consecutive seasons. The Heisman candidate finished with 378 passing yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He also had 52 yards rushing on 17 carries.

 Leggett finished 122 yards on five receptions.

“Two of my biggest games have come against FSU,” Leggett said. “Especially them not recruiting me is kind of like a ‘how do you like me now?’ kind of thing.”

“It’s just so great because my mom got to see it,” the tight end added.