TALLAHASSEE — Tait Reynolds threw a pair of touchdown passes, his first in more than a month, as Clemson jumped out early and held off a late rally, defeating Florida State 36-24 on Saturday night.
The freshman quarterback had not thrown a touchdown pass in four games, but he connected with Christian Bentancur and Olsen Patt-Henry on first-half touchdown passes as Clemson led 23-10 after 30 minutes.
Reynolds sealed the win with a weaving 79-yard touchdown run on third-and-12 with 3:17 left for Clemson (5-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). He completed 18 of 32 passes for 189 yards.
Nolan Hauser made five field-goal attempts — from 50, 49, 46, 35 and 35 — as Clemson won its third straight game in the series with Florida State. Hauser has made 23 of 24 field-goal attempts in 2026.
Ashton Daniels threw three interceptions and also fumbled. He completed 21 of 33 passes for 350 yards, a 46-yard touchdown pass to Micahi Danzy, a 41-yard TD pass to Jasen Lopez and a 13-yard touchdown run but Florida State (3-5, 1-4) lost its third straight game.
Clemson starting left guard Elyjah Thurmon laid on the grass for about 10 minutes in the second quarter before being strapped to a backboard. He gave a thumbs up while being driven off the field on a cart.
The takeaway
Clemson scored on 8 of 13 drives, before taking the victory formation in the final minute, in its most efficient performance against a Power 4 opponent.
Florida State played its first game without leading rusher Ousmane Kromah. The Seminoles managed just 65 yards rushing on 29 carries.
Up next
• Clemson visits Syracuse on Saturday.
• Florida State visits Boston College on Saturday.
Freshman QB Tait Reynolds of Clemson threw for two TDs and ran for another in the Tigers’ 36-24 victory over FSU on Saturday in Tallahassee. (Colin Hackley/AP)