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Florida State Seminoles © |
Clemson Tigers |
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Played October 23, 1999 at Memorial Stadium Clemson, South Carolina |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Florida State © | 2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| Clemson | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Florida State |
3 |
0 |
11 |
3 |
17 |
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Clemson |
0 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
The top-ranked, 7-0 Florida State Seminoles of coach Bobby Bowden met the 3-3 Clemson Tigers of first-year coach Tommy Bowden. The game was significant for many reasons; it featured a Belt match-up, Seminoles’ All-American WR Peter Warrick played for the first time in 3 weeks after the resolution of his Grand Theft charge, a father & son faced each other as head coaches for the first time in major college football, & Bobby Bowden was trying to win his 300th game as a head coach. Florida State's All-American PK Sebastian Janikowski kicked 3 field goals as the Seminoles retained The Belt with a 17-14 victory. Janikowski gave the Seminoles a 1st quarter lead with a 33-yard field goal but the 2nd quarter belonged to the Tigers. Janikowski actually missed the kick wide left from 28 yards but the Seminoles were called for a delay-of-game penalty giving the All-American another chance from 33 yards. After a 15-play, 72-yard drive, Clemson's QB Woody Dantzler hit WR Rod Gardner on a 7-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a 7-3 lead with 6:17 left in the 2nd quarter. The score came after Clemson ran a fake punt from Florida State's 46-yard line when Tigers' P Ryan Romano threw a 23-yard pass to LB Braxton Williams. Dantzler led an 8-play, 80-yard scoring drive highlighted by a 49-yard pass & catch to WR Mal Lawyer, with the quarterback carrying in from a yard out on a quarterback sneak sending Clemson to the locker room ahead 14-3. The Florida State defense took control of the 2nd half as the game got chippy; both teams were flagged for 85 yards in penalties including 4 personal fouls charged against the Tigers. In the 3rd quarter the Seminoles managed a Janikowski 33-yard field goal &, after he missed a 47-yard field goal attempt Clemson seemed to have all the momentum in their favor. Things changed in favor of Florida State on their next drive, an 11-play, 68-yard drive helped by 1 of the personal foul calls that was finished by a 1-yard touchdown run by RB Travis Minor. Florida State again took advantage of their own slow play calling on the 2-point conversion attempt as Clemson appeared to stop the try to hold the lead but the Seminoles had again snapped the ball late & got another chance from the 7-yard line. This time the ball was snapped on time & Florida State's QB Chris Weinke threw a 7-yard pass to RB Dan Kendra to tie the game at 14-14 with just 0:10 left in the quarter. Janikowski added his 3rd field goal, this one from 39 yards, with 5:26 to play giving the Seminoles a 17-14 lead. Clemson’s last chance to push the game to overtime ended with 1:57 to play when PK Tony Lazzara’s 42-yard field goal attempt was short & wide left. Weinke finished with 258 yards passing, Warrick had 11 catches for 121 yards, & Minor had 100 yards rushing with his touchdown, but it was Janikowski who proved the deciding factor giving Bobby Bowden his 300th career coaching victory. Dantzler finished with 102 yards passing & 86 yards rushing in the losing effort. Florida State finished the season 12-0; ACC Champions, & National Champions while the Tigers finished 6-6. Clemson would play for The Belt again in 2010.
