starts if it wants to be competitive. The Scar

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Dabo Swinney has mastered winning close games during his tenure at Clemson. Saturdays victory over Florida State might be the sweetest of all.The third-ranked Tigers rallied to beat the No. 12 Seminoles 37-34 and won for the first time in 10 years at Doak Campbell Stadium.It is the fifth win by seven points or fewer this season for Clemson (8-0, 5-0 ACC) and gives it a 16-2 record in nine seasons under Swinney when winning by less than a touchdown.Im glad to finally walk into this room and be happy. Its been a long time coming, Swinney said. We had a couple of lulls, but when we needed to make plays we got them.The win extends Clemsons regular season winning streak to 22 games and gives it consecutive victories over Florida State (5-3, 2-3) for the first time since winning three in a row from 2005-07.The win also likely assures the Tigers of being in the top four when the first College Football Playoff rankings are released on Tuesday. Clemson is trying to make the playoff for the second straight season after losing to Alabama in last years national championship game.For the second straight year, Deshaun Watson played a large role in the win as he had 430 yards of total offense.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 and 2-point conversion 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 was just a great play call. Weve seen it all game and called it at the right time, said Watson of the TD to Leggett. Its a special win. Its hard to win here against these guys.It is the second straight game Watson has had over 400 yards of offense against Florida State -- he had 404 last year in a 23-13 victory. He is also the first quarterback to beat Florida State in consecutive seasons since Oklahomas Landry Jones in 2010-11.Wayne Gallman led Clemsons rushing attack with 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns .Florida State 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 (17 of 35 for 169 yards with a touchdown and interception) was sacked on the final two plays.FSU fell short despite Dalvin Cooks career-high four touchdowns. The junior had 136 of his 169 yards rushing in the second half and had two touchdown runs of 40-plus yards.Dalvin had another great game. Ive seen him play a lot of good ones. He had space and he outran angles, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. Theyre going to throw haymakers, were going to throw haymakers. We battled back but unfortunately we came up short.Cook, who leads Power 5 backs in rushing, has gone over 1,000 yards three straight seasons and needs 192 yards break Warrick Dunns school career record of 3,959 yards.They were giving us what we wanted all game, Cook said. We tried to establish the passing game early and the running game opened up in the second half.THE TAKEAWAYClemson: With wins over Louisville and Florida State, the Tigers have a firm grip on the Atlantic Division, but Swinney isnt claiming victory just yet. He said after the game that weve got two hands on the steering wheel, but we didnt 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 during the fourth quarter. Fisher was not pleased with that call or a targeting penalty that led to the ejection of Tre Marshall. I will tell you what, you hold coaches accountable, you hold players accountable, hold the damn officials accountable, Fisher said.POLL IMPLICATIONSClemson 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 NEXTClemson: The Tigers return home to face Syracuse.Florida State: The Seminoles travel to North Carolina State.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.orgFollow Joe Reedy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joereedy Clint Capela Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Charles Barkley Jersey . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. http://www.therocketsofficial.com/Authentic-Gerald-Green-Rockets-Jersey/ . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Chris Paul Rockets Jersey . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Clyde Drexler Jersey . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Fourteen points down last week. Trailing by 21 this week.Overcoming big deficits hasnt been a problem for Rutgers lately, especially with Janarion Grant coming to the rescue with big plays.The senior wide receiver threw for a touchdown and had a go-ahead 69-yard punt return for another score as Rutgers rallied from an early 21-point deficit and defeated New Mexico 37-28 on Saturday.Halfback Robert Martin rushed for a career-high 169 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown, and Chris Laviano threw a 75-yard scoring pass to Jawuan Harris in helping the Scarlet Knights (2-1) overcome a big deficit for the second straight week.Man, Janarions different, said Martin, who averaged 8.0 yards. I love going out there with him, competing with him. Even at practice man, he wants to win at everything he does and I like that because thats how I am and just knowing that when he gets the ball in his hands he can take it the distance.David Bonagura kicked three second-half field goals, including two in the final 5:30, in keeping new coach Chris Ash unbeaten at home.Daryl Chestnut scored on a 19-yard run, Austin Apodaca threw a 36-yard TD pass to Patrick Reed and Lamar Jordan scored on a 52-yard run in giving the Lobos (1-2) a 21-0 lead late in the first quarter. Richard McQuarley scored on a 22-yard fourth-quarter run to get New Mexico within 31-28, but Bonagura added two field goals to put the game out of reach.Grant had three touchdowns in rallying the Scarlet Knights against Howard last week, and he had a hand in three scores against the Lobos, with a late 33-yard punt return setting up the final field goal.We talked about it after the game, weve got have a maniacal attitude of doing your job and doing the little things right, New Mexico coach Bob Davie said. I feel better about our team right now than I did last Saturday from a standpoint of fighting against a good opponent. Again, we walk out of here with our heads held high and we have a chance to be a good teamm.ddddddddddddGrants biggest play was the punt return 1:04 before halftime with the score tied at 21-all.Grant fielded a Corey Bojoquez punt at his 31, went left and then reversed his field and went 69 yards down the right side for his six touchdown of the season. It was his third career punt return for a score and eighth overall. He has scored on five kickoff returns.THE TAKEAWAYNEW MEXICO: The Lobos could have been 3-0 heading into a bye week. After beating South Dakota, New Mexico blew a 31-22 fourth-quarter lead after New Mexico State last weekend and gave away an even bigger margin this week. The Lobos had a chance to rally late last week and game up short. They came back from a 10-point deficit this week and also came up short.RUTGERS: With the Big Ten Conference season starting next week, Rutgers has to get off to better starts if it wants to be competitive. The Scarlet Knights fell behind No. 8 Washington 24-0 and trailed in both games at home.Cant say enough about our players, for the second week in a row, we come out of the gate and we get down but nobody flinched, Ash said. Everybody believes in themselves, in each other, in our plan, and we just kept going. We made the plays that we needed to.BULLET: Ash is going to be second guessed after inserting quarterback Zach Allen into the game in the fourth quarter with Rutgers leading 31-28 with 7:48 to play. There seemed to be nothing wrong with Laviano. The Scarlet Knights got a 33-yard field goal from Bonagura but that was set by an unsportsmanlike penalty against the Lobos.UP NEXTNEW MEXICO: The Lobos have a bye week and face San Jose State at home in their Mountain West Conference opener on Oct. 1.RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights play their third straight home game and face No.13 Iowa in their Big Ten Conference opener on Sept. 24.---AP College Football Website: www.collegefootball.org ' ' '