When Dalvin Cook broke off a 75-yard touchdown run on the game’s second play from scrimmage on Saturday, it felt like a punch to the gut. In a matter of 45 seconds, 16^th-ranked Florida State had a 7-0 lead on top-ranked Clemson, and the 83,099 packed into a rain soaked Clemson Memorial Stadium were stunned.

But they weren’t out.

“Our crowd was amazing. They really hung in there with us,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Florida State got a touchdown in the first minute of the game, but the crowd stayed with it and for the next 59 minutes, they didn’t score a touchdown. I appreciate our fans.”

And the Tigers (9-0, 6-0 ACC) showed their appreciation by rallying in the second half to beat the Seminoles, 23-13. It marked Clemson’s 15 straight victory in Death Valley and their 12^th overall. It also clinched the ACC’s Atlantic Division Title and a berth in the ACC Championship Game next month.

Cook finished the game with 194 rushing yards, but just 66 came after the first quarter and just 44 in the second half. The ‘Noles (7-2, 5-2 ACC) did not cross the goal line the rest of the game, while the defense picked off Sean Maguire once and forced a fumble late in the game to seal the victory.

Oh by the way, Clemson’s defense stuffed Cook on back-to-back short yardage plays midway through the fourth quarter when it mattered most, including on fourth-and-inches from the Clemson 40.

“We just encouraged each other. We knew if we were doing our assignments they couldn’t do anything on us, but it so happened that on that run we misplayed a gap,” linebacker Ben Boulware said. “The one thing about our defense is that we are very mature. A lot of people think we don’t have a veteran bunch, but how we handle things like that on that sideline speaks volumes of this group. We are constantly picking each other up, for all the right reasons.”

While the defense got things fixed on its end, Deshaun Watson recovered from his slow start, in which he missed three wide open receivers in the first 30 minutes and then clocked the ball on third-and-three when the Tigers’ had the ball at the FSU four in the final 30 seconds of the first half.

But in the second half, Watson got things rolling. He first connected with freshman Deon Cain for a 38-yard touchdown and then he helped the Tigers run for 215 yards with a career night on the ground.

With most of the yards coming in the second half, Watson rushed for 107 yards. He also threw for 297 yards on 28 of 42 passing.

“When we had mistakes we picked each other up,” Swinney said. “There was no panic. There was some frustration in the first half, but the will to win and the fight was there. Our team loves each other, and that’s what it takes. You have to play with that.”

Other news and notes:

• Clemson is 9-0 for just the third time in history. The Tigers finished 11-0 in 1948 and 12-0 in 1981.
• This marked the eighth time Clemson has clinched an ACC title or a division title at Memorial Stadium, but the third time Clemson has done it under head coach Dabo Swinney. All have come in odd numbered seasons (2009, 2011, 2015).
• Clemson has won 12 consecutive games, its longest winning streak since the 1980-81 seasons when Clemson won 13 in a row. It is the fourth longest winning streak in school history. The record is 15 set between 1947-49.
• Clemson has won 18 of its last 19 games for the first time since the 1938-‘40 era.
• Today was Dabo Swinney’s 13th career win over a top-25 team, tying him for second on the Clemson career coaching list with Tommy Bowden. Danny Ford holds the record with 20.
• This was the 41st win for this Clemson senior class, now second on the all-time list. This class is 41-7 and the 2014 senior class was 42-11. This 2015 senior class has the highest winning percentage as well at 85.4.
• Clemson won its 15th straight home game. Clemson entered the day with the school record (14).
• Clemson is 6-0 in the ACC for the first time since 2000. Clemson has not had a perfect record against ACC teams since 1983, when Clemson was 7-0. No Clemson team has ever won eight conference games in a season.
• The home team has now won 12 of the last 14 games in the Clemson vs. Florida State series.
• This was Clemson’s 12th win in the last five years over a team ranked among the top-20 winningest programs in the history of college football. Clemson is now 12-4 against those programs since 2011. The list of Clemson victims in the top-20 winningest programs since 2011 includes Notre Dame (1st), Ohio State (4th), Oklahoma (5th), Florida State (11th), Louisiana State (13th), Georgia (14th), Miami (Fla.) (15th), Auburn (17th) and Virginia Tech (20th).
• With three regular-season games and the ACC Championship game now on the schedule, that ACC title game on Dec. 5 will be Swinney’s 100th game as Clemson head coach.
• With today’s win, this Clemson senior class tied the school record for conference wins. This group is 26-4 vs. ACC foes in regular-season play, tied with the 2014 class that was 26-6. This class has two ACC games left.
• Clemson produced two 100-yard rushers (Watson 107, Gallman 103) for the first time since Andre Ellington (124) and Tajh Boyd (103) both rushed for over 100 yards versus NC State at Clemson on Nov. 17, 2012 (Clemson 62-48).
• Clemson totaled 512 yards of offense, marking the fifth-consecutive game the Tigers have had at least 500 yards of offense, and the sixth time on the season.
• Dabo Swinney is 3-0 this year and 4-0 over the last 10 games against the top-10 winningest active coaches in college football. He has wins over Bob Stoops of Oklahoma, Bobby Petrino of Louisville, Brian Kelly of Notre Dame and now Jimbo Fisher of Florida State since last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl. Steve Spurrier was on the list when this season began. Had he not retired at midseason this year, it would be 5-0 over the last 11 games.
• Swinney’s 70-26 record and 72.9 winning percentage is fourth best in ACC history. Jimbo Fisher, the coach he defeated today, is 65-13, and his 83.3 winning percentage is still first.
• Today was Dabo Swinney’s 70th win as Clemson head coach. He is just three wins away from moving into third place on Clemson’s winningest coaches list. Frank Howard had 165, Danny Ford had 96, Tommy Bowden had 72 and Dabo Swinney has 70.
• Deshaun Watson is 13-1 as a starting quarterback.
• Deshaun Watson set a career high in completions (28) and passing attempts (42), as well as a career high with 107 rushing yards.
• Watson’s 107 rushing yards marked the first time a Tiger quarterback had 100+ rushing yards since Tajh Boyd rushed for 127 yards versus Ohio State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3, 2014 (Clemson 40-35).
• Watson has 35 passing touchdowns in his career, tied for fifth with Nealon Greene (1994-97) among Clemson’s career leaders.
• Wayne Gallman surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark for the third-straight game and sixth time this season, finishing with 103 yards.
• Jordan Leggett had a career-high six receptions for a career-high 101 yards.
• Greg Huegel finished the game with three field goals (31-yards, 25-yards, 34-yards), making him 15-17 on the year and 13-13 in ACC play.