Florida State coach Mike Norvell stood inside the visitors tunnel at Clemson last month, waiting for his players to come off the field and into the locker room. Hands on his hips, head tilted toward the sky, a look of relief washed over his face.
It was perhaps the biggest win in his Florida State tenure, a 31-24 overtime triumph over the Tigers that signaled a changing of the guard atop the ACC. Norvell, now in his fourth year at FSU, had never beaten Clemson. In fact, Florida State had not won in Death Valley for 10 years.