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Florida State’s Halloween loss to Clemson gave the Tigers another victory in Tallahassee and quarterback Tait Reynolds material for a joke about the atmosphere at Doak Campbell Stadium.
FSU fell to the Clemson Tigers 36-24 last weekend in a rivalry loss that ultimately led to FSU head coach Mike Norvell and the university parting ways after two subpar seasons and the program's trajectory under the previous regime.
The Clemson freshman took a jab at the Seminoles’ home crowd during his Wednesday media availability, jokingly suggesting FSU had used artificial crowd noise during the Tigers’ 36-24 win.
The moment came when artificial noise filled the background during a recent interview as Clemson prepares to seek its 6th win of the season on the road at Syracuse. Reynolds used the moment to take a jab at the Seminoles and question how Doak Campbell Stadium got louder as fans departed during the loss.
“I think Florida State was playing some crowd noise. It like got louder throughout the game. I was like, ‘What the heck?’ There was nobody there, and it got louder. This week should be loud, so it’ll be good.”
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Reynolds helped silence FSU’s comeback attempt on the field, breaking loose for a 79-yard touchdown run to seal Clemson’s 36-24 victory. The Seminoles had rallied after entering the fourth quarter trailing by 19 points, but could not.
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Before the game against the Seminoles, Reynolds had thrown only two touchdown passes all year. He threw for two scores on the night, completing 18-of-32 passes for 189 yards, and added another score on the ground. He led the team in rushing with 85 yards.
Florida State announced an attendance of 60,472 for the Clemson game, but that is only the reported crowd, not how many seats were left empty after halftime. The stadium was noticeably vacant toward the end of the contest, though outside factors, such as Halloween and a losing season, likely contributed to it.
Through its first four home games, Florida State averaged 62,111 in reported attendance, compared with 66,815 over the first four home games in 2025, which is roughly a %7 percent decline.
However, those figures alone don't establish that Florida State uses artificial noise. The empty seats were noticeable, but changes in the crowd noise were harder to judge from my seat behind the thick glass in the press box.
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