TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- This wasn't a weekend for style points. It was a weekend where the goal was to simply survive.

Seven teams took their undefeated record on the road, and odds were at least one would fall. Four did. So Clemson is not going to apologize for continuing its season-long theme of surviving and advancing, as the No. 3 Tigers withstood a final Florida State charge to win 37-34 and move to 8-0.

It took three fourth-quarter lead changes, one gutty explosive drive, and an unrelenting defensive line. There was no Heisman Trophy moment for Deshaun Watson, who was brilliant early and befuddled late.

But collectively, the Tigers picked each other up in an up-and-down second half. When Florida State's Dalvin Cook scored a third touchdown in the second half to give the Seminoles a 34-29 lead, an out-of-sync offense acquitted a defense that played well for most of the game. In five plays, the Tigers went 75 yards to score the winning touchdown. Watson found a favored target in Jordan Leggett for 70 of those yards, including a 34-yard touchdown on a busted coverage. Those have plagued the Seminoles all season.

Deshaun Watson overcame a pair of interceptions with a 378-yard, two-TD performance through the air and added another 52 yards on the ground. Melina Vastola/USA TODAY Sports

After two long Cook touchdowns and a third long run called back on what Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher called a "gutless" penalty for a block below the waist, Clemson's defense regrouped. A gassed group allowed the Seminoles to cross midfield on a drive that began with 2 minutes, 1 second on the clock, but then it restarted its siege of quarterback Deondre Francois. Consecutive false starts on first down from the Tigers 34 set up first-and-20, and then the Tigers' defense sacked Francois on third and fourth downs to end the Seminoles' comeback attempt. Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins and a healthy Austin Bryant battered Francois, who twice was helped off the field.

The Seminoles promised to play with pride as the season fell apart, and they did against the Tigers, backed by an enthusiastic crowd. Yet similar issues once again arose for Florida State, which had won 11 of 12 against Clemson at home. The Noles broke out of their first-half malaise earlier than usual, but penalties and an inability to convert in opposing territory ended the final drive. Once again, the offense struggled with protecting Francois, who was sacked six times.

Before the game, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney commented on how hard it is to win every week, particularly when there is a target squarely on a team's back. The Tigers have received every opponent's best shot, and the Florida State fan base tested Clemson with a rowdy atmosphere.

The Tigers did not blink. On this weekend, Baylor, Boise State, Nebraska and West Virginia did.

Clemson survived 136 second-half yards and four total touchdowns from Cook, and was able to slow Francois when it mattered in the second half. With a remaining schedule that includes Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest and South Carolina, it was all about surviving.

The path to the playoff remains relatively clear for the Tigers now.