Tigers Ride Strong Second Half Past Wake Forest, 31-23 |
CLEMSON - Brian Mance saved his biggest play for a time when Saturday's game,
and perhaps the season, hung in the balance. Mance forced a fumble by Wake Forest's Chris Barclay mere feet from what would have been an important late touchdown, preserving Clemson's 31-23 victory over the Demon Deacons Saturday afternoon at Death Valley before a Homecoming crowd of 81,000. The win keeps alive the Tigers' hopes for at least a second place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but didn't come without a bit of drama at the end. "It was a tremendous effort," Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden said. "The last two games we've been out-gaining people and then losing the games. Today they out-gained us (523-280) and we won the game." Barclay's fumble was the fifth Wake Forest turnover - all in the second half - and came just when it looked as if the Deacs would have a chance to tie the game with just over 1:00 to go. But as Barclay broke free on a third-and-two play from the Clemson 18, Mance came over from his left cornerback slot, hit the Wake Forest tailback from the side and jarred the ball loose at about the 5-yard line. It rolled through the back of the end zone for a touchback, giving the Tigers possession at their own 20 with just 1:15 left in the game. Willie Simmons took a knee three times to preserve the Clemson (4-3, 2-2 ACC) victory, one that for much of the afternoon looked more like a pipe dream than a possibility. "The last play was desperation," Mance said. "You have to try one last thing. If I had tackled him he would have fallen toward the end zone. You just try anything at that point in time. "We practice that type of play every day after practice. We work on turnovers and on scooping and scoring with the fumble. We also work on stripping the ball like that, so I have to give (defensive coordinator John) Lovett a little credit." The Tigers found themselves trailing 23-14 after Wake Forest's (4-4, 2-3) first possession of the second half, a quick two-play, 57-yard drive capped by a Tarence Williams 11-yard touchdown run. But the Demon Deacons would commit turnovers on five of its final six possessions, two of which led to Clemson touchdowns. The first score, set up by a Travis Pugh recovery of Nick Burney's fumble, came on a two-yard Bernard Rambert run with 3:55 left in the third quarter. The touchdown pulled Clemson to within 23-21. Later, Aaron Hunt's field goal with 9:38 left gave the Tigers a 24-23 lead, and after Altroy Bodrick pulled down the third of Wake's James MacPherson's interceptions on the ensuing possession, Clemson put itself in position to put the game away - with some help from one of Bowden's patented trick plays. Lining up for an apparent 28-yard field goal attempt on fourth-and-three at the Wake Forest 11, holder Jeff Scott instead ran with the snap and dove to the seven yard line for a first down. Two plays later Rambert scored from the three for a 31-23 lead, setting up Mance's heroics at the end. "I thought we played it pretty well," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said of the fake field goal. "I think they needed three yards for a first down (and) he got just over that. We just didn't tackle him. We had a guy there to tackle him, but we just didn't keep him from getting the first down." For Bowden, his team's play in the second half proved to be a much-needed gut check. "Our guys never really quit," he said. "I never heard any complaining or moaning from the defense when we were struggling on offense. They just kept getting us the ball and we finally got the 31 points to hold them off." The well-played second half was in direct contrast to Clemson's first-half performance. After marching straight down the field for a touchdown (Simmons' 13-yard run) on its opening possession, the Tigers fell flat in a hurry and proceeded to go three-and-out on its next four possessions. Wake Forest, meanwhile, was scoring on four consecutive possessions - three Matt Wisnosky field goals (28, 40, 26) and a one-yard touchdown run by fullback Ovie Mughelli. The Demon Deacons piled up 295 total yards in the first half, 189 of it on the ground, and led the time of possession battle 21:21 to 8:39. But after finally forcing a Wake Forest punt with 1:23 left in the half, Clemson's offense sputtered to life behind Simmons. Simmons completed five consecutive passes for 64 total yards, including a beautiful 25-yard deep post to J.J. McKelvey to the Wake Forest 1-yard line. One play later Yusef Kelly blasted through the left side for his eighth rushing touchdown of the season, pulling the Tigers to within 16-14 with just :08 left in the half. Simmons, after suffering through the slow start, finally got things cranking when Clemson decided to get vertical with its passing game. After completing 9-of-14 passes for just 89 yards in the first half, Simmons finished with 205 yards (21-of-33) despite being sacked twice and running for his life most of the afternoon. More importantly, he completed four passes for 18 yards or more - including a long of 31 to McKelvey - and took enough shots deep downfield to keep the Deacons honest. "He made some really critical throws," Bowden said. Saturday's win sets up a showdown of sorts Thursday night, when undefeated and No. 10 N.C. State visits Death Valley for a Thursday night ESPN game. The Wolfpack, 8-0 after holding off Duke 24-22 Saturday, will be the highest-ranked opponent Clemson has hosted this season. Drive Chart First Quarter Clemson 7, Wake Forest 0 Scoring Drive: 6 plays, 61 yards in 1:50. Scoring Play: Simmons' 13-yard scramble at 9:52. Key Play: Rambert's 12-yard run to the WF 13. Clemson 7, Wake Forest 3 Scoring Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards in 4:22 Scoring Play: Wisnosky's 28-yard field goal at 5:30. Key Play: MacPherson's 29-yard pass to Barclay to the CU 49. Second Quarter Wake Forest 10, Clemson 7 Scoring Drive: 16 plays, 92 yards in 4:42. Scoring Play: Mughelli's 1-yard run at 14:23. Key Play: MacPherson's 28-yard run to the CU 5. Wake Forest 13, Clemson 7 Scoring Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards in 3:27. Scoring Play: Wisnosky's 40-yard field goal at 9:14. Key Play: MacPherson's 36-yard completion to Davis to the Clemson 30 on third-and-16. Wake Forest 16, Clemson 7 Scoring Drive: 10 plays, 51 yards in 4:21. Scoring Play: Wisnosky's 26-yard field goal at 3:51. Key Play: Williams' 18-yard run to the Clemson 48 on first-and-20. Wake Forest 16, Clemson 14 Scoring Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards in 1:15. Scoring Play: Kelly's 1-yard run at :08. Key Play: Simmons' 25-yard completion to the WF 1-yard line. Third Quarter Wake Forest 23, Clemson 14 Scoring Drive: 2 plays, 57 yards in :28. Scoring Play: Williams' 11-yard run at 13:17. Key Play: Davis' end around run of 51 to the Clemson 6-yard line. Wake Forest 23, Clemson 21 Scoring Drive: 5 plays, 30 yards in 1:59. Scoring Play: Rambert's 2-yard run at 3:55. Key Play: Rambert's 11-yard run to the WF 2-yard line. Fourth Quarter Clemson 24, Wake Forest 23 Scoring Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards in 3:55. Scoring Play: Hunt's 34-yard field goal at 9:38. Key Play: Simmons' 31-yard completion to McKelvey to the WF 35. Clemson 31, Wake Forest 23 Scoring Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards in 4:48. Scoring Play: Rambert's 3-yard run at 3:02. Key Play: Scott's 4-yard fake field goal run to the WF 7 on fourth-and-three.
POST GAME INTERVIEWS
Tommy Bowden
- Real | Windows Media
ROV Altroy Bodrick on the fumble he pushed out of the end zone
- Real | Windows Media
QB Willie Simmons on his play today
- Real | Windows Media
DB Justin Miller on his first start
- Real | Windows Media
Team Statistics
Individual Statistics
Rushing
WAKE FOREST
Tarence Williams 20-97, Chris Barclay 14-89, James MacPherson 7-61, Fabian Davis 5-54, Ovie Mughelli 9-28, Nick Burney 4-20, Cory Randolph 1-8, Cornelius Birgs 4-8.
CLEMSON
Bernard Rambert 15-54, Willie Simmons 9-12, Yusef Kelly 4-9, Jeff Scott 1-4, Airese Currie 1-0, - Team 2-MINUS 7.
Passing
WAKE FOREST
James MacPherson 10-18-158- 3, Cory Randolph 0-1-0- 0.
CLEMSON
Willie Simmons 21-33-205- 0, Charlie Whitehurst 1-2-3- 0.
Receiving
WAKE FOREST
Fabian Davis 3-75, Jason Anderson 3-29, Chris Barclay 1-29, Ray Thomas 2-14, Jax Landfried 1-11.
CLEMSON
JJ McKelvey 5-70, Kevin Youngblood 6-43, Derrick Hamilton 6-40, Yusef Kelly 3-20, Jackie Robinson 1-20, Tony Elliott 1-15.
Attendance 81,000
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