Clemson back calls hit on him dirty
Oklahoma, Texas Tech put up remarkable offensive numbers
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson running back Wayne Gallman said Monday that the hit by North Carolina State defensive back Dravious Wright that knocked him out of the game on Oct. 15 was “dirty” and he wanted a teammate to retaliate.
Gallman said after he watched a replay of the hit that he had hoped his teammates would have hurt Wright. Gallman went through concussion protocol during the team’s bye week and expects to practice Monday and to play Saturday when the third-ranked Tigers take on No. 12 Florida State.
“I wanted somebody to hurt him that was in the game if they could,” Gallman said. “I wasn’t able to be in it.”
Gallman did not remember anything after Wright’s first-quarter hit until he was in the trainer’s room several minutes later. When he saw a replay, Gallman was certain the Wolfpack defensive back’s hit — which looked like a helmetto-helmet blow although no penalty was assessed — was intentional.
“You saw him lead with his head,” Gallman said of Wright. “He came with his head.”
In his postgame news conference following the North Carolina State contest, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he thought Wright’s play was a hard hit but did not say he believed it was illegal.
The third-ranked Tigers (7-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) visit the Seminoles (5-2, 2-2) in an ACC showdown. Swinney did say last Wednesday he expected Gallman to face Florida State.
Gallman said Clemson sent video of the hit to the ACC offices and the school was told the hit was legal. Messages left for the ACC about the play by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.
Gallman’s absence against the Wolfpack was apparent. The Tigers finished with 117 yards rushing, their lowest total this season in a 24-17 overtime victory .
OU-TEXAS TECH: Fans of prodigious offensive production came out of the college football weekend well satisfied.
No game produced bigger numbers than Oklahoma-Texas Tech. Here are the highlights:
The teams set the NCAA all-division record for combined yards with 1,708, and the 125 points in the No. 16 Sooners’ 66-59 victory were the second-most in a game involving a ranked team.
Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes threw for five touchdowns and an NCAA record-tying 734 yards, his 819 yards of total offense broke the NCAA record, and he attempted a national season-high 88 passes.
Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield threw for 545 yards and a school-record and nation-best seven touchdowns. Mahomes and Mayfield’s combined 1,279 yards passing set an NCAA record.
Mayfield, running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Dede Westbrook made OU the first FBS team in history to have a 500-yard passer, a 200yard rusher and 200-yard receiver in the same game. Mixon’s 377 all-purpose yards were most in the nation this season.
ARMY: Army became the third team this season to convert five fourth downs. The Cadets went 5 for 7 on fourth downs against North Texas. They fumbled on the two fourth downs they didn’t convert.
N. DAKOTA STATE: The Bison will play a game on the Minnesota Twins’ home field in 2019.
The five-time defending Football Championship Subdivision winners will square off against Butler at Target Field.
WISCONSIN: Linebacker Jack Cichy, the leading tackler for No. 11 Wisconsin, will miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle.
TENNESSEE: Running back Alvin Kamara has an undisclosed injury that will sideline him for Saturday’s game against South Carolina.
GEORGIA: Georgia’s two leading tacklers will be able to play against No. 14 Florida after being cleared of marijuana possession. Inside linebackers Natrez Patrick and Roquan Smith violated no university policies that would require a suspension, the school said.
SDSU: John David Wicker has returned to San Diego State as athletic director, saying his top priority will be to deal with either building a new football stadium or getting a better deal if the Aztecs are to share a new stadium with the NFL’s Chargers.
Wicker was SDSU’s deputy AD from 2011 until leaving for Georgia Tech in July 2015 to serve as senior associate athletic director for operations.