||| NO. 2 CLEMSON 31, NO. 12 VIRGINIA TECH 17 TIGERS TOPPLING TOP 25
Elusive Bryant guides Tigers to road victory; ‘ D’ slows down Jackson
Associated Press
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Kelly Bryant left Virginia Tech defenders grasping at air, laying on the ground and wondering how they’d missed him.
And they missed him plenty, and No. 2 Clemson has three victories against Top 25 programs engineered by its new quarterback.
“When we got here, I could sense the energy and the excite- ment,” Bryant said. “The coaches did a great job of preparing us.”
Making just his fifth start, the junior ran for 94 yards, hit Tavien Feaster with a pass the speedy running back took 60 yards for a score and avoided mistakes as the Tigers beat the No. 12 Hokies 31- 17 in a game that the Tigers had control of seemingly throughout.
He might have reminded some of Deshaun Watson when he kept alive a scoring drive after scrambling left on a play that started at the 5, dodging three Hokies, shaking free from an ankle tackle and eventually turning back upfield at the 23. He zigzagged back to the 4.
“I just have a never- quit atti- tude,” Bryant said. “The guy tackled me by I just kept my legs going and saw the lane and tried to hit it.”
Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster was more impressed by the player than the plays his guys missed.
“What a dynamic kid,” Foster said. “We couldn’t get him on the ground.”
Added Tigers coach Dabo Swinney: “He decided to run 50 yards in a box. Unbelievable.”
The defending national champion Tigers ( 5- 0, 3- 0 Atlantic Coast Conference) have also beaten No. 13 Auburn 14- 6 and No. 17 Louisville 47- 21. This triumph was their 12th in a row on the road, and fifth in a row against Virginia Tech, including the 2016 ACC championship.
Virginia Tech ( 4- 1, 0- 1) never mustered much offense and got its first touchdown after Isaiah Simmons made an ankle tackle on Greg Stroman’s 43- yard punt return to the Tigers 2. Sean Savoy ran it on the next play, but the Hokies had just 234 yards through three quarters.
“We knew the sledding was going to be difficult no matter what they lined up in,” Fuente said.
Virginia Tech’s Josh Jackson threw two interceptions after throwing 11 touchdown passes and one interception through four games. He accounted for the final score with a 30- yard pass to Savoy.