Clemson surprises No. 12 Irish
Phil Mafah ran for a careerhigh 186 yards and two touchdowns in relief of the injured Will Shipley, and Clemson held off No. 12 Notre Dame 31-23 to end a disheartening two-game losing streak Saturday.
The host Tigers (5-4) came in with more losses in a season than they’d had in 13 years and still stinging from the radio criticism of “Tyler from Spartanburg,” who called out Dabo Swinney and drew a strong, even hostile rebuke from the coach that apparently fired up the whole group.
Mafah ran for scores of 41 yards and 1 yard, the last putting Clemson ahead 31-16 in the third quarter. Notre Dame drew within one score on Sam Hartman’s 26-yard scramble score.
That’s when Clemson’s special teams and defense closed things out. Four times after that, the Tigers downed punts inside the Notre Dame 15 — including a nifty quick kick by quarterback Cade Klubnik — and the Irish (7-3, No. 15 in the College Football Playoff rankings) could never get out of the hole.
Notre Dame got a last chance when Mafah fumbled with 1:47 to go on the Irish 22. After a first down, Hartman threw four incompletions to give the ball back to the Tigers with 58 seconds left.
No. 4 Florida State 24, Pittsburgh 7:
Jordan Travis ran for a touchdown and threw for another as the Seminoles (9-0, 7-0) clinched a spot in the ACC championship game with a road win over the Panthers (2-7, 1-4).
The Seminoles won their 15th straight by pulling away in the second half. Travis hit tight end Markeston Douglas for a 22-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter to give FSU a 10-point lead. Trey Benson sprinted 55 yards on the Seminoles’ next possession to break it open. Travis finished with 360 yards passing and also ran for a touchdown.
North Carolina 59, Campbell 7:
Drake Maye threw two of his four touchdown passes to Tez Walker, Omarion Hampton ran for two touchdowns and UNC shed a two-game losing streak by beating Campbell.
Hampton gained 144 yards on 15 carries, and UNC’s much-maligned defense shined at times. The Tar Heels (7-2) needed a pick-me-up in Chapel Hill before returning to ACC play following upset losses to Virginia and Georgia Tech.