The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clemson continues dominance of No. 10 Wake Forest with rout
Kobe Pace ran for a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns as Clemson won its 13th straight over No. 10 Wake Forest, delaying the Demon Deacons’ run to the ACC Atlantic title with a 48-27 victory Saturday in Clemson, S.C.
Will Shipley gained 112 yards with two touchdowns and also threw a 2-yard jump pass TD to Davis Allen for the Tigers (8-3, 6-2 ACC), who won their 34th straight at home. Clemson also kept its hopes of a seventh straight trip to the ACC title game alive with the stunning rout of Wake Forest (9-2, 6-1).
The Demon Deacons entered the game averaging 44.7 points and 498 yards a game. They left with a season low in points and had only 36 yards rushing.
With time running out, chants of “Over-Rated” rang out through Death Valley, where Wake Forest has not won since 1998.
Still, Wake Forest remains in the divisional driver’s seat and can make its first championship game appearance in 15 years by beating Boston College next Saturday. For the Tigers to reach the title game, they would need Wake Forest to lose to BC and have North Carolina lose one of its final two games.
Clemson, at last, looked the part of the ACC preseason favorite as it battered Wake Forest and quarterback Sam Hartman. He was sacked seven times and threw an interception. The Deacons also fumbled twice, both leading to Clemson touchdowns. Hartman finished with 312 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown with Wake trailing by 22 points.
Clemson came out on fire on both sides of the ball. Its ACC-leading defense sacked Hartman three times on Wake Forest’s first two possessions while the offense managed two lengthy drives to lead 10-0 less than nine minutes in.
Clemson put things away in the third quarter on Pace’s 8-yard touchdown run and a 58-yard pass from D.J. Uiagalelei to Beaux Collins to take a 31-13 lead.
Uiagalelei hit 11 of 19 passes for 208 yards.
(At) No. 18 Pitt 48, Virginia 38: Kenny Pickett, Jordan Addison and Pittsburgh took the chaos out of the ACC’s Coastal Division. Pickett threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns — all of them to Addison — in his final game at Heinz Field, and the Panthers (9-2, 6-1 ACC) claimed their second Coastal title in four years with a victory over Virginia (6-5, 4-3).
(At) No. 20 N.C. State 41, Syracuse 17: Devin Leary threw for two touchdowns, Zonovan Knight returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and North Carolina State kept its hopes alive for an ACC championship. After neither team scored in the first 22 minutes, the Wolfpack scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams in a matter of less than 4 minutes, part of a 28-point burst in the last 6:14 of the first half for N.C. State (8-3, 5-2). Syracuse (5-6, 2-5) needs to beat Pittsburgh next week at home to secure bowl eligibility.
Florida State 26, (at) Boston College 23: Jordan Travis threw for three touchdowns and 251 yards, and Florida State stopped the BC (6-5, 2-5) in its own territory in the final two minutes Saturday. A week after rallying from an eightpoint deficit in the final five minutes for a victory over rival Miami, the Seminoles (5-6, 4-4 ACC) rolled to a 23-point lead before holding on to move a victory away from becoming bowl eligible.
(At) North Carolina 34, Wofford 14: Playing without quarterback Sam Howell, North Carolina ran for 305 yards to become bowl eligible. Howell missed the first game of his career due to an upper-body injury. Jacolby Criswell started and threw for 125 yards, adding 66 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Freshman Drake Maye took over after halftime and finished with 89 yards. The Tar Heels (6-5, 3-4 ACC) never trailed and held the Terriers (1-10, 0-8 Southern Conference) to 242 total yards.