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| Photo Credit: AP. |
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Nate Wiggins broke up Sam Hartman’s fourth-down pass in the end zone to help No. 5 Clemson hold off No. 21 Wake Forest 51-45 in double overtime on Saturday.
Wiggins had
been targeted frequently by Hartman and the Wake Forest receivers but came through
to knock away Hartman’s final ball for A.T. Perry. He fell to the end zone
turf, then sprung up to join his team in celebration after a wild shootout
between the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division Demon
Deacons and the preseason league favorite Tigers.
“We’ll get
this defense fixed,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said on the ESPN postgame
interview. “But man, this offense … all the big plays, they never flinched.
That’s what it’s all about. I’m just really proud of them. they grew up a
little bit tonight.”
D.J.
Uiagalelei threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns to lead Clemson (4-0, 2-0
ACC), including the go-ahead score over the middle to Davis Allen to start the
second overtime. The Tigers also came up with a few key plays defensively at
big moments late to take some pressure off an injury-battered secondary,
including Tyler Davis teaming with linemate Myles Murphy to sack Hartman on a
potentially winning Wake Forest drive that had neared midfield late in
regulation.
Hartman threw
for 337 yards and a program-record six touchdowns for Wake Forest (3-1, 0-1),
including two each to Jahmal Banks and Donavon Greene. But the Demon Deacons
stalled out near midfield on a potential winning drive to end regulation, then
couldn’t stop the Tigers in the first OT after starting off with Hartman’s TD
throw to Perry.
It marked
Clemson’s 14th straight win in the series, with Wake Forest’s last win coming
in 2008 — which led to the ouster of Tommy Bowden as coach and Swinney being
named the interim.
Clemson:
This was the start of a two-week stretch that could give the Tigers control of
the league’s Atlantic Division race. The Tigers took early control by scoring
touchdowns on their first two drives to take a 14-0 lead, only to see the Demon
Deacons’ high-scoring offense get rolling by pushing the ball downfield. On
this day, Uiagalelei and the offense had to keep coming up with big plays to
stay on pace – and they did – until Wiggins helped the Tigers come up with the
clinching stop.
Wake Forest:
The Demon Deacons have accomplished plenty under Dave Clawson, highlighted by
last year’s push to tie the program record with 11 wins and reach the ACC
championship game. But Clemson continues to bedevil them, with Wake Forest last
winning in 2008 and only one of the previous 13 straight losses coming by fewer
than 14 points. Wake Forest also fell to 1-65 all-time against teams ranked in
the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll, with the only win
coming against No. 4 Tennessee in 1946.
POLL
IMPLICATIONS
The Tigers
are near the top of the AP Top 25 with little room to climb despite a tough
road win. The Demon Deacons aren’t likely to slide much, if at all, after
giving the Tigers all they could handle.
UP NEXT
Clemson: The
Tigers host No. 12 North Carolina State next Saturday in another critical
division game.
Wake Forest:
The Demon Deacons travel to Florida State next Saturday.
Follow Aaron
Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
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