The Clemson Tigers came into Saturday's game ranked #3 in the country, had won 21 straight regular season games and 19 straight games at home. NC State did their best to end all of that, but the Tigers managed to hang on and won 24-17 in overtime.
A defensive battle, the first touchdown wasn't scored until there were 10 seconds remaining in the first half, when Clemson's Deshaun Watson hit Mike Williams for the 13-yard touchdown to take a 10-3 lead. The Tigers also got the ball to start the third quarter, but instead of extending the lead, NC State's Mike Stevens got the interception and ran it back for a touchdown:
Both sides traded short touchdown runs at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 17-17.
From there, Clemson started shooting themselves in the foot. After going penalty-free all game, the Tigers committed four infractions in the fourth quarter alone - most of which helped to extend NC State drives. Clemson also turned the ball over five times, three of which came in the second half.
All of that led to the Wolfpack driving at the end of the fourth quarter with a chance to win the game, and kicker Kyle Bambard - who had missed a field goal and had another one blocked earlier in the game - missed the 33-yard attempt as time expired.
Clemson got the ball to start overtime, and Watson promptly hit Artavis Scott for a 10-yard touchdown to put the Tigers ahead, 24-17. On the first play of NC State's possession, quarterback Ryan Finley's pass was intercepted by Marcus Edmond.
Marcus Edmond's interception in OT sealed the win for #Clemson! #CLEMvsNCST pic.twitter.com/eA4Z3ydp7a
— Chat Sports (@ChatSports) October 15, 2016
Watson, a leading Heisman candidate coming into this game, played very well, accounting for 413 total yards and three touchdowns.
Running back Matthew Dayes was the star for NC State in this one, rushing for 105 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, while also catching three passes for 27 yards.
Back to the ACC Newsfeed