The 21st ranked Clemson Tigers beat the 5th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies 38-10 to win the ACC football championship on Saturday night in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is Clemson's first Atlantic Coast Conference football title in 20 seasons and the Tigers have punched a ticket to the Orange Bowl for the first time in three decades.
Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd tossed three TD passes and ran for one. The Tigers broke open a 10-10 game with four unanswered touchdowns in the second half. Boyd finished with 240 yards passing, completing 20 of 29 and was named MVP.
Clemson tight end Dwayne Allen scored twice, including the tie-breaking score in the third quarter that put the Tigers ahead to stay.
Andre Ellington scored on a 29-yard touchdown run. He led the Tigers running attack with 125 yards on the ground.
Five former WPDE NewsChannel 15 All-Zone football stars had an impact in the ACC Championship game. Cheraw's Jaron Brown had one catch for 17 yards and returned a kickoff for 17 yards. Jonathan "Tig" Willard from Loris made three tackles and had one pass break-up. Marlboro County product Lateek Townsend had two tackles. Malliciah Goodman out of West Florence had one tackle and one pass break-up. Lake View's Quandon Christian made one tackle.
The Tigers improve to a record of 10-3. They will play in the Orange Bowl against a BCS team to be determined at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on January 4th at 8 p.m.
