The 9th ranked Clemson Tigers stormed back from a 14-point second half deficit to beat the Wake Forest Demon Decons on a Chandler Catanzaro 43-yard field goal as time expired.
Clemson has clinched the ACC Atlantic Division Championship and a berth in the ACC title game in Charlotte on December 3rd. The Tigers improve to 9-1 overall, 6-1 in conference play.
Andre Ellington scored two first half touchdowns to give Clemson a 14-7 halftime lead. Ellington finished the day with 25 carries for 98 yards. But Wake Forest scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 28-14 lead.
Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd, who completed 27 of 43 passes for 343 yards, rallied the Tigers with a TD pass to Brandon Ford. Then with 5:27 left in regulation, Boyd threw a 10-yard TD pass to Jaron Brown, a former WPDE All-Zone football selection out of Cheraw High, to tie the game at 28-all. Brown led the Tigers with six catches for 78 yards.
With under a minute to play, the Tigers drove the ball 41 yards on five plays to set up Catanzaro's game-winning field goal.
Five other ex-WPDE All-Zone stars made an impact on defense for Clemson. Malliciah Goodman from West Florence High had five tackles. Loris product Jonathan "Tig" Willard had two tackles. Spencer Benton from Myrtle Beach High had two tackles and forced a fumble. Lateek Townsend, from Marlboro County, made one stop for the Tigers.
Clemson's top receiver Sammy Watkins suffered an upper body injury in the third quarter on a kickoff return and did not return.
Clemson will play at N.C. State next Saturday, November 19 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina.
