Clemson is perfect after September to remember
Virginia Tech’s “maroon effect” worked out about as well as Louisville’s “blackout.”
Clemson blasted the Hokies 31-17 Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of fans wearing mostly maroon at Lane Stadium.
The victory came two weeks after Clemson dominated Louisville, another highly-ranked and then undefeated ACC team, 47-21 on the road.
The second-ranked Tigers finish September 5-0 after recording three victories over top-15 teams in the past four weeks. Clemson won’t face another team currently ranked in the AP Poll the rest of the regular season.
“A heck of an effort by our guys. It's not easy to win ever, much less to come into an awesome environment like they have here,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said. “It was just our night tonight.”
The Tigers led 17-3 at the half and cruised to the 14-point victory. Clemson led 31-10 late in the fourth quarter before No. 12 Virginia Tech tacked on a touchdown.
Virginia Tech outgained Clemson 342-332, but the Tigers forced three turnovers without committing any and also forced Virginia Tech to turn the ball over on downs twice.
“The biggest thing is we took care of the ball. We didn't turn the ball over and I'm really proud of that. That was a critical part of it,” Swinney said. “We wanted to put a complete effort together and I saw that. I saw great effort from all three phases and just a hard-fought game. Our guys were ready to play.”
Tavien Feaster had a pair of touchdowns, one on a 60-yard reception and one on a 1-yard run, while C.J. Fuller also scored an offensive touchdown for the Tigers. The Hokies hadn’t allowed a rushing touchdown prior to Saturday’s game.
Clemson linebacker Dorian O’Daniel added a pick-six, his second of the year. O’Daniel is the first Clemson player to have two interception returns for touchdowns in the same season since 1990, when Arlington Nunn had three.
Feaster’s second touchdown, the 1-yard run, was set up after O’Daniel recovered a Hokie fumble. O’Daniel had 10 tackles and one of the Tigers’ two sacks in the win.
J.D. Davis led the Tigers with 11 tackles, while Kendall Joseph joined O’Daniel with 10.
Defensive end Austin Bryant intercepted a pass, picking off Josh Jackson with a one-handed grab on a screen attempt. Bryant led the Tigers with 2.5 tackles for loss.
Kelly Bryant passed for 186 yards and a score and also rushed for a game-high 94 yards.
Bryant spread the ball around to his receivers as Milan Richard, Ray-Ray McCloud, Feaster, Hunter Renfrow and Deon Cain finished with multiple catches. In addition to Feaster’s 60-yard grab, McCloud had a 27-yard reception and Cain caught a pass for 35 yards.
Clemson opened the scoring when Alex Spence connected on a 23-yard field goal. It was the first field goal attempt of Spence’s career.
THREE POINTS
Star of the game: Bryant – Clemson’s junior quarterback impressed on the road again, finishing with 280 total yards and no turnovers.
Play of the game: Feaster caught a 60-yard touchdown in the first quarter to give Clemson a 10-0 lead. He had only one reception in his career entering the game.
Stat of the game: 3-0 – Clemson won the turnover battle 3-0.
NEXT
Who: Wake Forest at Clemson
When: Noon, Oct. 7
Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson
TV: ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC
This story was originally published September 30, 2017 at 11:41 PM with the headline "Clemson is perfect after September to remember."