Clemson wins ACC championship game 45-37 over UNC
Clemson is heading to the College Football Playoff undefeated.
The Tigers beat North Carolina 45-37 on Saturday night in the ACC championship game to finish the regular season 13-0 and likely head into the CFP as the top seed.
There was a bit of drama at the end, however. Both for Clemson and the ACC officials assigned to the game.
After North Carolina got the game to one possession with 1:13 left, the Tar Heels had to onside kick. UNC recovered the kick. But was ruled to be offsides. Do you see the offsides call? We don’t. A player has to be across the 30 when the ball is contacted by the kicker for offsides to be legit.
The kick was redone and Clemson recovered to seal the game.
The Tigers escaped the first half with the lead thanks to quarterback Deshaun Watson’s brilliance. And then dominated the second half because of running back Wayne Gallman.
Watson scored a touchdown with two seconds left in the first half to give the Tigers a 21-16 lead heading into the break. The Tigers had a rogue fake punt earlier in the first half that led to points on the next North Carolina drive. We say rogue because Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was beside himself on the sideline and didn’t understand what punter Andy Teasdall had done. Teasdall ran the ball for four yards when Clemson needed 15 for the first down.
UNC drove into the red zone to start the second half, but a turnover ended the drive as soon as the Tar Heels got within scoring range. Marquise Williams had a pass tipped at the line and intercepted at the 3. Clemson then drove 97 yards – one yard longer than a touchdown drive in the first half – for a 28-16 lead. North Carolina never got within one score again until the game was nearly over.
Gallman was a big reason why. He finished the game with 187 yards rushing while Watson ran for 131. Watson also threw for 289 yards. He’s likely heading to New York next weekend as a Heisman finalist.
Had the Tar Heels won, the College Football Playoff rankings would have been a bit unpredictable. Would UNC vault to the top four from No. 10? Would Stanford jump in with the Pac-12 title? Could Ohio State make it in?
But with Clemson winning to stay in the CFP, there shouldn’t be any surprises. The Tigers will almost assuredly be joined by Alabama, Oklahoma and Michigan State. The only unknown is where the teams will be slotted 1-4. Our best guess is Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma and Michigan State. We’ll find out on Sunday at noon ET.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
