N.C . State (6-5, 3-4 ACC) beat No. 7 Clemson (9-2, 6-2 ACC) 37-13 at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday.
The Pack maintains control of their post-season hopes heading into the game against Maryland on Saturday.
Clemson, who were without star receiver Sammy Watkins, who was out due to a shoulder injury, started as the favorites after having already clinched the ACC Atlantic Division.
Redshirt junior quarterback Mike Glennon , who had 253 yards and three touchdowns, began slowly and failed to make big plays in the first quarter. State, who had conceded the second-lowest penalties in the ACC until then, gave up an early 15-yard penalty which was followed by an offensive line collapse that saw Glennon getting sacked to put the Tigers in scoring range. The defense stuck to its guns and sacked Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd, who leads all quarterbacks in the ACC in passing yards, on the State 5-yard line and the Tigers were forced to go for a field goal.
The first quarter ended 3-0 in favor of the Tigers as the Pack offensive line kept on undoing the work put up by the defense with Glennon getting sacked a second time.
It was the offense that stole the show early in the second quarter when a 16-yard run by junior halfback James Washington was followed with two catches of 16 and 11 yards by senior tight end George Bryan, the latter resulting in a touchdown, giving State a 7-3 lead with 11:35 to go in the second quarter.
After the score, redshirt freshman defensive end Art Norman sacked Boyd, who fumbled the ball, and redshirt junior linebacker Terrell Manning was on hand to pick it up on the Clemson six-yard line. Glennon took advantage of the field position and threw a pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jay Smith across the middle to give State another six points and freshman kicker Niklas Sade stepped up and converted the extra point to give State a 14-3 lead with 10:33 to go in the second.
State increased its lead to 17-3 with a 21-yard field goal by Sade.
Clemson’s day got worse after they got another 10-yard penalty following the kick off after Sade’s field goal. Soon after, Boyd got sacked yet again for a loss of nine yards on the Clemson five-yard line when Manning and Norman combined to bring up another Clemson fourth down.
Senior wide receiver T.J . Graham returned a punt for 34 yards from where redshirt freshman halfback Tony Creecy duly obliged with a four-yard run that brought the score up to 23-3 for the Pack.
State achieved it’s best-ever haul in a quarter since 2005 when, with nine seconds to go in the first half, Glennon threw a 36-yard pass to put the ball in field goal territory. Sade didn’t disappoint as he shot from 32 yards to bring the score up to 27-3 heading into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Glennon started from where he left off in the first half with a 24-yard pass to Graham to put the ball on the Clemson 14-yard line. The offense was unable to find the end zone despite coming close but the scoreboard kept on ticking with Sade converting another field goal from 21 yards out.
The State defense again showed why they were ranked fourth in the ACC with two interceptions and fumbles, six sacks and 14 tackles for a loss of 55 yards as Clemson’s revered offense kept searching for answers.
Glennon capitalized on another scoring opportunity with Washington and redshirt junior wide receiver Tobias Palmer, who had successive 22- and 43-yard passes, leading to a touchdown and a 31-point lead for the Pack.
The third quarter proved historic when Graham took the record for ACC career kickoff return yardage with a 15-yard kickoff return following a Clemson field goal. Sophomore corner David Amerson , who entered the game leading the nation with 10 interceptions, tied the ACC season record with 11 when he picked off Boyd’s pass on the State one-yard line to equal UNC’s Dre Bly’s record for the maximum interceptions in a season set in 1996.
The Tigers finally got a consolation touchdown late into the fourth quarter after a 2-yard rush by Mike Bellamy, but it was too little too late as the Wolfpack clinched the Textile Bowl for the first time since 2003.
