Kobe Pace and Will Shipley both rushed for more than 100 yards as Clemson kept its hopes alive for a seventh consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference championship with a 48-27 victory Saturday against No. 10 Wake Forest on Senior Day in Clemson, S.C.
The Tigers (8-3, 6-2 ACC) could win their seventh straight Atlantic Division title if Wake Forest loses at Boston College next week and NC State loses either of its remaining two games against Syracuse and North Carolina.
Wake Forest (9-2, 6-1) will win the division for the first time since 2006 if it defeats Boston College.
The victory continued Clemson’s recent domination against Wake Forest. The Tigers have won 13 in a row against the Demon Deacons dating back to 2009 — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s first season as the team’s head coach.
The win, which came on Swinney’s 52nd birthday, also extended Clemson’s home winning streak to a school-record 34 straight games, the longest active home winning streak in the nation.
Pace rushed for a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries while Shipley added 112 yards and two scores as part of a season-high 333-yard rushing attack by the Tigers. Clemson averaged 6.2 yards per rush.
Shipley also completed a 2-yard jump pass to tight end Davis Allen for a touchdown.
Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei completed 11 of 19 passes for 208 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown strike to Beaux Collins, as Clemson amassed 543 yards of offense.
But it was Clemson’s defense that set the tone for the day early. The Tigers sacked Sam Hartman three times on Wake Forest’s first two possessions and held the Deacons to 10 yards in the opening quarter.
The Tigers finished with seven sacks and held the Deacons to 36 yards on the ground.
Wake Forest bounced back to score 10 points in the second quarter and close its halftime deficit to 17-10, but Clemson began pulling away in the third quarter as Pace scored on a pair of short-yardage runs to boost the Tigers’ lead to 38-13 entering the fourth quarter.
Collins led Clemson’s receivers with four receptions for 137 yards.
Hartman completed 27 of 43 passes for 312 yards with one touchdown and one interception. A.T. Perry had five receptions for 113 yards.
Nick Sciba had field goals of 23 and 31 yards for Wake Forest while Clemson’s B.T. Potter had two field goals, including a 50-yarder that opened the scoring and gave him a school-record six field goals of 50 yards or more for his career.
–Field Level Media
