NO. 12 CLEMSON 24, NO. 6 NOTRE DAME 22
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Deshaun Watson threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third and Clemson's defense stopped DeShone Kizer on a tying two-point conversion as the 12th-ranked Tigers held on to beat No. 6 Notre Dame 24-22 on Saturday night.
Tigers linebacker B.J. Goodson had an interception and a fumble recovery to halt two fourth-quarter drives by the Fighting Irish (4-1). But the biggest stop was by defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, who brought down Kizer short of the goal line with 7 seconds left.
Kizer rallied Notre Dame from a 21-3 deficit in the second half with two touchdown passes, the last a 1-yard toss to Torii Hunter Jr.
Clemson secured the Notre Dame's onside kick and closed out the victory, moving to 4-0 for fourth time in five years.
Waterlogged Clemson fans rushed the field when time ran out, celebrating the victory over the Tigers' highest-ranked opponent since they defeated No. 5 Georgia to start the 2013 season. Those title dreams died a few weeks later when undefeated Clemson was stomped by eventual national champion Florida State, which put up the most points ever scored by an opponent in Death Valley in a 51-14 loss.
Another loss was surely on many minds as Clemson saw its 18-point lead sliced to two after Hunter's TD catch.
This time, though, the defense held strong.
Clemson forced four turnovers, all in the second half, to stay in front.
Watson accounted for 190 yards, with 93 of those coming on the ground. He had a 21-yard TD run early in third quarter to put the Tigers up 21-3. That's when Notre Dame's defense rose up to give its offense a chance to come back.
Kizer had a 56-yard scoring pass to C.J. Prosise, Notre Dame's eighth play this season of at least 50 yards. The Irish closed to 24-16 on Kizer's 3-yard scoring run to set up the wild final moments.
Clemson struck quickly in Notre Dame's first visit to Death Valley since 1977, with Watson running for 38 yards on the game's first play. Watson found Leggett moments later for a 6-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead.
Clemson kept the pressure on its next series. Watson connected with Hunter Renfrow for a 24-yard pass inside Notre Dame's 20 before finding Scott for a 13-yard TD and a 14-0 lead as the stunned Irish looked at each other as they headed to the sidelines.
The Irish's only points of the half came on a 46-yard field goal by Justin Yoon.
In other games involving ACC teams, Dalvin Cook had a 94-yard touchdown run before leaving with a left leg injury, and No. 11 Florida State held on to beat Wake Forest 24-16. ... Qadree Ollison ran for 122 yards and a second-half touchdown and Pittsburgh limited Virginia Tech to 100 yards of offense in a 17-13 victory that opened both teams' conference seasons. ... Freshman quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for 121 yards, including a 68-yard scoring run in the first quarter, and threw for a 20-yard touchdown in the second to help Louisville beat North Carolina State 20-13. ... Thomas Sirk passed for 195 yards and Ross Martin kicked three field goals to help Duke beat Boston College 9-7. ... Quinshad Davis threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Marquise Williams, capping North Carolina's comeback from a three-touchdown deficit, and the Tar Heels beat Georgia Tech 38-31.
CONFERENCE USA
WESTERN KENTUCKY 49, RICE 10
HOUSTON -- Brandon Doughty threw for 409 yards and four first-half touchdowns to lead Western Kentucky to a victory over Rice.
D'Andre Ferby added two touchdown runs for the Hilltoppers (4-1, 2-0 Conference USA), who piled up 504 yards.
Doughty finished 28 of 38 and moved into the top 100 in NCAA for career passing yards with 9,800. He connected with Taywan Taylor for 10 yards, Jared Dangerfield for 39 and Antwane Grant for 45 in the first quarter. In the second he connected with Tyler Higbee for 30 yards to make it 28-3.
Doughty has thrown for 400-plus yards in six of his past seven games with an average of 356 yards in the first half of the past three after having 343 against Rice.
Western Kentucky turned five Rice (2-3, 0-1) turnovers into touchdowns. Darmontre Warr also ran for a Western Kentucky touchdown.
In other games involving C-USA teams Saturday, Blake Frohnapfel threw three touchdown passes to lead Massachusetts to a 24-14 victory over Florida International. ... Chase Litton threw two touchdown passes to lead Marshall to a 27-7 victory over Old Dominion. ... Nick Mullens threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score, and Southern Mississippi trounced North Texas 49-14. ... Jeff Driskel completed 20 of 33 passes for 290 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for another score to lead Louisiana Tech over Louisiana-Lafayette 43-14.
Sports on 10/04/2015