South Roundup : Clemson Defense Takes Over in 30-13 Victory

Clemson is a team on the take.

The 12th-ranked Tigers forced 5 turnovers, including Doug Brewster’s 68-yard pass interception for a back-breaking touchdown, in a 30-13 Atlantic Coast Conference victory Saturday over Georgia Tech at Atlanta.

“Brewster’s interception turned the game around for us, there’s no doubt about that,” Clemson Coach Danny Ford said. “At that time, the game was still in the balance.”

Clemson (3-1 overall, 1-0 in the ACC) had a 17-10 lead when Todd Rampley’s pass bounced off the chest of Jerry Mays and Brewster came along to pick it out of the air.

“When I saw it pop up, I said, ‘I’ve got to catch the ball,’ ” Brewster said. “I was thinking I’ve got to score.”

Georgia Tech (1-2, 0-2), after 2 fumbles earlier in the third quarter, seemed about to tie the score.

Rampley finished with 17 of 36 completions for 206 yards.

Clemson cashed in on Tech’s fourth turnover, when Gerald Chamblin fumbled on his 11 while fielding a punt in the closing minutes. Joe Henderson scored on an 11-yard run with 3:04 left.

Duke 38, Virginia 34--Anthony Dilweg passed for 391 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Blue Devils, off to their best start since 1971, withstood a late challenge from the Cavaliers in an ACC game at Durham, N.C.

Dilweg passed for all of his touchdowns as the Blue Devils (4-0, 1-0) built a 31-7 halftime lead, but Virginia (2-2, 1-1) rallied on Shawn Moore’s touchdown pass plays of 31 and 51 yards to Tim Finkelston in the third quarter.

Moore’s pass was intercepted by Wyatt Smith with 4:20 left in the quarter, and Duke mounted a 51-yard, 4-play drive capped by Roger Boone’s 2-yard run to make it 38-21 and held on despite 2 scoring runs by Moore in the final quarter.

So. Mississippi 45, East Carolina 42--Ailrick Young threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Preston Hansford with 12 seconds left and the Golden Eagles overtook the Pirates at Greenville, S.C.

The Eagles (3-1) drove 64 yards in 8 plays for the winning score, including a 42-yard pass from Brett Favre to Alfred Williams that put the ball on the East Carolina 5.

Maryland 30, North Carolina State 26--Neil O’Donnell threw 2 touchdown passes, including a 10-yarder to Dean Green with 72 seconds left and the Terrapins rallied to beat the Wolfpack in an ACC game at College Park, Md.

North Carolina State (2-1, 1-1), trailed, 23-7, at halftime but took a 26-23 lead with 2:48 left on a 25-yard field goal by Damon Hartman.

O’Donnell helped Maryland (2-1, 1-0) to its lead with a 72-yard touchdown pass play to Mike Beasley.

Tulane 20, Memphis State 19--Todd Wiggins kicked a 46-yard field goal with a minute left to push the Green Wave past the Tigers at New Orleans.

After Wiggins’ field goal broke a 17-17 tie, Tulane’s Perry Leslie recovered a fumble and Tulane (3-1) gave Memphis State (1-3) its final points when punter Micah Neuses ran out of end zone for a safety with 2 seconds left.

Citadel 42, Navy 35--Gene Brown rushed for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns and Adrian Johnson added 108 yards and 2 scores as the Bulldogs overran the Midshipmen at Charleston, S.C.

The Bulldogs (2-2) scored 21 points in the second quarter to take a 28-7 halftime lead and withstood a 28-point second half by the Middies (2-2).

Louisville 38, North Carolina 34--Jay Gruden threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for a third and Deon Booker scored on a 6-yard run with 2:44 left as the Cardinals beat the Tar Heels at Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Carolina (0-3) pulled to within 38-34 on Jonathon Hall’s 5-yard run with 1:16 left, but Louisville (2-2) recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.