SOUTH ROUNDUP : Clemson Changes Its Colors and Luck, 29-19

Coming off a loss and a tie, Clemson needed a change.

So the 19th-ranked Tigers turned in their orange uniforms for the purple they hadn’t worn since 1939, and freshman Nelson Welch kicked five field goals in a 29-19 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over No. 12 North Carolina State Saturday at Clemson, S.C.

DeChane Cameron passed for 143 yards and rushed 79 as Clemson, 4-1-1 overall and 2-0-1 in the ACC, gave the Wolfpack (6-1, 3-1) its first loss.

N.C. State won eight consecutive games before losing to Clemson for the third time in a row.

The Tigers, who had an open date a week ago, tied Virginia, 20-20, two weeks ago and lost to Georgia, 27-12, the week before. Clemson had not won since a 9-7 over Georgia Tech on Sept. 28.

Clemson missed a field goal on its first series but scored on its five other first-half possessions for a 23-7 lead against a team that had given up only 45 points to lead the nation in scoring defense.

Clemson rolled up 297 yards in the first half--53 more than N.C. State’s had allowed per game. Of the Tigers’ 50 first-half plays, 13 went for 11 yards or more.

The Tigers did it without the ACC’s leading rusher, Ronald Williams, who sprained his knee during warmups.

Welch, four of nine previously this season, missed 46-yarder early in the game. Then he made field goals in the second period from 31, 42 and 32 yards, added a 46-yarder in the third quarter and a 41-yarder with 4:14 left.

Georgia Tech 35, North Carolina 14--Shawn Jones became Georgia Tech’s all-time passing leader, throwing for 273 yards as the Yellow Jackets defeated the Tar Heels at Atlanta.

While Jones was setting four school records, Georgia Tech (4-4, 3-2) shut down Carolina. Chuckie Burnette, the ACC’s top-rated passer, completed seven of 15 passes for only 72 yards.

Jones completed 15 of 26 and also ran for a touchdown in the second quarter to give Tech a 21-7 lead. He passed six yards to Greg Lester and 13 yards to Emmett Merchant for touchdowns.

Natrone Means scored for North Carolina (4-3, 1-3) on a 35-yard run in the second quarter, and Todd Burnett added a three-yard scoring pass to Derrick Henderson in the final quarter.

Duke 17, Maryland 13--Dave Brown passed for one touchdown and ran for another as the Blue Devils overcame the Terrapins at College Park, Md.

Brown completed 30 of 42 passes for 334 yards, and tight end Aaron Shaw had 11 catches for 149 yards as the Blue Devils (4-1-1, 1-1) beat Maryland (2-5, 2-2) for the second time in three tries after losing 15 in a row to the Terrapins.

The Blue Devils sacked Maryland’s Jim Sandwisch five times and had four interceptions.

Virginia 48, Wake Forest 7--Matt Blundin passed for 275 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cavaliers past the Deacons in an ACC game at Charlottesville, Va..

Terry Kirby rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown, and Charles Way ran for two touchdowns as Virginia (5-2-1, 3-2-1) beat Wake Forest (1-6, 0-4) for the eighth consecutive time.

The Deacons (1-6, 0-4) have lost 16 ACC games in a row.

Virginia Tech 41, Louisville 13--Will Furrer threw three touchdown passes and Bo Campbell set up two scores with long punt returns and scored on a 51-yard pass play as the Hokies downed the Cardinals at Blacksburg, Va.

Erik Watts of Louisville (2-6) passed for 302 yards, but two of his three interceptions set up 10 points for Virginia Tech (4-4), and he was sacked six times.

Tulsa 33, Memphis State 28--T.J. Rubley threw for 370 yards as the Golden Hurricane won at Memphis. Rubley, who completed 21 of 32 passes, led a Tulsa attack that collected 537 yards in total offense. Chris Hughley ran for 127 yards and a touchdown in 29 carries, and Chris Penn hauled in seven passes for 188 yards and another touchdown.

Memphis State (4-4) was hurt by mistakes in tying to overtake Tulsa (5-2) in the second half.