SOUTH ROUNDUP : Trailing by 28-0, Clemson Overtakes Virginia, 29-28

To get to the best, Clemson Coach Ken Hatfield had to endure the worst.

Nelson Welch’s 32-yard field goal with 55 seconds left capped No. 25 Clemson’s comeback from a 28-point deficit and gave the Tigers a 29-28 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over 10th-ranked Virginia on Saturday at Charlottesville, Va.

“We played probably the finest half of football I’ve ever been associated with as a coach or a player,” Hatfield said.

Welch’s kick enabled the Tigers, 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the ACC, to avoid their first-ever 0-3 start in the conference.

Clemson defeated Virginia for the 30th time in 32 games.

Virginia (5-1, 4-1) lost for the first time in its last 11 regular-season games.

The Cavaliers built a 28-0 lead on four passes by Bobby Goodman in the first half. But Virginia couldn’t contain Clemson’s running game in the second half, when the Tigers got 288 of their 402 yards on the ground.

A 27-yard touchdown run by Rudy Harris with 5:31 left got Clemson to within 28-26. The Tigers were penalized for illegal procedure on their first two-point conversion attempt, putting the ball back on the eight-yard-line, and Howard Hall was pulled down at the four on the second try.

The Tigers got the ball back at their 35 with 3:53 remaining and used a 45-yard pass play from Louis Solomon to Larry Ryans to get to the Virginia nine, setting up Welch’s kick.

Clemson, which trailed, 28-7, at halftime, held Virginia to 32 yards and one first down in the third quarter.

The Tigers ran for 184 yards in the third quarter, including scoring runs of one yard by Harris and 53 yards by Rodney Blunt. Welch missed the extra-point kick after Blunt’s score, making it 28-20.

Goodman, operating against a banged-up Clemson secondary, completed nine of 14 passes in the first half. His first two scoring pass plays covered 33 and 37 yards to Tyrone Davis, who burned Tiger cornerback James Trapp on both plays.

Goodman added a 20-yard scoring pass to Patrick Jeffers and a four-yarder to Terrence Tomlin to make it 28-0 with 3:54 left in the half.

At that point, Clemson had 55 yards of offense, only one pass completion and had not crossed midfield.

The Tigers finished the half with 115 yards, 64 coming on a touchdown run by Solomon, who replaced starting quarterback Richard Moncrief early in the second quarter.

No. 17 Georgia Tech 28, Maryland 26--Shawn Jones threw three touchdown passes to Jason McGill, including a 58-yarder on the last play of the first half, and the Yellow Jackets beat the Terrapins in an ACC game at College Park, Md.

Georgia Tech (4-1, 3-1) trailed, 17-7, in the second quarter, but came back to take a 21-17 halftime lead on Jones’ desperation pass that bounced off the hands of several players before going to McGill as time expired in the second quarter.

The Yellow Jackets took the second-half kickoff and marched 73 yards, ending with Jimy Lincoln’s two-yard touchdown run for a 28-17 lead.

Maryland (1-5, 0-3) got a third-quarter safety and scored on a one-yard run by quarterback John Kaleo with 4:20 left, but didn’t get the ball again until 33 seconds remained.

Jones completed 16 of 31 passes for 268 yards, and McGill had seven receptions for 176 yards. Kaleo was 21 for 40 for 263 yards, but had four passes intercepted.

The Terrapins took a 17-7 lead with 9:12 left in the first half and recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but Mike Williams started the turnaround by intercepting Kaleo’s pass on the goal line.

Louisville 21, Virginia Tech 17--Quarterback Jeff Brohm ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and the Cardinals ended a three-game losing streak by beating the Hokies at Louisville.

Virginia Tech (2-3) went ahead 17-7 on Ryan Williams’ 23-yard field goal with six seconds left in the third quarter.

After Brohm scored on a one-yard run with 9:09 left, he passed to his brother, Greg, for a two-point conversion to get Louisville to within 17-15.

Ralph Dawkins ran 29 yards to set up Jeff Brohm’s six-yard touchdown run with 3:07 left.

Virginia Tech built a 14-3 lead on Maurice DeShazo’s eight-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman and a 91-yard kickoff return by Tony Kennedy.

No. 25 North Carolina State 48, Texas Tech 13--Geoff Bender threw two scoring passes in his first start of the season and Anthony Barbour rushed for 189 yards in 25 carries as the Wolfpack trounced the Red Raiders at Raleigh, N.C.

Bender, who started in place of injured Terry Jordan, threw touchdown passes of 19 and 10 yards before he was knocked from the game in the third quarter with an injury to his left shoulder. The sophomore completed 13 of 22 passes for 169 yards.

Jordan, who wasn’t supposed to play because of a sprained left foot, entered the game for the Wolfpack (5-2) and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Aubrey Shaw on his first throw. Shaw later scored on a three-yard run.

Barbour had a 68-yard run with 10:53 left. The senior, who had the fourth 100-yard game of his career, broke his previous rushing high of 171 set against Maryland last season.

Texas Tech (2-4) took a 10-7 lead on Robert Hall’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Lloyd Hill late in the first quarter.

Duke 45, East Carolina 14--Spence Fischer threw three touchdown passes and Sean Thomas returned a pass interception 84 yards for a score as the Blue Devils routed the Pirates at Durham, N.C.

Fischer completed 20 of 29 passes for 222 yards, including a four-yard scoring pass to Stanley Dorsey and a 20-yard touchdown throw to Randy Cuthbert as Duke (2-3) ran up a 35-0 lead with 11:14 left in the third quarter.

Fischer added an eight-yard scoring pass to Dan Clark in the final quarter.

Quarterback Michael Anderson of East Carolina (2-3) had five passes intercepted.

Memphis State 34, Cincinnati 14--Larry Porter rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers beat the Bearcats (1-4) at Memphis, Tenn.

Steve Matthews was 17 of 26 passes for 151 yards and two scores for Memphis State (2-3).