Clemson Stings Georgia Tech Behind Dantzler

Clemson quarterback Woody Dantzler capped a brilliant game by running 11 yards for a touchdown in overtime, giving the Tigers a 47-44 upset of No. 9 Georgia Tech on Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Atlanta.

“I feel so good right now I can’t even describe it,” said Dantzler, who fumbled on Clemson’s first possession but was flawless the rest of the game.

It was a fitting end to a game that featured seven lead changes after halftime.

Dantzler scrambled 38 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, then pulled his team from the brink of defeat with a 63-yard scoring pass to J.J. McKelvey late in regulation.

Dantzler completed 18 of 32 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. He also led Clemson in rushing with 164 yards in 25 carries--meaning the quarterback had a hand in 418 of his team’s 502 yards.

“It’s good to have a quarterback who can do that,” said Travis Zachery, who scored three touchdowns for the Tigers.

The Yellow Jackets (3-1, 0-1 in the ACC) had the ball first in overtime, settling for Luke Manget’s 33-yard field goal after Joe Burns was stopped for no gain on third and one at the 16.

The ball went over to Dantzler, who burned the Yellow Jackets one final time. Facing third and six from the 11, he took one step back, spotted an opening up the middle and ran into the end zone without being touched to give the Tigers (3-1, 1-1) a crucial victory on the heels of a last-second loss to Virginia a week earlier.

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In other games involving ACC teams: Chris Rix threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns as No. 18 Florida State raced to a 48-24 victory against Wake Forest at Tallahassee, Fla. The Seminoles (3-1) have won 37 consecutive home games and are undefeated in 54 at Doak Campbell Stadium dating to a 1991 loss to Miami, which is Florida State’s next opponent on Oct. 13. Wake Forest is 2-2 and 0-2.... Bryson Spinner threw two touchdown passes and Billy McMullen caught two at Charlottesville, Pa., as Virginia (3-1, 2-0) rolled to a 31-10 victory against Duke (0-4, 0-2), extending the Blue Devils’ losing streak to 16 games.... Darian Durant threw two touchdown passes to Kory Bailey as North Carolina (2-3, 2-1) followed its upset of Florida State with a 17-9 victory against North Carolina State (2-1, 0-1) at Raleigh, N.C.... Bruce Perry ran for 153 yards and a touchdown at College Park, Md., as Maryland (4-0) dispatched error-prone West Virginia, 32-20. The Mountaineers fell to 2-2.

Big East

Grant Noel was 15 of 25 for 170 yards and No. 8 Virginia Tech (4-0) capitalized on five Central Florida (1-3) turnovers and defeated the Golden Knights, 46-14, at Blacksburg, Va.... Brian St. Pierre threw two touchdown passes and linebacker Scott Bradley returned an interception 27 yards for another score as Boston College (3-1) defeated Army, 31-10, at Boston. The Black Knights (0-3) have lost 17 of 18.... Troy Nunes threw four touchdown passes and James Mungro scored the decisive touchdown on a six-yard run in the fourth quarter as Syracuse (3-2) defeated East Carolina, 44-30, at Syracuse, N.Y. The Orangemen avenged a loss last year to the Pirates (2-2).... Marc Hickok kicked a 47-yard field goal with 3:04 to play and Connecticut (1-3) ended a seven-game losing streak with a 20-19 victory over Rutgers (1-3) at Piscataway, N.Y.

Conference USA

Tony Stallings rushed for a career-high 155 yards and Dave Ragone threw two touchdown passes to Deion Branch to lead Louisville (4-1) to a 38-21 victory over Memphis (2-2) in a conference opener at Louisville, Ky.... Reserve tailback Corey Connally ran for 199 yards and a touchdown to lead Texas Christian (3-2) to a 34-17 victory over Houston (1-3) in a conference opener at Houston.... Southern Mississippi (3-0) used a swarming defense and big plays from its special teams and defeated Alabama Birmingham, 3-0, at Hattiesburg, Miss. The Blazers fell to 2-2 and 1-1.... Mewelde Moore ran for 201 yards, including 51 on a fake punt, and Patrick Ramsey threw for 269 yards and two scores as Tulane (1-4) defeated Division I-AA Southern, 41-7, at New Orleans. The Jaguars (2-2) turned the ball over five times.

Mountain West

Brandon Doman rescued Brigham Young’s mistake-filled offense by running 21 yards for a touchdown with 1:12 left to give the 20th-ranked Cougars (4-0) a 35-31 victory over Nevada Las Vegas (0-4) at Las Vegas.... Dameon Hunter ran for a career-high 177 yards and two touchdowns as Utah (3-1) defeated New Mexico, 37-16, in a conference opener at Salt Lake City. The Lobos fell to 1-3.... Sophomore Bradlee Van Pelt threw for 115 yards and added 85 yards rushing in his starting debut as Colorado State won a conference opener against Wyoming, 42-14, at Laramie, Wyo. The Cowboys (2-2) have lost five in a row to the Rams.

Western Athletic

Texas El Paso (2-2, 1-1) defeated Tulsa (1-2, 0-2), 26-10, at El Paso.