The Tar Heels didn’t wait for the fourth quarter to let this one go down to the wire.
Instead, imagine a first quarter with two fumbles inside the Clemson 2-yard line that, if instead were touchdowns, might have taken control of the game and sobered the capacity Clemson crowd. That was part of the plan — and it failed miserably along with other aspects of the mistake-prone 31-20 loss to the Tigers, their sixth straight win over UNC.
Quarterback Drake Maye, whom Clemson eventually pressured into one of his worst college performances, showed early brilliance with a 33-yard touchdown to J.J. Jones. Maye was chased out of the pocket to the right, somehow saw Jones downfield and lofted the ball off his back foot for a 7-0 lead.
That was a good start, but it could have been a far greater beginning.
Before Maye’s gem to Jones, he had hit Tez Walker down the right sideline for 43 yards to the Clemson 2. A false start moved the ball back to the 7, then Omarion Hampton fumbled for the first time in 208 prior carries this season. He fumbled again after busting a 64-yard run that was initially called a touchdown. A review showed Hampton had lost the ball just before crossing the goal line. That would have made it 14-0 and surely quieted Death Valley to a loud murmur.
“We had every bad break you could possibly have,” Mack Brown said after his Tar Heels suffered their third loss in the last five games.
After that, it was all Clemson, which tied the score and took a 21-7 lead before Hampton’s 55 yards to the house brought the Heels within seven in the third quarter. Ten straight points then put the Tigers up 31-14 and made Hampton’s second TD with seven minutes left in the game irrelevant.
If you remember the painful ACC Championship last December, you know the rematch was eerily similar. Those Tar Heels also took an early 7-0 lead before also falling behind 21-7 and Clemson’s defense sacked Maye four times (same as this game). Both victories were cemented with interceptions by the Tigers’ All-ACC cornerback Nate Wiggins.
Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins (20) returns an interception for a touchdown in the second half during the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game against North Carolina on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
This time, unranked Clemson was favored by more than a touchdown over the No. 20 Tar Heels, who registered a season-low 20 points and 209 yards passing that barely bettered Maye’s career low of 208 (he did extend his 200-plus yards per game to an FBS-high of 25 in a row).
Clemson’s third straight win upped coach Dabo Swinney’s home record to 97-9. It was all but over entering the fourth quarter, where Swinney’s record with a double-digit lead is now 125-1. Someday, he will join Carolina’s Brown in the College Football Hall of Fame.
During practice for this game, Brown asked his players how many of them were offered scholarships by Clemson. Only a few raised their hands, and the entire team proved why. The Tigers have been one of the dominant programs in the country over the past 12 years (all 10-plus win seasons) with four trips to the College Football Playoff and two national championships.
After an opening game loss at Duke and defeats to Florida State, Miami and N.C. State, Clemson improved its offense and is now 7-4, trending toward a respectable bowl game. Carolina needs to win at N.C. State this Saturday to avoid another late season collapse and relegation to a lower-tier bowl.
The Tar Heels have had trouble with all kinds of quarterbacks, especially some with thin resumes. Clemson sophomore Cade Klubnik had 263 yards of total offense with one touchdown pass and a scoring run that put the Tigers ahead for good. His numbers didn’t quite match his freshman MVP debut in the 39-10 ACC title win in Charlotte but were still good enough.
Despite some courageous runs and one amazing left-handed shovel pass for a first down, Maye was running for his life most of the vexing night under a half-moon in South Carolina. UNC still has a chance for its first 10-win season since 1997 but must beat State and win its bowl game to finish 10-3.
That will be challenging in Raleigh, where the Wolfpack’s renewed quarterback Brennan Armstrong has been terrific since returning to the starting lineup. He had 292 total yards and was responsible for four touchdowns in State’s upset of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. So, it will be a rivalry game between 8-3 teams that seem headed in different directions.
Brown has lost two in a row to N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren, whose defenses are always taxing and will be again with a howling crowd at Carter Finley Stadium. Before transferring to State from Virginia, Armstrong had several big games against Carolina and is the kind of run-pass QB that has troubled the Tar Heels.
North Carolina defensive back Antavious Lane, bottom left, tries to tackle Clemson running back Will Shipley, top left, during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Going to Clemson, Brown promised he would be aggressive including fourth downs, where his team converted 2-of-5. One of those that failed was highly questionable at the Tigers’ 46. It took seven snaps and three and a half minutes for them to grab a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter.
Penalties were again a killer for UNC, which had 10 for 75 yards and several that resulted changed drives. Cedrick Gray, who made eight tackles and a touchdown-saving pass break-up, had a debatable ruffing-the-passer flag that Brown protested vehemently after it wiped away an interception in the end zone that would have kept the score 7-7 at half time.
It was a frustrating ordeal for the head coach, whose team came in leading the ACC in offense and managed just three touchdowns and succumbed to Clemson’s ball-control offense that had almost 17 more minutes in time of possession. It also meant the defense was spent by the fourth quarter.
“Our kids played hard, played tough, they never gave up,” Brown said, knowing it takes more to earn the big wins that have eluded Carolina over the years.
Hampton did have his sixth straight 100-plus game, rushing for 178 yards 19 carries. That matches All-American Don McCauley back in 1970, when he became UNC’s all-time seasonal rusher with 1,720 yards (Hampton is up to 1,425).
But the early fumbles squandered a chance for a big lead that might have changed Clemson’s strategy from running the ball to more passing, not its strength. Charlotte’s Will Shipley, playing his Senior Day game, had 126 yards and a touchdown, averaging 7 yards a carry.
He is one of many Clemson players who was offered a scholarship by Brown. For now, at least, their program remains on another level.
Featured image via Associated Press Jacob Kupferman
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