Watson, Clemson claim ACC title and await playoff berth

Clemson Championship T-shirts and hats were delivered to the sports and outdoor retailer shortly before 9 a.m. on Saturday, almost 12 hours before the Tigers beat the Virginia Tech Hokies in the championship game 42-35.

Both Tigers showed up to Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Saturday. They’re back-to-back ACC champions for the first time in almost three decades, and they’re the No. 2 seed in the playoff. “You’ve got to win your conference first”.

This was a good ACC Championship game between two solid football teams. They beat No. 2 Clemson and No. 5 Penn State, and that September win in the rivalry game likely kept the Nittany Lions out of the playoff. We just wanted to be the ones with the trophy at the end. I mean, we were in good in a good spot there. That’s why it’s disappointing.

“I was mad”, Boulware said about that last drive. If I were the Tigers, I’d rather fly across the country to play the Buckeyes than drive down I-85 for a first-round game against the mighty Crimson Tide in Atlanta. “We have come a million miles from where we started”. “I think we can take it all again this year and that doesn’t happen often, so it’s a great time to be a tiger fan”, said Scott Kelly, a Clemson fan. Scoring on an 11-yard power run by their quarterback, the Hokies were back in the game at 21-14. He threw two interceptions. After taking the opening kickoff, the offense executed a nicely balanced drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Deshaun Watson.

The difference: Watson was able to change the game’s tide at will.

Navy finished with 306 yards, 168 on the ground.

The most interesting player on Clemson’s defensive line is freshman tackle Dexter Lawrence, who had two of those sacks.

“Like Coach Swinney (told us, ) we started No. 1 a year ago and ended No. 2”, senior center Jay Guillermo said.

Evans, meanwhile, had to depend too often on Bud Foster’s defense to open up opportunity. He thrives when the stakes are high, and his even-keeled nature prevents him from getting down after a mistake; his 15 interceptions are by far the most of any ACC quarterback this season, yet the Tigers sit at 12-1.

Virginia Tech, the Coastal Division victor, wasn’t just happy to play for the title.

Virginia Tech appeared to get an early break when defensive end Vinny Mihota tipped a Watson pass into the air that linebacker Andrew Motuapuaka intercepted at the Clemson 38. After a 42-35 win over No. 23 Virginia Tech, any remaining pressure to return to the postseason is off.

Clemson let Tech hang around, again.

It led to Travon McMillian punching it in from one yard out.

Evans threw for 264 yards and a touchdown and ran for 46 and two more scores.

That slowed Clemson’s attack, and Evan got the Hokies within 21-14 on an 11-yard TD run about four minutes before the half.

For a time, it seemed Foster had cracked a code for slowing the Tigers.

But Swinney had a solution of his own.

Watson’s right arm put Clemson right back in a commanding position on the Tigers’ ensuing possession.

The Hokies’ offense laid dormant for periods as well. Virginia Tech QB Jerod Evans had three himself. Virginia Tech’s bowl game streak is the longest active streak recognized by the NCAA. “They have … the top or (one of the) top two or three players in America in Deshaun Watson”.

However, all momentum that the Hokies gained before half was erased quickly in the third quarter, as Clemson’s defense forced three straight Virginia Tech three-and-outs to start the second half, with the Hokies running nine plays for -5 yards during that span.

Georgia Tech (8-4) has accepted an invitation to participate in the 72-annual TaxSlayer Bowl, where it will face Kentucky (7-5) at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.