Wake Forest University
Clemson
Wake Forest Falls at Clemson, 38-3
10/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 17, 2009
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CLEMSON, S.C. - Clemson jumped on Wake Forest early and never looked back on its way to a 38-3 victory Saturday at Death Valley.
With the loss, the Demon Deacons fall to 4-3 (2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) while the Tigers improve to 3-3 (2-2 ACC).
The Deacons gained only 178 yards of total offense, while the Tigers recorded 382 yards of total offense.
For Wake, Riley Skinner completed 11-of-24 passes for 82 yards and two interceptions. It was his lowest passing output since completing three of eight passes for 57 yards against Miami last year. Ryan McManus came in at quarterback in the fourth quarter and was 0-for-1.
Willie Dixon led Wake Forest on the ground with eight carries for 35 yards. Josh Adams carried the ball nine times for 26 yards while Brandon Pendergrass had seven rushes for 21 yards.
Devon Brown caught three passes for 22 yards, while Chris Givens caught a pass for 16 yards.
Defensively for the Deacons, Cyhl Quarles and Dominique Midgett tied for the team lead with six tackles. Kyle Jarrett had five tackles, including the first two sacks of his career. Brandon Ghee and Ramon Booi recovered fumbles for Wake Forest.
Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker had a solid performance, completing 10-of-17 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.
C.J. Spiller had his first two touchdown performance of the season, running nine times for 106 yards and two scores. Kyle Parker and Jamie Harper also had rushing touchdowns for the Tigers. Michael Palmer had four catches for 49 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, Kavell Conner led all tacklers with eight stops, including two tackles for loss. DeAndre McDaniel and Rashard Hall each had interceptions for Clemson.
It took Clemson only two and a half minutes to draw first blood. In a bizarre play, Wake Forest's opening kickoff went only 16 yards and gave the Tigers the ball at the Deacons' 46. Kyle Parker hit Terrance Ashe for an 11 yard completion and then found Michael Palmer on a 22-yard play action pass to bring the ball to the Wake Forest 10-yard line. Later, Parker threw to Palmer in the back of the end zone for a one-yard touchdown to put Clemson up 7-0.
Later in the first quarter the Demon Deacons were driving into Clemson territory, but DeAndre McDaniel's ACC-leading fifth interception of the season gave the Tigers the ball. CJ Spiller juked a few defenders for a 17-yard run to the Wake Forest 30-yard line. Two Parker passes brought the Tigers to the Deacons' eight-yard line, but Kenny Okoro broke up a pass in the end zone on third down and Clemson had to settle for a Richard Jackson 22-yard field goal to make the score 10-0.
On the next possession, Wake picked up a couple of first downs to drive to the 34-yard line of the Tigers. However, they could go no further and Jimmy Newman's 51-yard field goal attempt was no good.
Clemson got the ball and Parker threw downfield to Jacoby Ford who made a nice catch for a 55-yard gain to the Wake Forest five-yard line. Parker ran the ball in himself from the three-yard line to put the Tigers up 17-0 early in the second quarter.
Late in the second quarter, Wake Forest took over on its own 44-yard line after a punt. Skinner threw to Brown underneath who ran for a 19-yard gain and a Clemson personal foul on the play brought the ball to the Tigers 22-yard line. A reverse pass from Marshall Williams to Skinner was good for 14 yards and a run by Tommy Bohanon got the Deacons to the one-yard line. However, Josh Adams was stopped twice on sweeps and a holding call backed Wake up to the 11-yard line. On third down, the ball went off the fingertips of a wide-open Mike Rinfrette, and on fourth down Newman kicked a 28-yard field goal to make the score 17-3.
After the kickoff, Clemson got the ball on its own 34-yard line. On the first play of the drive, C.J. Spiller ran straight through the Wake defense for a 66-yard touchdown run to increase the Tigers' lead to 24-3.
The Tigers got the ball on the Wake Forest 40-yard line with 2:24 remaining in the half. Parker threw to Palmer on third down who broke tackles to get down to the Wake Forest 21-yard line. On another third down, Parker scrambled for 14 yards to make it first and goal at the Deacons' three-yard line. Jamie Harper ran the ball in to extend the Clemson lead to 31-3 at the half.
After the Demon Deacons failed on a fourth and one attempt, Clemson took over on downs at the Wake Forest 43-yard line. The Tigers reached into their bag of tricks as running back Jacoby Ford threw to Xavier Dye for a 42-yard gain. C.J. Spiller would run the ball into the end zone from the 14-yard line to make the score 38-3.
There was not much action in the fourth quarter as the teams traded possessions, and ran out the clock.
Wake Forest will be back on the road next weekend as they travel to Navy on Saturday, Oct. 24. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. The game can be seen on CBS College Sports and can also be heard on the Wake Forest ISP Sports Network.
