• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Clemson routs Wake Forest, sets up showdown with Boston College

Nov 10, 2007 - 10:01 PM CLEMSON, South Carolina (Ticker) -- Cullen Harper and Clemson have their sights set on the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

Harper passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another as the 20th-ranked Tigers scored on their first four possessions Saturday en route to a 44-10 victory over Wake Forest.

The win set for the stage for next week's showdown with Boston College that will decide the ACC Atlantic Division title.

"We came out from the start and put points on the board," Clemson running back C.J. Spiller said. "It felt really good to score points early."

Clemson (8-2, 5-2 ACC Atlantic) will carry plenty of momentum into that game, having won four straight since a 41-23 loss at Virginia Tech on October 6.

During that span, the Tigers have outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 191-51.

Harper continued a record-breaking season for Clemson, completing 27-of-35 passes for 266 yards. The three touchdowns increased his school single-season record to 26.

"Cullen did a great job finding the open guy the entire game," Spiller added. "You have to give the offensive line credit. They did a great job giving us time to make plays."

Wake Forest (6-4, 4-3 ACC Atlantic) started the day tied with Clemson for second place in the division, but the Demon Deacons could not contain the high-flying Tigers. The loss eliminated Wake Forest, the defending ACC champions, from the division race.

Clemson's offense was unstoppable in the first half, scoring a touchdown, a field goal and two more touchdowns on its first four possessions to open a 24-7 lead.

"I felt like he's (Harper) a good player and they've got a lot of skill in their receiving corps and running backs," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "Clemson does a nice job with their personnel sets and giving you different looks."

Harper did most of his damage in the first half, completing 18-of-24 passes for 189 yards. He scored on a seven-yard TD run in the first quarter, then tossed TD strikes of five yards to Tyler Grisham and 10 yards to Aaron Kelly in the second period. "He (Harper) has good ability with a good, strong arm," Grobe added. "He has a pocket presence and looks down the field. I'm impressed with him."

Kelly caught nine passes for 93 yards and Grisham hauled in nine receptions for 100 yards.

"These guys have both played a lot of football," Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said. "Tyler played as a true freshman and Aaron has been playing for three years."

Wake Forest closed to 10-7 on Josh Adams' two-yard TD run with 1:22 left in the first quarter, but Clemson scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter to put away the contest by halftime.

Mark Buchholtz kicked a 52-yard field as time expired in the first half, giving the Tigers a 27-7 cushion.

Clemson harrassed Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner throughout, sacking him five times. Skinner completed 21-of-30 passes for threw for only 170 yards.

"Our coaches had us prepared for Wake Forest," Clemson linebacker Courtney Vincent said. "They are the defending (ACC) champions and we knew we would have to have a great effort to win." While Spiller was held to 54 yards rushing on eight carries, he returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the second time in as many weeks.

Spiller's 90-yard return extended the Tigers' cushion to 33-10 with 7:30 left in the third quarter.

Harper and Kelly hooked up again for an nine-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that capped a 13-play drive.

Kelly set a Clemson record with his 11th TD reception of the season, breaking the previous mark of 10 set by Derrick Hamilton in 2003.

With the outcome no longer in doubt, Clemson could afford to begin looking ahead to next weekend's showdown.

"Next week is as big as it gets," Vincent said. "We have everything in front of us."