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Clemson slips past Boston College

Oct 19, 2014 - 5:27 AM Chestnut Hill, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - C.J. Davidson's go-ahead touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave No. 24 Clemson a 17-13 win over Boston College on Saturday.

Wayne Gallman also had a rushing touchdown while Cole Stoudt went 29-for-45 for 285 yards for the Tigers (5-2, 4-1 ACC), who have won their past four games.

"Our defense really stepped up this week and this is a big win," Stoudt said. "It was our first win on the road. It's very exciting."

Tyler Murphy went 8-for-19 for 108 yards with two touchdowns, and also had 13 carries for 55 yards for the Eagles (4-3, 1-2), who were coming off a win at NC State last week.

Boston College had trailed by three points since the end of the first half, but went on top with a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

Starting at his own 16, Murphy went deep and hooked up with Dan Crimmins for 48 yards to the Clemson 36. Following a 15-yard catch from Charlie Callinan and a 16-yard run by Myles Willis, the Eagles had a 1st-and-goal at the Clemson 5.

After a run saw the team lose a yard, Murphy rolled out to the right before looking back to his left for a long toss to a wide open Josh Bordner, who came down with a leaping grab to give his team the lead. Mike Knoll missed the extra point, though, and it was a 13-10 game with 10:59 to play.

It didn't take long for the Tigers to get the lead back, as Stoudt hit Mike Williams deep for 50 yards on 3rd-and-10, setting up a 32-yard touchdown run from Davidson for a 17-13 lead with 9:35 to play.

Boston College had to punt on its ensuing possession, but forced a three-and- out from Clemson to get the ball back at its own 18 with 3 1/2 minutes to play.

Murphy gave the team a big play with a 43-yard run down to the Clemson 38, and the team converted a 4th-and-1 to get a 1st-and-10 at the 26. The first snap saw Murphy go down the right sideline for a wide open Tyler Rouse, who dropped what would have been a touchdown pass. The next three passes fell incomplete as the team turned over the ball on downs and the Tigers went into the victory formation.

"We gave ourselves a chance to win. We just couldn't make a couple of plays that we needed to make to close the game out," BC coach Steve Addazio said. "I knew it wouldn't be pretty and it wasn't."

Neither side crossed midfield in the first quarter, but Clemson had the ball at the 50-yard line to start its first touch of the second quarter and took advantage of the short field.

Following catches of 19 and 15 yards by Williams and Artavis Scott, respectively, Gallman took a handoff up the middle and got in from 17 yards out for a 7-0 lead with 11:42 left in the first half.

Later in the half, Boston College got on the board on a 26-yard scoring catch by Sherman Alston from Murphy to tie the game with 7:29 left.

Clemson got the ball back with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half, and was able to get into field goal range as the team moved 69 yards and Ammon Lakip booted a 23-yarder to end the half and give the Tigers a 10-7 lead.

Game Notes

Clemson hosts Syracuse next week ... Boston College plays at Wake Forest next week ... Clemson controlled the ball for almost 36 minutes and outgained Boston College, 398-263 ... Williams finished with eight catches for 128 yards in the win ... Clemson has won four straight against Boston College.