CLEMSON, S.C. – Wake Forest looked overmatched early against Clemson, battled its way into the game, and then a couple of third-quarter turnovers were the Deacons’ undoing in a 48-27 loss at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Clemson (8-3, 6-2 ACC) scored three touchdowns in a span of 7:12 – two of them coming when Wake Forest fumbled on the first play of a possession.
Wake Forest lost an ACC game for the first time this season, but it didn’t lose control of its destiny in the Atlantic Division. This will come down to whether the Deacons can win next weekend at Boston College; if they don’t, Clemson or N.C. State (if it wins later today and next weekend) will be in Charlotte playing for the ACC championship.
For more than a brief period of time, this game looked like it had some makings of a down-to-the-wire game. But Wake’s strong second quarter was erased by a dismal third quarter, and it created too big of a hole for the Deacons to dig out.
Wake Forest turned the ball over twice in the third quarter to give Clemson the ball on the Deacons’ 20-yard line. The first time, Clemson ran three rushing plays to score a touchdown.
The second time, it was five straight rushes to score.
In between those scores, Wake Forest (9-2, 6-1 ACC) settled for a field goal, and Clemson added another touchdown on a 58-yard catch-and-run by Beaux Collins.
Wake’s first snap after Collins’ touchdown saw Sam Hartman fumble after pulling the ball away from a running back, and Clemson recovered and eventually scored to make the lead 38-13.
The Tigers helped salt this one away with a drive engulfing 7:41 of the fourth quarter, after Quinton Cooley scored his first career touchdown on the quarter’s first play.
Clemson jumped out to a 10-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game, and Wake Forest netted 10 yards of offense on its first four possessions.
That provided the feeling of this being like recent matchups of these teams, just with reversed positions in the standings – but it didn’t last beyond the first quarter.
Wake Forest found an offensive rhythm in the second quarter, driving 81 yards in 14 plays before settling for a 23-yard field goal by Nick Sciba.
Clemson answered with a 71-yard drive that ended with Will Shipley’s jump pass for a touchdown to put Clemson ahead 17-3, and the Deacons responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that saw Christian Turner score out of a Heavy Deac direct snap.
Wake Forest was driving at the end of the first half following a diving interception by Malik Mustapha, but Hartman was intercepted with 6 seconds left to extinguish any scoring chance.
