TIGERS WIN AS SPILLER ENTERS RING OF HONOR AND ELLIOTT RETURNS
BOX SCORE | GAME NOTES | HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY
CLEMSON, S.C. – No. 10/9 Clemson (6-1, 5-0 ACC) reached the 40-point mark for the fifth time in 2024 to secure a 48-31 win against Virginia (4-3, 2-2 ACC) at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Clemson has started 5-0 in ACC play for the eighth time under Head Coach Dabo Swinney and the 16th time since joining the ACC in 1953.
Junior quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 23-of-35 for 308 yards with three passing touchdowns and added six carries for 29 yards. Sophomore tight end Olsen Patt-Henry caught two passes, scoring on both, for 51 yards, while senior Phil Mafah ran for 78 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Clemson tied its season high with four sacks and added six tackles for loss. Linebacker Wade Woodaz was credited with a team-high seven tackles including one sack and a forced fumble.
After forcing a three-and-out on Virginia’s opening drive, Clemson moved 74 yards in 11 plays to take a 3-0 lead on a 29-yard Nolan Hauser field goal. Virginia got on the board in the following drive with a 20-yard field goal by Will Bettridge with 53 seconds remaining in the first quarter to even the score at 3-3.
Virginia took a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Colandrea to Dakota Twitty. Clemson evened the score at 10-10 on its next drive though, finishing an 11-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Mafah.
After Clemson’s defense forced a three-and-out on Virginia’s next possession, Clemson extended its lead to 17-10, as Mafah found the end zone on a three-yard rush up the middle. Clemson led at halftime, 17-10.
Clemson took control of the game with a 21-0 third quarter. The Tigers scored on their opening drive as Klubnik connected with Patt-Henry on an 11-yard touchdown pass that extended Clemson’s lead to 24-10.
Later in the quarter, a 36-yard rush by Antonio Williams completed an eight-play scoring drive to push the Tigers’ lead to 31-10. On Virginia’s next drive, Woodaz sacked Virginia’s Anthony Colandrea for a 17-yard loss and forced a fumble that defensive tackle Tre Williams recovered at the Virginia 49-yard line.
The fumble recovery set up a four-play drive that concluded with Klubnik’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Patt-Henry on fourth down, extending Clemson’s lead to 38-10 with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter.
Virginia used the remaining 1:30 in the third to…