By R.L. Bynum
CLEMSON, S.C. — After North Carolina fumbled away a potential 21-point early lead, the frustrations kept piling up for the Tar Heels despite solid early defense.
Against a Clemson team playing far better than its record, the Tar Heels couldn’t afford mistakes, and Omarion Hampton — who had an otherwise productive day — fumbled twice in the first half to keep UNC from taking control.
Clemson (7–4, 4–4 ACC) seized the momentum late in the first and pulled away for a 31–20 senior night win for the Tigers’ sixth consecutive victory over Carolina.
“Proud of the effort that our kids played with,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. “They played really hard, they played tough, they never gave. We had every bad break you could possibly have.”
The Tar Heels (8–3, 4–3) knew before the game that their slim chances of making the ACC championship game were over. Now, they can only hope to rebound at N.C. State to finish the regular season.
“We had a chance to get up on them, get a jump on them and just hurt ourselves,” UNC quarterback Drake Maye said. “Kind of shot ourselves in the foot, and I ended up costing us a big first half. Some momentum shifted.”
A roughing-the-passer penalty the Tar Heels didn’t think should be called against them extended a drive that led to a Clemson score. Pass interference wasn’t called when a Clemson defender grabbed Tez Walker multiple times on a deep ball. A Clemson touchdown came by inches at the end of the first half, and Carolina lost its best defender, Cedric Gray, after he got poked in the left eye.
It was that kind of night, full of frustrations in Death Valley for Carolina.
“We didn’t play well offensively for the last two and a half quarters,” said Brown, bemoaning that UNC was 4-of-14 on third down. “That’s just unacceptable. And we gave up a couple of third- and fourth-down series on defense because we had penalties.”
Other than the fumbles, Hampton was outstanding, with 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Maye made some nice throws, as always, but didn’t put up great numbers, finishing 16 of 36 for 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception while running for 67 yards. Maye’s 96.8 passer rating was his lowest of his career, worse than the 101.9 last season against N.C. State.
“They challenged us,” Maye said. “They played man pretty much the whole game. I feel like I’ve got to make some better throw, some better ball placement, make a few better decisions.”
The defense played solidly for most of the first half, led by nine tackles from Don Chapman and eight each from Stick Lane, Gio Biggers and Cedric Gray.
“They played great at the end,” Brown said of the defense, which had to be out there for 89 plays while UNC ran only 69 plays. “I thought they stayed out there too long and I thought I got tired. I thought it was more the offense’s problem and the defense’s is probably tonight.”
Four plays after Kaimon Rucker stopped Clemson’s Tyler Davis on a fourth-and-one fake punt on at the UNC 48, Maye hit J.J. Jones on a 33-yard touchdown pass with 4:31 left in the first quarter. Maye made the throw as two Clemson defenders were descending on him.
Carolina could have easily been ahead 21–0 instead of 7–0 after one quarter if not for two Hampton fumbles.
Maye completed a fourth-and-6 play for 43 yards to Tez Walker on the game’s first drive to the Clemson 2. But Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods forced a Hampton fumble on the next play to end the threat. Hampton appeared to score on 64-yard run later in the quarter, but Clemson cornerback Nate Higgins stripped him of the ball just before he crossed the goal line, resulting in a touchback.
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik hit Jake Briningstool on a 3-yard touchdown pass to tie it at 7 with 10:10 left in the first half.
Clemson got a red-zone turnover when Rucker forced a Will Shipley fumble, and Kevin Hester Jr. recovered it at the UNC 7. That ended a promising Tigers drive after they had gone three-and-out on four of their previous six possessions.
The Tigers’ next possession appeared to end with a Biggers interception in the end zone, but that roughing-the-passer penalty, which was against Gray that Brown argued vigorously about, extended the drive.
“I had my arm up; I see him release the ball,” Gray said. “I tried to pull off some. From my perspective, my arm kind of grazed his helmet. That could have been let go, but it is what it is.”
With the half about to expire if he didn’t score, Klubnik barely got the ball to penetrate the plane of the goal line before his knee touched the ground for a 3-yard touchdown run with one second left to give Clemson a 14–7 halftime lead.
After Maye got sacked on a fourth-and-6 at the Clemson 42, the Tigers went 56 yards on seven plays. Running back Phil Mafah took a direct snap and scored on a 3-yard run to give Clemson a 14-point lead, 21–7 with 7:15 left in the third quarter.
Less than a minute later, Hampton cut the deficit to seven, eluding three would-be tacklers as he ran down the left sideline, barely keeping his balance, on a 55-yard touchdown run.
Clemson responded with a 75-yard drive for a 33-yard Will Shipley touchdown run to make it 28–14 with 3:19 left in the third quarter. The running back ran through the left side of the line and by two UNC defenders before sprinting for the score.
The Clemson lead expanded to 17 on Jonathan Weitz’s 21-yard field goal with 10:33 left.
Hampton’s second touchdown on a three yard run with 7:03 remaining trimmed UNC’s deficit to 31–20.
NOTES — Carolina finishes the regular season next Saturday at N.C. State (8–3, 5–2) 8 p.m. (ACC Network), which won at Virginia Tech on Saturday 35–28.. … UNC’s slim chances of making the ACC championship game ended with No. 9 Louisville’s 38–31 victory at Miami to clinch a berth in the game against No. 4 Florida State. … Clemson leads the series 40–19–1, including 17–11–1 in Clemson. … Brown fell to 3–10 against Clemson and 0–3 during his second stint in Chapel Hill. … Hampton is the first Tar Heel to rush for 100 yards in six straight games since Don McCauley rushed for 100 yards in eight straight games in 1970.
Clemson 31, No. 20 UNC 20
ACC standings
| Team | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|
| X — No. 5 Florida State | 8–0 | 12–0 |
| X — No. 9 Louisville | 7–1 | 10–2 |
| N.C. State | 6–2 | 9–3 |
| Georgia Tech | 5–3 | 6–6 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–3 | 6–6 |
| Clemson | 4–4 | 8–4 |
| North Carolina | 4–4 | 8–4 |
| Duke | 4–4 | 7–5 |
| Miami | 3–5 | 7–5 |
| Boston College | 3–5 | 6–6 |
| Syracuse | 2–6 | 6–6 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–6 | 3–9 |
| Virginia | 2–6 | 3–9 |
| Wake Forest | 1–7 | 4–8 |
Friday’s result
Miami 45, Boston College 20
Saturday’s games
Kentucky 38, No. 9 Louisville 31
Duke 30, Pittsburgh 19
Syracuse 35, Wake Forest 31
No. 1 Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 23
Virginia Tech 55, Virginia 17
Clemson 16, South Carolina 7
No. 5 Florida State 24, Florida 15
N.C. State 39, North Carolina 20
Next Saturday’s ACC championship game in Charlotte
No. 9 Louisville vs. No. 5 Florida State, 8 p.m., ABC
UNC schedule
| Month/ date | Opponent/event | 2023 record | UNC record in series |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | |||
| 20 | Spring game, 3 p.m. | — | — |
| August | |||
| 29 (Thurs.) | at Minnesota | 6–7 | 1–0 |
| September | |||
| 7 | Charlotte | 3–9 | 0–0 |
| 14 | N.C. Central | 9–3 | 0–0 |
| 21 | James Madison | 11–2 | 3–0 |
| 28 | at Duke | 8–5 | 65–40–4 |
| October | |||
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 3–9 | 12–5 |
| 12 | Georgia Tech | 7–6 | 22–33–3 |
| 26 | at Virginia | 3–9 | 66–58–4 |
| November | |||
| 2 | at Florida State | 13–1 | 3–17–1 |
| 16 | Wake Forest | 4–8 | 72–36–2 |
| 23 | at Boston College | 7–6 | 6–2 |
| 30 | N.C. State | 9–4 | 68–39–6 |
Photo via @ClemsonFB
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