Clemson vs. Virginia Postgame Notes

Nov. 21, 2009

* Clemson clinched the Atlantic Division title outright this afternoon. The Tigers needed either a victory against the Cavaliers, or a North Carolina defeat of Boston College to claim the division crown. The Tigers entered today’s game with at least a share of the division crown in hand, as North Carolina defeated Boston College prior to the kickoff of the Clemson game. However, the Tigers added an exclamation point and clinched the Atlantic Division title outright with their 34-21 victory over the Cavaliers. Clemson will face Georgia Tech in Tampa Bay, FL, in the Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game, televised by ESPN at 8 PM on Saturday, December 5.

* The Tigers will have the opportunity to claim an ACC Championship for the first time since 1991, when Clemson defeated Maryland in its final home game on Nov. 16. That was the last time Clemson clinched any type of title at Memorial Stadium.

* Clemson has a 37-8-1 lead in the all-time series with Virginia, and the teams are tied at 8-8-1 since 1990.

* Clemson is now 7-1 in the month of November under Dabo Swinney and the Tiger program is 22-7 in November since 2002.

* Clemson tight ends tied the school record for receptions in a season with 46, after adding four catches today (3 by Michael Palmer and 1 by Dwayne Allen). The previous record for receptions by tight ends was set by the 1970 Tiger team.

* Clemson’s tight ends have caught seven passes for a score in 2009, tying the single-season record set in 1974. That year, Bennie Cunningham had all seven touchdown receptions and was named a first team All-American.

* After the game, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney presented Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips with the game ball.

Individual notes: * Kyle Parker completed his 17th touchdown pass of the 2009 campaign, and continued adding to his record-setting tally. Parker threw his second touchdown pass of the day to Jacoby Ford for 24-yard completion with 1:52 remaining in the second quarter.

* Jacoby Ford had a career day for all-purpose yards. The senior wide receiver completed the game with 211 yards, besting his previous career effort of 170 set against Temple in 2006. He tallied 155 all-purpose yards in the first half.

* Ford has caught at least one pass in 25 consecutive games he has played.

* Kyle Parker has thrown for at least 230 yards in four games this season. He tallied 326 yards against Miami, 261 yards against Georgia Tech, 242 yards against Florida State and 234 yards against Virginia. Clemson is 3-1 when Parker passes for at least 200 yards, with the only blemish being an overtime loss to Georgia Tech.

* C.J. Spiller scored his 15th touchdown of the season with a four-yard run into the end zone with 14:25 remaining in the second quarter. He needs only three more touchdowns to tie the Clemson single season record of 18, set by Travis Zachery in 2000.

* Spiller set the ACC season-record for all-purpose yards in the third quarter of today’s game. For the season, he has 2,066 yards, breaking the previous record of 2,054 all-purpose yards set by Thomas Jones of Virginia in 1999.

* Spiller is the only player in the nation to score at least one touchdown in every game played this season. So far this year, the Heisman trophy candidate has scored 15 touchdowns in 11 games.

* With 6,974 all-purpose yards, Spiller needs only 26 yards to become only the fifth player in FBS history to reach 7,000 all-purpose career yards.

* Andre Ellington ran for a five yards and a touchdown to give the Tigers a 30-21 advantage in the third quarter. It is Ellington’s third touchdown of the season, and all of them have been on the ground.

* On the defensive side of the ball, Kavell Conner (who was wearing #17 in honor of Stanley Hunter) tallied a career-high 15 tackles.

* The Clemson defense had seven sacks for 54 yards, led by sophomore Da’Quan Bowers, Corico Hawkins and Ricky Sapp as the only Tigers with two sacks in a single game this season.