Clemson vs. Wake Forest Postgame Notes

Team Notes

• Clemson scored 28 points in the second quarter tonight, the most points in a quarter in an ACC road game since 2000 at Duke when the Tigers had 28 also in the second quarter. Clemson scored 32 points in the second period against Ball State earlier this year, so it had not been very long since the Tigers had a 28-point quarter.
• Clemson scored 42 points tonight, the seventh straight game the Tigers have scored at least 37 points in a game. That ties and ACC record. The only other ACC team to score at least 37 in a game seven contests in a row is Florida State in 1995.
• Clemson recorded five sacks for the game, the most for the Tigers in a game since Clemson had six in the season opener of 2010 against North Texas.
• Tonight was Clemson’s largest victory margin (+29 points) at Wake Forest since a Clemson 51-6 win in Winston-Salem in 1978, Steve Fuller’s senior year. It is the most points Clemson has scored against Wake Forest since a 44-10 win at Clemson in 2007.
• Clemson improved to 2-9 in Thursday night games on ESPN. It was Clemson’s first win in that situation since a 31-10 win at NC State in 2005.
• Clemson won the turnover margin this evening and has now outscored the opposition 83-17 this year in terms of points off turnover.
• Clemson has four consecutive wins over ACC teams by 14 points or more since 1978. That year the Tigers beat Virginia (30-14), Duke 928-8), NC State (33-10) and Wake Forest (51-6) in consecutive games. Overall it is the first time Clemson has won four straight games by 14 points against anyone since 2000 when the Tigers won their first five games by at least 21 points.

Player Notes

• Tajh Boyd broke two Clemson records this evening. His 428 passing yards were the most in Clemson history, eclipsing the 420 by Charlie Whitehurst at Duke in 2002. He also set a Clemson record for touchdown passes in a half with five in the first half of this game. His five TD passes for the game, tied the Clemson single game record. He had five last year against North Carolina. Cullen Harper had five against Louisiana Monroe and Central Michigan in 2007.
• Boyd threw five touchdown passes to five different receivers in the first half. It is actually the second time he has done that in his career. He also completed scoring passes to five different receivers against North Carolina last year. Harper also did that in 2007 against Louisiana Monroe.
• Boyd’s passing efficiency in the first half was 273.9. He completed his first eight passes of the game for 96 yards. He had 12 in a row over two games, as he completed his last four against Virginia Tech. He finished with a 208 passing efficiency rating for the game.
• Sammy Watkins set a Clemson record for reception yards in a game with 202 on eight receptions. He broke the record of 197 by teammate DeAndre Hopkins at Boston College earlier this year on September 29. So Hopkins record lasted less than a month.
• Watkins caught his first touchdown pass of the season in the second period, a 61-yard scoring pass from Tajh Boyd. It was the second longest touchdown reception of his career. He also had a 57 yard reception and a 50-yard reception in the first half.
• DeAndre Hopkins caught a 12 yard scoring pass from Tajh Boyd in the first half, his 10th of the season and 19th of his career. He needs just one more to tie Aaron Kelly’s Clemson career record of 20 set between 2005-08. Hopkins also tied a Clemson record with the scoring reception. It was his fifth straight game with at least one touchdown reception. It tied the mark held by Derrick Hamilton in 2003 and Aaron Kelly in 2007. Hopkins has had at least one TD reception in eight straight games against FBS opponents. The only opponent this year he has not had a TD pass was against Furman this year.
• Vic Beasley had two sacks this evening, the first Clemson player to have two sacks in a game this season.
• Adam Humphries played offense and defense this evening. He had two tackles while playing the last 10 plays of game on defense at cornerback. He had one reception for four yards on offense and had three punt returns for four yards on special teams.
• Chandler Catanzaro saw his Clemson record for consecutive made field goals end this evening. He had made 20 in a row before missing a 48 yarder in the second half. His previous miss was also against Wake Forest, last year at Clemson.