CLEMSON, S.C. — Sophomore Gideon Davidson rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown and freshman Tait Reynolds threw for 215 yards in his first career start as Clemson (2-1, 1-0 ACC) surged past North Carolina (2-1) in the fourth quarter to earn a 28-20 win at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. After trailing 20-15 with 6:34 to play shortly after a long weather delay, the Tigers scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions and intercepted the Tar Heels with 32 seconds to play to seal the victory.
The game was Clemson’s third consecutive contest to incur a weather delay. After each of Clemson’s first two games this season were delayed roughly two hours prior to kickoff, Saturday’s game was delayed a stadium-record two hours and 28 minutes by lightning in the fourth quarter with the Tigers trailing 17-15.
Clemson trailed by as many as 14 points (17-3) before an 18-play, 88-yard field goal drive going into halftime. Davidson scored on an eight-yard rush with 5:01 to play to give the Tigers the lead, and Tyler Brown scored on a 34-yard rush with 1:00 to play.
Safety Corey Myrick led Clemson with 11 tackles. Defensive end Will Heldt accounted for two of Clemson’s three sacks, reaching 2.0 sacks in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
North Carolina opened the game with a six-play, 47-yard touchdown drive on its first possession before the Tigers responded with a 49-yard field goal by Nolan Hauser to bring the score to 7-3. North Carolina extended the lead to 17-3 on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Hall in the first quarter and a 33-yard Aeron Burrell field goal in the second quarter.
On the final drive of the half, Clemson moved 88 yards in 18 plays. Davidson rushed for 20 yards on three carries, and Bryant Wesco Jr. added 26 yards on two catches on the drive, leading to a 21-yard Hauser field goal as the half expired with North Carolina leading 17-6.
The teams traded turnovers early in the third quarter, and a Clemson fumble recovery gave the Tigers the ball on the North Carolina 12-yard line. Hauser added his third field goal of the game to shrink the deficit to eight with 10:42 left in the third.
Clemson scored its first touchdown of the game on a 27-yard pass from Reynolds to Christian Bentancur in the third quarter. The Tigers’ seven-play, 92-yard drive pulled the Tigers within two, but North Carolina stopped a potential game-tying two-point conversion attempt.
With North Carolina leading 17-15 inside the Clemson 10-yard line, the game entered a lightning delay at 2:58 p.m. ET with 8:11 remaining. After the delay, the Tigers were able held North Carolina to a field goal and regained possession with 6:26 to play. Clemson stormed 68 yards in four plays to score a touchdown on an eight-yard Davidson run. The touchdown gave the Tigers their first lead of the game, 21-20, despite an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt.
Clemson forced a turnover on downs and scored on a 34-yard rushing touchdown by Tyler Brown to extend the lead to 28-20 with one minute remaining. North Carolina’s final push was thwarted by Elliot Washington ll, whose first interception as a Tiger with 37 seconds to play secured the 28-20 Clemson victory.
With Atlantic Coast Conference play now underway, Clemson will head to the Pacific coast for its next contest when the Tigers play the Cal Golden Bears on Friday, Sept. 25. Kickoff for that contest is slated for 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.