No. 16 Clemson Cruises Over Wake Forest, 55-7

Sept. 16, 2000

By DAN LEWERENZ Associated Press Writer

CLEMSON, S.C. – Woodrow Dantzler says he still has things to work on. You couldn’t tell from watching him play Saturday.

Dantzler ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 157 yards and a touchdown as No. 16 Clemson beat Wake Forest 55-7.

“The first drive of the game, I kind of screwed up a little bit,” Dantzler said, saying his performance was “maybe a D range, maybe a C.”

Don’t tell that to Wake Forest coach Jim Caldwell, who watched Dantzler dismantle his offense.

“Oftentimes we find guys who are as effective as he’s been in the passing game, maybe they don’t run very well,” Caldwell said. “But he’s the kind of prototype quarterback everyone’s looking for – one that can throw the ball well, certainly can operate a complex system, but also can run the ball like a tailback.”

While Dantzler had a strong game for Clemson (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), Wake Forest (0-3, 0-2) lost C.J. Leak to a dislocated knee. Leak completed just 6 of 15 passes for 51 yards.

Dantzler showed a dizzying array of spins and escapes, including the second-longest run of his career on Clemson’s second scoring drive.

With Clemson leading 3-0, Dantzler slid through the middle on a third-and-4, then scrambled to the right sideline where Justin Watts’ block cleared the way for a 54-yard run. Three plays later, Bernard Rambert carried 13 yards into the end zone to put Clemson up 10-0 with 33 seconds left in the first quarter.

Dantzler scored on a 39-yard keeper to put the Tigers up 17-0 with 9:14 left in the first half. Tony Lazzara’s 26-yard field goal with 5:57 left in the half made it 20-0.

“It wasn’t by design that we ran more than we threw, but we just took what they gave us,” Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said. “I thought our offensive staff did a good job finding the opportunities that their defense gave us – take what was there and don’t force anything.”

In the final minute of the half, Rambert had another 13-yard sweep to the right – almost identical to his earlier score – to put the Tigers up 27-0 at halftime.

Clemson’s defense dominated the game, giving up just 48 yards in the first three quarters. Wake Forest didn’t earn a first down until Leak’s pass to Ira Williams with less than a minute left in the first half.

Leak fumbled on the first play of the second half, giving Clemson the ball on the 7. Dantzler carried it in from the 1 two plays later to make it 34-0.

On Clemson’s next possession, Dantzler threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Travis Zachery.

Willie Simmons, leading Clemson’s second-string offense, threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Youngblood to put the Tigers up 48-0 with 1:38 left in the third quarter.

Wake Forest scored its only touchdown after Leak left the game. Anthony Young, playing for the first time this year, ran 55 yards on his second play from scrimmage, then threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Williams seven plays later.

“I thought he did a good job under the circumstances,” Caldwell said. “He came in and really gave us a lift with that last drive.”

With 49 seconds left, Chad Jasmin ran 11 yards into the end zone to give Clemson its final score.

With a second-quarter stop, senior safety Robert Carswell became Clemson’s career leader in tackles. Carswell finished the game with 300 career tackles, six more than two-time All-American Terry Kinard had from 1978-82.

The victory in Clemson’s 1,000th game gave the Tigers a record of 565-390-45. Sixty-six of those games have come against Wake Forest, with Clemson leading the series 51-14-1.