Clemson vs North Carolina, 45-37: Full highlights, final score and more

The Clemson Tigers and North Carolina Tar Heels battled on Saturday night for the 2015 ACC Championship.

Saturday night it was time to crown a new ACC champion, as the Clemson Tigers of the Atlantic Division took on the surprising North Caroling Tar Heels of the Coastal Division in Charlotte.

As they were looking for the upset in this one, North Carolina would strike first, banging through a 30-yard field goal with just after nine minutes to go. Not long after, though, Clemson would answer with a 16-yard TD catch from Wayne Gallman to give the Tigers a 7-3 lead in the opening quarter. Before the period would come to a close, North Carolina showed they weren’t going anywhere, as T.J. Logan took a pass 46 yards for the score. The first quarter would end with North Carolina leading 9-7.

In the second quarter, it was time for Deshaun Watson to get to work. With just under 11 minutes to go, he’d run one in from nine yards out to give his team the lead back at 14-9. Keeping with the shootout theme, the Heels would indeed answer back. With just under four minutes to go in the half, Ryan Switzer would haul in a pass to regain the lead at 16-14. With two seconds to go in the half, following some blunders, a Jordan Leggett one-yard score gave Clemson a 21-16 lead at the half.

When the second half got underway, it was Clemson who struck first with another scoring play from Gallman, a run from three yards out. That put the score at 28-16 with just under eight minutes to go in the third quarter. To really drive the point home in the third, Clemson would add a Watson touchdown pass to Artavis Scott from 35 yards out to make it 35-16.

Watson would put this team on his back once again in the final quarter, running one in from two yards out to give Clemson the 42-23 lead. A few moments later, North Carolina would answer back with a touchdown from Elijah Hood, but it was still 42-30 with just under 10 minutes to go.

Then, things got weird. With 1:13 to go, Marquise Williams hit Ryan Switzer with a 17-yard score to cut it to 45-37 and they’d attempt the onside kick, but to no avail.

Clemson is the ACC Champion and they’ll be playing for the national title.

Three Stars

Highlights

Odds

Clemson came into this one as a 4.5-point favorite

Next Game

Clemson will be headed to the College Football Playoff, while North Carolina will await their bowl fate on Sunday.