On This Date: 2007 (15)Clemson- 42 NC State- 20

Sep 22, 2023, 10:31 AM

09/22/2007
Raleigh, NC

Harper, Davis, Spiller pace No. 15 Clemson past NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -C.J. Spiller and James Davis each caught a touchdown pass and rushed for another to lead No. 15 Clemson to a 42-20 rout of North Carolina State on Saturday.

Davis rushed for a season-high 166 yards with a 3-yard touchdown catch and a 1-yard scoring run, while Spiller - a week after Furman held him to minus-1 yard - finished with 114 yards with an 11-yard TD catch and a 44-yard scoring run.

The Tigers (4-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) dominated from the opening kickoff, scoring on four of their first five possessions and at one point outgaining the Wolfpack 220-1.

Cullen Harper was unshaken and efficient in his first career road start, completing 25-of-39 passes for 268 yards - 2 yards shy of his career high - with touchdown passes to both tailbacks.

Mark Buchholz kicked four field goals for the Tigers.

Darrell Blackman returned a kickoff a school-record 99 yards for a touchdown and caught a 9-yard scoring pass from Daniel Evans, and Andre Brown ran 17 yards for a TD for N.C. State (1-3, 0-2).

The Wolfpack has lost 10 straight games against Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) teams and dropped their fourth straight in the series known as the "Textile Bowl."

Evans came off the bench and completed 16-of-25 passes for 123 yards with one touchdown and one interception in relief of Harrison Beck, a Nebraska transfer who injured his knee when he was sacked in the first quarter and didn't return.

Spiller stole the show early by bouncing back from one of the worst games of his career and turning in yet another productive performance against the Wolfpack. His first rushing touchdown of the season came late in the first quarter, when he took a handoff, headed right and then cut back to the left to give the Tigers a 17-7 lead.

Earlier, Harper connected with Spiller to give Clemson an early 7-0 lead, before Blackman tied things with his record return.

He fielded Buchholz's kickoff near the hashmarks at the 1 and cut right, slipping two tackles before dashing down the right sideline and into the end zone.

Buchholz's first field goal, a 28-yarder that capped the next drive, put the Tigers up 10-7 and gave them the lead for good.

He converted from 46 yards out on the final play of the first half - which came after his bad miss from 51 yards out was nullified by an offsides call on N.C. State. He added kicks of 29 yards in the third and 25 yards in the fourth.

After Blackman's fourth-quarter touchdown catch made it 37-20, N.C. State went for two. Michael Hamlin intercepted Evans' pass in the end zone and returned it 100 yards for the first defensive two-point conversion in school history.

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Re: On This Date: 2007 (15)Clemson- 42 NC State- 20

On This Date: 2007 (15)Clemson- 42 NC State- 20

Re: On This Date: 2007 (15)Clemson- 42 NC State- 20

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