SOUTH ROUNDUP : Clemson Wins Over Crowd, 40-7

Earlier this season, Coach Ken Hatfield and the Clemson Tigers were booed by their home crowd.

The 15th-ranked Tigers heard nothing but cheers Saturday at Clemson, S.C., where they routed Maryland, 40-7, to wrap up the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, but they didn’t forget.

“I think people want to take those boos back now . . . now that we have the ACC wrapped up,” linebacker Levon Kirkland said. “We went through a lot of stuff. We’ve really come a long way.”

With their 13th title, the Tigers, 7-1-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the ACC, will go to the Citrus Bowl.

Maryland (2-8, 2-4) scored on its first possession when Jim Sandwisch connected with Jason Kremus on a 56-yard pass play.

But the Terrapins did little else, managing only 32 yards the rest of the half against the nation’s second-ranked defense.

The Tigers scored on three of their first four possessions behind De Chane Cameron, who hit 11 of 18 passes for 194 yards in the first 30 minutes and finished 13 of 23 for 213 yards and a touchdown.

No. 24 North Carolina State 32, Duke 31--Terry Harvey scored from a yard out on fourth down with 14 seconds left and threw a two-point conversion pass to Robert Hinton to lift the Wolfpack over the Blue Devils at Durham, N.C.

North Carolina State (8-2, 4-2) trailed, 31-21, before Damon Hartman’s 38-yard field goal with 1:56 left. The Wolfpack got the ball back when Sebastian Savage recovered an onside kick.

Harvey threw a sideline pass that Eddie Goines took 49 yards to Duke’s one-yard-line. The Blue Devils (4-3-2, 3-3) held for three downs before Harvey scored.

As time ran out, Brad Breedlove took the kickoff to N.C. State’s 16.

Georgia Tech 27, Wake Forest 3--Freshman Jimy Lincoln ran for 101 yards and a touchdown as the Yellow Jackets reportedly wrapped up a bid to the Aloha Bowl by defeating the Deacons at Atlanta.

It was the 17th consecutive home victory for Georgia Tech (7-4, 5-2). Wake Forest (2-8, 1-6) has lost 18 of 19 ACC games.

Georgia Tech dominated the first half with 237 yards to 56 for Wake Forest, but managed only a 10-3 lead on Lincoln’s three-yard scoring run 48 seconds before halftime.

No. 14 East Carolina 24, Virginia Tech 17--Jeff Blake passed for 337 yards and threw a go-ahead touchdown pass with 7:21 left as the Pirates overcame a two-touchdown deficit and beat the Hokies at Blacksburg, Va.

Blake completed passes of 16 and 45 yards to Dion Johnson, and then threw a 14-yard pass to Clayton Driver for the winning touchdown.

Virginia Tech (5-5) led 14-0, but East Carolina (9-1) got even, 14-14, in the third quarter when Greg Grandison intercepted a pass and returned it 95 yards for a score.

North Carolina 21, South Carolina 17--Natrone Means, who rushed for 144 yards, scored one touchdown and set up the Tar Heels’ go-ahead score with a 55-yard run in a victory over the Gamecocks at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Tar Heels (6-4) improved their chances for a berth in the Independence Bowl.

Bobby Fuller, who completed 24 of 40 passes for 243 yards and two scores, had South Carolina (3-5-2) at the Tar Heel 41 in the final minute, but took his seventh sack on a fourth-down play.

Tulsa 40, Louisville 0--Chris Hughley rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns as the Golden Hurricane (7-2) made a bid for a spot in the Freedom Bowl by trouncing the Cardinals (2-9) at Tulsa, Okla.

Louisiana Tech 30, Southern Mississippi 14--Jason Davis ran for two touchdowns and broke the 100-yard mark for the sixth consecutive game as Louisiana Tech (7-1-2) defeated the Golden Eagles (4-7) at Ruston, La.