Clemson running back Wayne Gallman carries the ball during the Tigers’ ACC Championship win over North Carolina on Saturday. Gallman had 187 rushing yards against the Tar Heels.

Kerry Gilstrap/
Courier

By J.D. Elliott

Courtesy The Journal

jdelliott@upstatetoday.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For each season’s Heisman Trophy winner, there always seems to be a defining game where college football’s best player cements his case for the award.

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson celebrates with a teammate after a touchdown during Saturday’s ACC Championship victory over North Carolina in Charlotte, N.C. Watson, who was named Monday as the school’s first-ever Heisman Trophy finalist, has led the 13-0 Tigers to their first berth in the College Football Playoff, where they will take on Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 31 for a shot at playing for the national championship the following week.

[cointent_lockedcontent]With No. 1 Clemson’s playoff hopes on the line in the ACC Championship, quarterback Deshaun Watson delivered his best game of the season in a 45-37 victory over North Carolina at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday.

The victory clinched Clemson’s second ACC title under head coach Dabo Swinney — the other coming in 2011 — and capped a perfect 13-0 season to put the Tigers in the drivers’ seat for the unveiling of the College Football Playoff’s semifinal matchups.

“All you doggone media people wanted me to get fired up about a poll six weeks now,” Swinney said. “Now is the time to get fired up about a poll. Tomorrow is Dec. 6, and I can’t wait to be there to be a part of it.”

“We’re going to find out where we’re going and who we’re going to play, and man, our fans, they deserve this, they really do.”

On Sunday, Clemson maintained its No. 1 ranking and found out it will play No. 4 Oklahoma in the Capital One Orange Bowl in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Dec. 31. The winner will take on the winner of the Cotton Bowl, an Alabama-Michigan State showdown also set for Dec. 31.

Two days after earning the ACC Championship MVP award, Watson was named Monday night as one of three finalists — along with Alabama’s Derrick Henry and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey — for the Heisman Trophy, to be awarded Saturday night.

Against the Tar Heels, Watson was spectacular all night long, throwing for 289 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 131 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, his fourth 100-yard rushing performance in the last five games.

Watson also broke a number of ACC Championship game records — the first player to account for more than 400 yards of total offense (411), completing 13 consecutive passes, most total yards in the first half (290) and longest run by a quarterback (33).

“If you really sit down and watch our 13 games, he’s the best player in the country and there’s no doubt about it,” Swinney said. “This guy beats you not just with his legs, he beats you with his arm, his mind, his heart, his guts, his toughness — this is a great champion of a player. He’s just special, and I’m just proud of him.”

The turning point in the game was Clemson’s final drive of the opening half.

With North Carolina leading 16-14 with less than two minutes remaining before the break, the Tigers began the drive at their own 32-yard line. Watson and the Tiger offense marched all the way down the field, but were stuck on the Tar Heels’ 1-yard line with just six seconds left on the clock.

Turning down a chance to kick a field goal and take the lead, the offense ran back out onto the field

From the shotgun formation, it appeared Watson would try to run for the yard himself, but as the defense converged on Watson, the quarterback lofted the ball to a wide open Jordan Leggett for a touchdown, giving Clemson the lead for good.

North Carolina began the second half with the football, and the Tar Heels marched 59 yards to the Clemson 16-yard line, but North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams threw a ball that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and Clemson cornerback Cordrea Tanksersley made an athletic interception to shift momentum back in the Tigers’ favor.

On the ensuing drive, Watson drove the Tigers 97 yards down the field, capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Wayne Gallman. The sophomore tailback rushed for 17 yards on nine carries in the first half, but exploded in the second half, finishing with 187 rushing yards.

“We changed our schemes a little bit because they were geared up to take away our inside run game,” co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said. “He was challenged at halftime, challenged by myself, challenged by Terry (Allen). (We were) challenging him to be the ‘Wayne Train.’ If you want to be called the ‘Wayne Train,’ you have to go out there and run.”

Though Clemson had a comfortable lead for most of the second half — twice holding a 19-point edge — the Tar Heels scored on a 17-yard pass from Williams to wide receiver Ryan Switzer with 1:13 remaining to cut the Clemson lead to back to one score at 45-37.

On the following kickoff, North Carolina appeared to recover an onside kick, but the Tar Heels were flagged for being offsides — replays showed it was an incorrect call — and were forced to re-kick the ball. On the second attempt, the ball was bobbled by Clemson and North Carolina players alike before Tiger wide receiver Hunter Renfrow fell on the ball.

A few plays later, Watson sealed the game as he rushed for a first down.

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