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          College Football Nation Blog

          Clemson wins wild shootout over NC State

          • Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior WriterNov 17, 2012, 07:42 PM ET
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            • ACC reporter.
            • Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
            • Graduate of the University of Florida.
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          If you love offense, well, the ACC is the league to be this season.

          No. 11 Clemson and NC State participated another wild shootout on Saturday, playing a game of scoring see-saw just like Georgia Tech and North Carolina did last weekend. In the end, the Tigers held on to their at-large BCS hopes, winning 62-48, avoiding an upset despite a defense that was plenty exposed despite its recent improvement.

          The numbers are simply jaw dropping:

          • Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd accounted for eight touchdowns, setting a new ACC record. He threw for more than 400 yards and ran for more than 100 yards to set Clemson's single-game total offense record with 529 yards, passing Woody Dantzler (517 in 2001 against NC State).

          • Not to be outdone, NC State quarterback Mike Glennon found holes all over the Clemson secondary, throwing for 493 yards and five touchdowns.

          • NC State receiver Tobais Palmer accounted for 496 all-purpose yards -- second most EVER in college football history.

          • Running backs Shadrach Thornton and Andre Ellington each went over 100 yards; Palmer, Mario Carter, Sammy Watkins and Brandon Ford each went over 100 yards receiving.

          • Clemson ended up with over 700 yards of offense; NC State got nearly 600 yards, and both teams combined to run almost 200 plays on offense.

          Whew.

          This was a game of runs. Clemson (10-1, 7-1) jumped out to a 13-0 lead. Then NC State (6-5, 3-4) scored 24 straight. Then Clemson scored 42 straight. Then NC State ended the game on a 24-7 run. We all knew Clemson had some deficiencies in the secondary -- given inexperience and some major depth questions. Leave it to a quarterback as talented as Glennon to take advantage and find the openings.

          But the Tigers have some talent of their own on offense, and simply had too many playmakers for the Wolfpack to stop.

          Now Clemson closes the season against in-state rival South Carolina, which struggled in a win over FCS Wofford on Saturday. A win over the Gamecocks, and Clemson could very well find itself in the BCS again.