2011 Clemson Tigers football team The 2011 Clemson Tigers football team represents Clemson University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Tigers will be led by head coach Dabo Swinney in his third full year and fourth overall since taking over midway through 2008 season . They will play their home games at Memorial Stadium , also known as " Death Valley " . They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . Clemson finished the previous season 6 – 7 , losing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl to South Florida . They began the 2011 season unranked , but after a three - game winning streak against ranked opponents in late September , rose to # 8 in the AP and Coaches Poll . However , the surprise Tigers lost three of their final four regular - season contests ( with two of the losses to unranked opponents ) , they fell back to # 21 in these polls . However , their early start was enough to clinch a spot in the 2011 ACC Championship Game . They won that game with an unexpectedly dominant performance over Virginia Tech , 38 – 10 . In the process , they won their first ACC title since 1991 , and with it an automatic berth in the 2012 Orange Bowl . It was the Tigers ' first - ever Bowl Championship Series berth , as well as their first major - bowl appearance since the 1982 Orange Bowl . They lost the game in historic fashion to West Virginia by a score of 70 – 33 , setting a bowl record for points conceded in a game . Game notes . Troy . Clemson opened the season against Troy from the Sun Belt Conference . The Tigers offense had a shaky first half adapting to offensive coordinator Chad Morris ' s faster new spread set . They were 0 - for - 8 on third down conversions and had only four first downs . Sophomore quarterback Tajh Boyd had several bad throws and near interceptions as the team were booed off the field at half time . Down 16 – 13 with 6 : 56 left in the third quarter , Clemson finally converted their first third down , tight end Dwayne Allen with a 54 - yard touchdown pass from Boyd to put the Tigers ahead . On the next drive , Boyd completed all of his passes including a seven - yard touchdown pass to Jaron Brown . The scoring run continued in the fourth quarter , ending in a 43 – 10 rout . Boyd finished the game 20 - for - 30 for 364 yards and three touchdowns in his debut as Clemson ' s starting quarterback . Sammy Watkins had seven catches for 81 yards while Andre Ellington rushed 18 times for 89 yards . Freshmen accounted for 266 of Clemson ' s 468 yards . Wofford . In week two , Clemson faced Wofford . The inexperienced Tigers defense struggled to contain Wofford ' s triple - option offense throughout the game . The Terriers led 21 – 13 with 4 : 03 remaining in the second quarter , but Tajh Boyd led a six - play , 72 - yard drive and a two - point conversion to tie the game before half time . Wofford ' s last lead in the game came in the opening series of the second half with a field goal . Clemson scored a touchdown each in the third and fourth quarters before stopping Wofford on fourth - and - 2 with 3 : 30 remaining in the game to hold on for a 35 – 27 victory . Boyd was 18 - for - 29 for 261 yards and three touchdowns . Andre Ellington had 22 carries for 165 yards . His 74 - yard touchdown run was the longest of his career . Auburn . Clemson faced defending national champions # 21 Auburn in week three . Auburn took a 14 – 0 lead in the first quarter before Tajh Boyd began finding his passing rhythm . Boyd completed 30 of 42 passes for 386 yards and four touchdowns . The game was tied 21 – 21 at half time , but Clemson ' s defense restricted Auburn to a field goal in the second half while Boyd threw two touchdown passes to earn a 38 – 24 win , ending a 17 - game winning streak for Auburn . Clemson ' s offense totaled 624 yards , its record against an SEC opponent . Fans swarmed the field at the end of the game . Coach Dabo Swinney remarked , " I couldn ' t think of a better place to end the streak than Death Valley , South Carolina , baby . " Florida State . Following their victory over Auburn , Clemson entered week four ranked # 21 . They faced Atlantic Division champions Florida State in their fourth straight home game . FSU were without injured starting quarterback E . J . Manuel . Clemson opened up a 21 – 10 lead by halftime , and were in control for the rest of the game . Tajh Boyd was 23 - for - 37 for 344 yards and three touchdowns and had a rushing touchdown . Freshman receiver Sammy Watkins had eight catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns while Andre Ellington rushed for 72 yards . Virginia Tech . For Clemson ' s first road game the Tigers traveled to Blacksburg for a matchup with the No . 11 Virginia Tech Hokies . The Tigers ' defense turned in its best effort of the season in a 23 – 3 victory against the No . 11 Hokies . The Clemson defense led by Andre Branch held the Hokies to 258 yards and no touchdowns . Branch had three sacks and was involved in 11 tackles . Tajh Boyd threw one touchdown to Dwayne Allen and one interception while Andre Ellington and Mike Bellamy both recorded a rushing touchdown a piece . This win marked the first time any ACC team has ever beaten three top 25 AP opponents in a row . It was also the second time Virginia Tech has not scored a touchdown in Lane Stadium under Frank Beamer and was the first time since 1995 . Boston College . Clemson ' s fifth home game of the season against Boston College . Clemson controlled the eagles for the majority of the game . Boyd scored 2 touchdowns ( 1 Passing , 1 Rushing ) before being replaced by Cole Stoudt after suffering a hip injury . Andre Ellington ( Rushing ) and Jaron Brown ( Receiving ) each scored a touchdown , Sammy Watkins recorded 152 receiving yards , while Chandler Catanzaro hit a career high 5 field goals ( 38 , 42 , 28 , 20 , 47 yards ) . This win marked Clemson ' s best start since 2000 . Maryland . Tajh Boyd threw four touchdown passes , Andre Ellington rushed for a career - high 212 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers , freshman Sammy Watkins scored three TD ' s ( Two passing , One kick - off return ) as No . 8 Clemson rallied from an 18 - point deficit against Maryland to remain unbeaten with a 56 – 45 victory . The defense , however , yielded 468 yards and had no answer for sophomore quarterback C . J . Brown , who ran for 162 yards and a touchdown and threw three scoring passes in his first college start . The 18 - point deficit was the second largest in Clemson University history . Sammy Watkins also broke the school record for most all - purpose yards in a game ( 345 Yards ) held previously by Clemson great C . J . Spiller ( 312 Yards ) . North Carolina . A 35 - point third quarter explosion highlighted Clemson ' s home win over the Tar Heels , including a 5 - touchdown performance by quarterback Tajh Boyd . Defensive end Kourtnei Brown scored two defensive touchdowns , once on an interception and another on a fumble return . Boyd threw for 367 yards and rushed for one touchdown . Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins had 157 yards receiving and a touchdown . Clemson ' s defense held UNC running back Giovani Bernard to 44 yards rushing , ending his five - game streak of 100 yards or more . Georgia Tech . The Tigers suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta . Georgia Tech ' s triple option attack was seemingly unstoppable for the Clemson defense as Yellow Jacket quarterback Tevin Washington scampered for 176 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown . Clemson ' s high - powered offense never left the gates in the first half , although the Tigers made a play for a comeback in the second half with a 48 - yard touchdown catch by Sammy Watkins . Following a Rashard Hall interception to the Georgia Tech 9 , the Tigers looked to have a chance to rally back , but Tajh Boyd threw an interception in the end zone to Jemea Thomas on the next play . Clemson ' s four turnovers in the game would ultimately prove to be costly for the Tigers . Wake Forest . Clemson clinched its second ACC Atlantic Division title in a nail - biter game against the Demon Deacons in Death Valley . The Tigers ' 14 – 7 third quarter lead quickly deteriorated following a 50 - yard Mike Campanaro punt return for Wake Forest . Demon Deacon running back Brandon Pendergrass added two more scores to put Wake Forest up 28 – 14 . Clemson also lost Sammy Watkins for the second half following an injury on a third - quarter kick return . The Tigers , however , rallied back with two touchdown tosses from quarterback Tajh Boyd . Following a missed 47 - yard field goal try by Demon Deacon kicker Jimmy Newman , the Tigers orchestrated a drive to set up a 43 - yard game - winning kick by Chandler Catanzaro as time expired . With the win , Clemson secured its trip to Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game and finished undefeated at home for the first time since 1990 . North Carolina State . NC State shocked a heavily - favored Clemson team in Raleigh , including a dominant 27 - point second quarter performance . Wolfpack quarterback Mike Glennon threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns while Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd , despite throwing 238 yards , threw two interceptions , no touchdowns , and was replaced in the 4th quarter by Cole Stoudt . NC State ' s aggressive pass rush hindered Boyd and Clemson ' s big play ability throughout the game , and the Tigers ' four turnovers to NC State ' s none proved costly . The Wolfpack stymied Clemson ' s running game with running back Andre Ellington the team leader at only 28 yards . South Carolina . Still reeling from the loss to NC State , the Tigers entered hostile territory in Columbia against the 12th - ranked Gamecocks . Clemson ' s offense again felt the heat from South Carolina ' s stingy defense , which held the Tigers to 153 total yards . Clemson ' s defense struggled as well against the Gamecocks ' balanced attack and quarterback Connor Shaw , who threw for 210 yards and three touchdowns as well as rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown . The Tigers ' tone for the game was set early when wide receiver Sammy Watkins dropped a sure touchdown pass early in the game . Although Clemson was able to keep the turnovers down this game , the tough Gamecock defense proved to relentless for the Tigers to open up any options on offense . The loss marked Clemson ' s third straight to its arch rival . ACC Championship . Although devastating losses to NC State and South Carolina had Clemson ' s future looking bleak for the rematch against Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship , the Tigers regained their form from earlier in the season to secure their first ACC Championship game win and their first ACC title in 20 years . Quarterback Tajh Boyd threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns , including a 53 - yard strike to Sammy Watkins during the Tigers ' 21 - point third quarter rally . Clemson defense forced three touchdowns and kept the Hokies scoreless in the second half . The defense also held running back David Wilson , the ACC ' s player of the year , to only 32 yards rushing . Clemson running back Andre Ellington ran for 125 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries . With the win , Clemson solidified its first 10 - win season since 1990 , a spot in the Orange Bowl and its first BCS bowl bid in school history . Orange Bowl . Clemson ' s best season in 20 years came to a crashing halt with arguably the worst bowl loss in school history . What at first appeared to have the makings of a high - scoring shootout between the Tigers and West Virginia turned into a shellacking on par with a video game score in the second quarter . Following Andre Ellington ' s fumble at the goalline and the 99 - yard touchdown return by Mountaineer safety Darwin Cook , the floodgates opened for the Tigers . West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith was electrifying , and Clemson ' s defense did not have an answer for him as he rattled off 407 yards passing and 6 touchdowns . Although Clemson coughed the ball up four times on offense , the real story lay in the defense ' s inability to stop Smith and the Mountaineer offense . The result was a record in points in a bowl game for West Virginia .