On This Date: 1987 (10)Clemson- 13 North Carolina- 10

Nov 7, 2023, 8:54 AM

11/07/1987
Chapel Hill, NC

CLEMSON CLOSES IN ON ACC TITLE, BEAT TAR HEELS IN CHAPEL HILL 13-10

By CHRIS POWELL, UPI Sports Writer

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- When the game and the Atlantic Coast Conference title were hanging in the balance Saturday, Clemson resorted to an old standby.

The Tigers, ranked 10th nationally, ran the ball 17 consecutive plays to the North Carolina 14. And on the 18th play, David Treadwell kicked a 30-yard field goal to give Clemson a 13-10 victory over the Tar Heels.

'The last drive was just Clemson football,' said quarterback Rodney Williams, who engineered an 18-play, 66-yard march that used up all but 32 seconds of the final 7:38.

The triumph left the Tigers one victory short of their second straight ACC title. They can clinch this week with a victory at home against Maryland.

Clemson, 5-1 in the league and 8-1 overall, ran for 286 yards. Fullback Tracy Johnson led the way with a game-high 124 yards on 25 carries, many of them on trap plays.

The Tar Heels fell to 5-4 and 3-2 and dropped Coach #### Crum's record to 2-8 against Clemson.

The Tigers used the trap effectively in their game-winning drive. Johnson carried 11 times for 34 yards on the way to Treadwell's field goal.

'That was our bread and butter today,' Johnson said of the trap. 'They (Clemson coaches) said they hadn't used it since we played them up here in 1981, and it's designed to give us more fullback plays to take the heat off our tailback sweeps.'

It worked, just as the Clemson running game has been working for over eight years under Coach Danny Ford.

The Tigers won despite four lost fumbles, two of which led to all 10 of North Carolina's points. But the Clemson defense held the Tar Heels to a field goal on the last four possessions, even though each carried into Tiger territory.

The field goal, a 48-yarder by Kenny Miller, tied the score 10-10.

'Everyone came hard, like they had all day,' Johnson said of the blocking on the final drive. 'I think they (the Tar Heels) knew what was coming; we just wouldn't let them stop us.'

North Carolina defensive tackle Reuben Davis agreed.

I guess we all knew that, sooner or later, it would come down to that type of situation,' Davis said. 'I can't explain it. I guess it's just a matter of who wanted it.'