Clemson vs. Virginia Tech: Score and Reaction from 2016 ACC Championship

It was nervy, but No. 3 Clemson held on to clinch the ACC championship Saturday night with a 42-35 win over No. 23 Virginia Tech at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

The Tigers had to stave off a surging Virginia Tech, which came back from a 35-14 deficit to nearly tie the game in the final minutes. 

Virginia Tech outscored Clemson 21-7 in the final 17 minutes, 27 seconds and looked poised to tie the game when it drove to the Tigers 23-yard line with 1:16 left. But Jerod Evans' pass on 4th-and-6 was picked off by Cordrea Tankersley to wrap up the victory.

It all but clinches Clemson's spot in the College Football Playoff, and with a conference title in hand, the Tigers could jump Ohio State for the No. 2 spot in the final rankings that are revealed Sunday. 

It is also the program's 16th ACC title, its second straight and third in the past six years. 

Quarterback Deshaun Watson racked up 373 total yards and five touchdowns to outduel Evans, who put up 310 total yards and three scores to make the Tigers uncomfortable.

Clemson wasted no time getting its offense going, as it scored on its first three drives of the game. The first two possessions consisted of nine plays of 75 and 83 yards, respectively, with Watson putting the exclamation point on them. 

He first rushed up the middle for an easy three-yard score and followed it up with a 21-yard pass to Jordan Leggett to help put the Tigers up 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

His pass to Leggett was the highlight of an impressive start, via Norm Wood of the Daily Press:

The Hokies answered with an eventful drive to get on the board. The 11-play, 77-yard march was aided by a Dorian O'Daniel targeting penalty—which led to his ejection—a successful fake punt that was originally flagged for an ineligible man downfield before being overturned and a Clemson pass interference call after Virginia Tech attempted a fullback pass.

It led to Travon McMillian punching it in from one yard out.

However, the drive didn't impress former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz:

Virginia Tech encountered plenty of issues with flags as well, committing four pass interference penalties in the first half alone.

They helped Clemson come up with a score on its third straight drive. Once again, it was Watson hooking up with Leggett from 10 yards out, as the tight end started drawing NFL comparisons from WFTV's Christian Bruey:

Once Virginia Tech's defense found its footing, Clemson looked stoppable momentarily.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Hokies recorded a second score in the form of a five-play, 70-yard drive that ended with four minutes left in the half. After Evans hit Isaiah Ford for a 53-yard gain, the quarterback rumbled his way into the end zone from 11 yards out, where he showed off his physicality as a rusher.

Scout's Jon Ledyard was befuddled with Clemson's inconsistencies:

But the Tigers offense came alive once again in the second half, as it utilized the legs of Watson and Gallman along with the hands of Mike Williams. On the nine-play, 89-yard drive, Watson rushed for 33 yards, while Williams caught a pair of passes for 39 yards before Gallman scored from eight yards out.

Off Tankersley's first interception of the night of Evans, Watson picked up his second rushing touchdown with a two-yard effort to help grab a commanding 35-14 lead with 4:45 left in the third.

It had Isaiah Hole, who covers No. 5 Michigan for 247Sports, longing for a more competitive game:

Hole got just that when Virginia Tech countered with two scores of its own to make it a one-possession game.

The Hokies provided a quick answer to Watson's touchdown, when McMillian scampered 27 yards for his second score of the night. With 11:35 left in the fourth quarter, Evans lowered his shoulder once again for his second rushing touchdown and Virginia Tech's most successful offensive spell, according to ESPN.com's Andrea Adelson:

Matt Barnes of NBC4 was ready for chaos:

Clemson punched back with 7:33 left, though, when a triple-option play left Hunter Renfrow wide open for an easy score from 15 yards out. 

Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post gave Clemson some major props for the play call:

The Tigers overcame three penalties on the drive and converted a pair of 3rd-and-longs in the process.

It didn't take long for Virginia Tech to get back to within a touchdown, going 76 yards in 1:50 as Evans hit Cam Phillips with a 26-yard dime. 

Penalties killed Clemson's next drive before it even started deep in Virginia Tech territory, and the Tigers punted and heaped pressure on a defense that wasn't getting any stops. 

ESPN CollegeFootball caught a glimpse of how most Clemson fans were probably feeling:

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde couldn't find the words:

Virginia Tech gained 36 yards effortlessly, as Clemson's prevent defense gave Evans easy short passes. But the Tigers finally held firm to clinch the game when the Hokies got three yards away from the red zone.  

It's been an overachieving season for Virginia Tech, which the media predicted before the season to finish fourth in the ACC Coastal division. 

But the Hokies defeated North Carolina, Miami and Pittsburgh, the teams expected to finish ahead of them this year, on their way to the divisional title.

While Virginia Tech came up just short, it can still look forward to a bowl game in late December. In my latest projections, I have the Hokies playing Stanford in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 30. 

Clemson, on the other hand, should start preparing for its semifinal. No. 1 Alabama will likely head to the Peach Bowl, which means the Tigers—with a No. 2 or 3 ranking—would go to the Fiesta Bowl, where they could meet Ohio State. 

However, the Tigers' unconvincing performance on Saturday night could drop them to No. 4, which would mean a nightmare rematch against a dominating Alabama program. Clemson won't have to wait long to find out, though, as the selection committee will release its rankings Sunday at noon.

Postgame Reaction

While there might have been issues down the stretch, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney had a bigger-picture message, via Scott Keepfer of the Greenville News:

He was quick to give credit to Virginia Tech's Evans, via David Teel of the Daily Press:

But he also made sure everyone knew just how highly he thought of his quarterback, via Mike Singer of Rivals.com:

However, it could have been a disaster for Clemson had Virginia Tech scored, because Hokies head coach Justin Fuente revealed his game plan had they scored in the final minute, via Safid Deen of the Orlando Sentinel:

Regardless of the result, the first-year head coach was thrilled with how his team fought this year, via Ava Wallace of the Washington Post:

Fuente had some big shoes to fill at Virginia Tech after Frank Beamer, who starting coaching the program in 1987, retired after last season. With their most wins since 2011, the Hokies are on the right track with Fuente.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.