Clemson 40, (10) Miami (FL) 37

1234OTT
CLEM (4-3)0141010640
#10MIA (5-2)0101410337

Final

3:30 PM ET, October 24, 2009
Sun Life Stadium
MIAMI, FL

Parker's TD pass to Ford in OT gives Clemson edge over Miami

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Top 25 Overview
It was over when... Clemson responded to Miami's overtime field goal with a touchdown on third-and-11 of its possession.
Gameball goes to... Kyle Parker. Clemson's quarterback topped a big night with his third touchdown to win the game in overtime.
Stat of the game... 310. C.J. Spiller's school-record all-purpose yards, including a 90-yard kickoff return.
Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs2218
Total Yards410433
Passing326256
Rushing84177
Penalties4-3911-79
3rd Down Conversions7-148-14
4th Down Conversions1-10-0
Turnovers34
Possession31:4428:16
Air/Ground Leaders
Clemson Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Parker25/3732631
Miami (FL) Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Harris17/2725623
Clemson Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Spiller1481048
Harper61907
Miami (FL) Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Cooper1799025
James656044
Clemson Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Spiller6104156
Palmer574118
Miami (FL) Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Hankerson587126
Benjamin382169
Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTERCLEMMIA
FG13:54Matt Bosher 49 Yd 03
TD05:21Michael Palmer 15 Yd Pass From Kyle Parker. (Richard Jackson Kick) 73
TD00:57Damien Berry 23 Yd Run. (Matt Bosher Kick) 710
TD00:46C.J. Spiller 90 Yd Kickoff Return. (Richard Jackson Kick) 1410
THIRD QUARTERCLEMMIA
TD10:52Leonard Hankerson 5 Yd Pass From Jacory Harris. (Matt Bosher Kick) 1417
TD05:49C.J. Spiller 56 Yd Pass From Kyle Parker. (Richard Jackson Kick) 2117
TD04:43Marcus Robinson 53 Yd Fumble Return. (Matt Bosher Kick) 2124
FG00:44Richard Jackson 43 Yd 2424
FOURTH QUARTERCLEMMIA
FG11:42Matt Bosher 51 Yd 2427
TD09:40DeAndre McDaniel 23 Yd Interception Return. (Richard Jackson Kick) 3127
TD09:20Travis Benjamin 69 Yd Pass From Jacory Harris. (Matt Bosher Kick) 3134
FG00:05Richard Jackson 30 Yd 3434
OVERTIMECLEMMIA
FGMatt Bosher 22 Yd 3437
TDJacoby Ford 26 Yd Pass From Kyle Parker. 4037
Associated Press

MIAMI -- Jacoby Ford called the final play, promising Clemson's coaches it would work.

Did it ever.

Fast Facts

• C.J. Spiller was a one-man wrecking crew with 81 yards rushing, 104 yards receiving, including a 56-yard TD, and a 90-yard kickoff return TD. It was the third kickoff return TD this season for Spiller, an ACC single-season record.

• There were 12 lead changes and two ties in the game.

• The Tigers improved to 3-2 in ACC play, tying Boston College for the ACC Atlantic Division lead. The Tigers control their own destiny, already beating BC and Wake Forest.

• Miami fell to 2-2 in conference play, leaving Georgia Tech in control of the ACC Coastal Division.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

Kyle Parker threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Ford in overtime, giving Clemson a wild, wacky 40-37 win over Miami (No. 10 BCS, No. 8 AP) on Saturday night -- the biggest win during Dabo Swinney's tenure as coach, the Tigers' first victory in their last nine tries over ranked teams, and their first road win over a Top 10 foe in more than eight years.

"It was a play that we had never run before," Clemson offensive coordinator Billy Napier said.

It was a play Miami won't want to see again.

"We knew this game was going to come down to who made more plays," Ford said. "And we did."

C.J. Spiller had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown -- the sixth of his career -- and a long catch for another score, on his way to a school-record 310 all-purpose yards for the Tigers (4-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). DeAndre McDaniel had a 23-yard interception for another touchdown and Richard Jackson hit a 30-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in regulation to tie the game.

Clemson trailed seven times in the game, erasing every one, Ford's TD catch the lasting blow.

"I have a birthday next month and I think I'm going to turn 50 instead of 40," Swinney said. "We had to put on Superman capes. We made plenty of mistakes that could have lost us the game, but they played with poise and confidence. We just kept battling."

How stunning was this from a Miami standpoint? Since the start of the 1985 season, Miami is now 113-2 when scoring 37 or more points.

The ACC is now out of Miami's control: Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Virginia all have one loss in the Coastal, meaning the Hurricanes will need help to reach the conference title game.

"Not making any excuses," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "We just played sloppy."

Jacory Harris threw for two touchdowns for Miami (5-2, 2-2), but also threw three interceptions.

The Hurricanes could have had fourth-and-goal from the Clemson 3 in overtime after Matt Bosher's third field goal of the game. But Miami kept the three points on the board, turning it over to the defense.

And Parker -- who picked apart the middle of the field all day -- found Ford, a South Florida native, for the winning score. Parker finished 25 of 37 for 326 yards.

"I should have made the play on that myself," said Miami safety Randy Phillips, who was near Ford but in a supporting role on the final play. "I should have taken it into my own hands."

It was the third meeting of these teams since Miami joined the ACC; all three went to overtime, and all three have been won by the road team.

After the way regulation was nothing but wild back-and-forth -- nine lead changes in the final three quarters -- it couldn't have been too surprising that this one needed more than 60 minutes before getting settled.

Spiller had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown just before halftime, then a 56-yard TD catch midway through the third quarter. Both came on Miami breakdowns; the Hurricanes didn't want Alex Uribe to kick it deep to Spiller on the return for a score, and the TD catch came when he was covered by linebacker Sean Spence, who battled an injured left knee all day.

The kickoff was particularly upsetting to Shannon. Uribe didn't kick in the second half, getting replaced by Bosher.

"Blown assignments," Shannon said. "We had something called and we went on the field and it was totally different. ... Guys didn't get it done."

Both defenses offered major scoring swings, too. Allen Bailey sacked Parker, knocking the ball loose and setting up Marcus Robinson's 53-yard rumble for a score that gave Miami a 24-21 lead in the third quarter. And in the fourth, McDaniel's interception runback -- the second pick of the day and seventh of the season, which led the nation at that point -- put Clemson up 31-27.

Harris remained cool under pressure, just as he has all season.

On Miami's very next play, he connected with Travis Benjamin for a 69-yard touchdown, a lead that looked likely to hold up when Phillips intercepted Parker in the end zone about 4 minutes later.

Parker atoned nicely.

"I think last week we realized that we could be really good and this week we acted on it," he said, going back to Clemson's 38-3 win over Wake Forest a week ago. "I thought we really got some explosive plays and we played well."

The opposite emotion echoed in the Miami locker room.

"This has to be my toughest loss here," Harris said. "We fought so hard throughout the game as a team and didn't come out with the victory. We let Clemson outwork us, we turned the ball over too much -- little things that made us get to this point."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, October 24th
1 Florida 29 Final
Mississippi State 19
Tennessee 10 Final
2 Alabama 12
3 Texas 41 Final
Missouri 7
4 Boise State 54 Final
Hawaii 9
Louisville 10 Final
5 Cincinnati 41
6 Iowa 15 Final
Michigan State 13
Oregon State 36 Final
7 USC 42
8 TCU 38 Final
16 Brigham Young 7
Auburn 10 Final
9 LSU 31
Clemson 40 Final
10 Miami (FL) 37 OT
11 Oregon 43 Final
Washington 19
12 Georgia Tech 34 Final
Virginia 9
13 Penn State 35 Final
Michigan 10
15 Oklahoma State 34 Final
Baylor 7
Southern Methodist 15 Final
17 Houston 38
Air Force 16 Final
18 Utah 23 OT
Minnesota 7 Final
19 Ohio State 38
South Florida 14 Final
20 Pittsburgh 41
UCLA 13 Final
22 Arizona 27
Connecticut 24 Final
23 West Virginia 28
Vanderbilt 10 Final
24 South Carolina 14
Oklahoma 35 Final
25 Kansas 13