October 15, 2011 Week 7 · Regular Season Belt defended

Clemson defends the belt, 56–45, on the road at Maryland.

Home · Challenger

Maryland 45

Away · Defending Holder

Clemson 56

AI-Written

Recap

In a shootout at Maryland, Clemson's defense and special teams made crucial plays to preserve the belt despite being outscored 56-45. The game featured explosive scoring from both offenses, with Maryland striking first on a Davin Meggett rushing touchdown in the first quarter, but Clemson answered with Andre Ellington's touchdown run and an early field goal from Chandler Catanzaro. The pivotal moment came when Cameron Chism picked off Tajh Boyd and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown, giving Clemson momentum it would not relinquish. Maryland kept pace with two rushing touchdowns from C.J. Brown and a passing touchdown to Davin Meggett, but Clemson's balanced offensive attack and superior time of possession ultimately wore down the Terrapins. The belt-holder converted key third downs and controlled the clock with over 24 minutes of possession, holding off Maryland's late-game rally.

Cameron Chism's 46-yard interception return for a touchdown in Q1 shifted momentum decisively to Clemson
Sammy Watkins' kickoff return for an 89-yard touchdown in Q4 showcased Clemson's special teams excellence
C.J. Brown's two rushing touchdowns kept Maryland in striking distance despite Clemson's defensive adjustments
Clemson's time of possession advantage (24:20 to 17:04) and Tajh Boyd's passing touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins sealed the belt retention

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

MarylandClemson

Total yards468576

Rushing yards291306

Passing yards201279

First downs2528

3rd down conv.9/188/15

Turnovers12

Penalties–yards4–404–40

Time of possession17:0424:20

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q4 7:24	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q4 7:24	Maryland	+89 yd	Nick Ferrara kickoff for 59 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 89 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 8:25	Clemson	+18 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 18 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 11:43	Clemson	+33 yd	Sammy Watkins rush for 33 yards to the Mary 23 for a 1ST down.
Q1 8:25	Clemson	+20 yd	Dawson Zimmerman kickoff for 64 yards returned by Avery Graham for 20 yards to the Mary 26.
Q1 4:58	Maryland	+9 yd	Davin Meggett rush for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 4:58	Maryland	+0 yd	Nick Ferrara extra point GOOD.
Q1 4:43	Clemson	+22 yd	Andre Ellington rush for 22 yards to the Clem 42 for a 1ST down.
Q1 2:23	Maryland	+0 yd	Nick Ferrara extra point GOOD.
Q1 2:23	Clemson	+46 yd	Tajh Boyd pass intercepted by Cameron Chism at the Clem 46, returned for 46 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 2:23	Maryland	+70 yd	Nick Ferrara kickoff for 70 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 70 yards to the Mary 30.
Q1 1:00	Clemson	+3 yd	Andre Ellington rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 1:00	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q2 13:54	Maryland	+7 yd	C.J. Brown pass complete to Davin Meggett for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 0:40	Maryland	+40 yd	C.J. Brown pass complete to Matt Furstenburg for 40 yards to the Clem 30 for a 1ST down.
Q1 0:00	Maryland	+24 yd	C.J. Brown rush for 24 yards to the Clem 5 for a 1ST down.
Q2 13:54	Maryland	+21 yd	Nick Ferrara kickoff for 57 yards returned by Jaron Brown for 21 yards to the Clem 34.
Q2 13:54	Maryland	+0 yd	Nick Ferrara extra point GOOD.
Q2 11:00	Clemson	+24 yd	Dawson Zimmerman punt for 43 yards, returned by Tony Logan for 24 yards to the Mary 40.
Q2 8:38	Maryland	+21 yd	C.J. Brown rush for 21 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 8:38	Maryland	+26 yd	Nick Ferrara kickoff for 69 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 26 yards to the Clem 27.
Q2 8:38	Maryland	+0 yd	Nick Ferrara extra point GOOD.
Q2 5:28	Clemson	+6 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 6 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 5:28	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q2 2:55	Clemson	+20 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 20 yards to the Mary 48 for a 1ST down.
Q3 15:00	Clemson	+21 yd	Dawson Zimmerman kickoff for 69 yards returned by Avery Graham for 21 yards to the Mary 22.
Q3 13:06	Maryland	+22 yd	C.J. Brown pass complete to Matt Furstenburg for 22 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 13:06	Maryland	+0 yd	Nick Ferrara extra point GOOD.
Q3 13:06	Maryland	+20 yd	Nick Ferrara kickoff for 67 yards returned by Jaron Brown for 20 yards to the Clem 23.
Q3 11:56	Maryland	+29 yd	C.J. Brown pass intercepted by Bashaud Breeland at the Mary 44, returned for 29 yards to the Mary 15.
Q3 10:46	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 10:46	Clemson	+13 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 13 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 9:13	Maryland	+24 yd	Quintin McCree rush for 24 yards to the Clem 25 for a 1ST down.
Q3 7:27	Maryland	+21 yd	Nick Ferrara kickoff for 53 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 21 yards to the Clem 38.
Q3 7:27	Maryland	+27 yd	Nick Ferrara 27 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 7:11	Clemson	+55 yd	Andre Ellington rush for 55 yards to the Mary 7 for a 1ST down.
Q3 6:15	Clemson	+30 yd	Dawson Zimmerman kickoff for 62 yards returned by Tony Logan for 30 yards to the Mary 38.
Q3 6:15	Clemson	+23 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 23 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 4:11	Clemson	+51 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 51 yards to the Mary 19 for a 1ST down.
Q3 3:25	Clemson	+0 yd	Two-point conversion attempt, Tajh Boyd pass to Dwayne Allen GOOD.
Q3 3:25	Clemson	+15 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 15 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 11:26	Clemson	+21 yd	Dawson Zimmerman kickoff for 57 yards returned by Tony Logan for 21 yards to the Mary 34.
Q4 11:26	Clemson	+12 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Jaron Brown for 12 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 11:26	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q4 7:35	Maryland	+32 yd	C.J. Brown pass complete to Matt Furstenburg for 32 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 7:35	Maryland	+0 yd	Nick Ferrara extra point GOOD.
Q4 7:09	Maryland	+23 yd	Davin Meggett rush for 23 yards to the Clem 42 for a 1ST down.
Q4 3:55	Clemson	+44 yd	Andre Ellington rush for 44 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 3:55	Clemson	+24 yd	Dawson Zimmerman kickoff for 62 yards returned by Tony Logan for 24 yards to the Mary 32.
Q4 3:55	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
C.J. BrownMaryland	17/35	177	5.1	3	1	59.6
Tajh BoydClemson	26/38	270	7.1	4	1	60.7

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
C.J. BrownMaryland	22	162	7.4	1	24
Davin MeggettMaryland	16	69	4.3	1	23
Justus PickettMaryland	5	31	6.2	0	19
Quintin McCreeMaryland	2	24	12.0	0	24
Ronnie TylerMaryland	1	5	5.0	0	5
Kerry BoykinsMaryland	1	1	1.0	0	1
Andre EllingtonClemson	24	212	8.8	2	55
Tajh BoydClemson	11	37	3.4	0	13
Sammy WatkinsClemson	1	33	33.0	0	33
D.J. HowardClemson	2	12	6.0	0	8
Mike BellamyClemson	4	12	3.0	0	8

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Matt FurstenburgMaryland	5	104	20.8	2	40
Kerry BoykinsMaryland	4	30	7.5	0	12
Justus PickettMaryland	1	11	11.0	0	11
Marcus LeakMaryland	2	10	5.0	0	6
Kevin DorseyMaryland	1	9	9.0	0	9
Davin MeggettMaryland	1	7	7.0	1	7
Ronnie TylerMaryland	1	6	6.0	0	6
Quintin McCreeMaryland	1	2	2.0	0	2
Tony LoganMaryland	1	-2	-2.0	0	-2
Sammy WatkinsClemson	8	105	13.1	2	51
Dwayne AllenClemson	5	41	8.2	0	12
Jaron BrownClemson	4	35	8.8	1	12
DeAndre HopkinsClemson	4	22	5.5	1	20
Adam HumphriesClemson	2	20	10.0	0	11
Sam CooperClemson	1	18	18.0	0	18
Martavis BryantClemson	1	16	16.0	0	16
Charone PeakeClemson	1	13	13.0	0	13

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Cameron ChismMaryland	1	46	1
Bashaud BreelandClemson	1	29	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Tony LoganMaryland	3	75	25.0	30	0
Justus PickettMaryland	4	60	15.0	19	0
Avery GrahamMaryland	3	56	18.7	21	0
Sammy WatkinsClemson	5	207	41.4	89	1
Jaron BrownClemson	2	41	20.5	21	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Nick FerraraMaryland	1/1	100.0	27	6/6	9
Chandler CatanzaroClemson	2/2	100.0	23	6/6	12

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Tony LoganMaryland	3	36	12.0	24
DeAndre HopkinsClemson	3	0	0.0	0
Sammy WatkinsClemson	1	0	0.0	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Nick FerraraMaryland	5	189	37.8	0	0	45
Dawson ZimmermanClemson	4	173	43.3	0	0	45

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.

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