October 22, 2011 Week 8 · Regular Season Belt defended

Clemson defends the belt, 59–38, at home over North Carolina.

Home · Defending Holder

ClemsonAP No. 8 59

Away · Challenger

North Carolina 38

AP poll, week 8: North Carolina unranked at Clemson No. 8 · No. 1 that week: West Virginia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Clemson came in 35 days into reign #278, which began with a win over Auburn, with 4 defenses already behind it; this was its 5th defense. It was the last defense: Georgia Tech took the belt in the very next belt game, on October 29, 2011.

For North Carolina this was its 11th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.

This is the only time Clemson and North Carolina have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Clemson's offense was firing on all cylinders from the opening kickoff, with Tajh Boyd connecting with DeAndre Hopkins for a touchdown just 1:12 into the game to establish early control. North Carolina kept pace with scores of their own, including a 58-yard touchdown pass to Jheranie Boyd, but turnovers proved catastrophic for the visiting Tar Heels. Clemson's defense capitalized on North Carolina's mistakes, with Kourtnei Brown returning an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter and the Tigers forcing six turnovers overall. A spectacular 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by T.J. Thorpe in the third quarter effectively sealed the game, as Clemson's dominant passing attack and North Carolina's inability to protect the ball proved too much to overcome.

DeAndre Hopkins touchdown catch (1:12 Q1) - Set the tone early with Clemson's passing game establishing control
Kourtnei Brown interception return for touchdown (4:45 Q2) - Defensive touchdown that exemplified Clemson's ability to turn over-hungry opponent mistakes into points
T.J. Thorpe 100-yard kickoff return for touchdown (9:35 Q3) - Explosive special teams play that effectively put the game out of reach
North Carolina's six turnovers - The turnover margin was the decisive factor in Clemson's belt-retention victory

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

ClemsonNorth Carolina

Total yards450418

Rushing yards77102

Passing yards397330

First downs2619

3rd down conv.8/182/12

Turnovers16

Penalties–yards3–329–62

Time of possession18:1917:31

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
Q3 9:35	North Carolina	+0 yd	Thomas Moore extra point GOOD.
Q3 9:35	North Carolina	+36 yd	Trase Jones kickoff for 51 yards returned by Jaron Brown for 36 yards to the NCaro 45.
Q3 9:35	Clemson	+100 yd	Chandler Catanzaro kickoff for 70 yards returned by T.J. Thorpe for 100 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 13:41	North Carolina	+17 yd	Bryn Renner pass intercepted by Jonathan Meeks at the Clem 45, returned for 17 yards to the NCaro 38.
Q1 10:14	Clemson	+39 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 39 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 7:17	North Carolina	+33 yd	Bryn Renner pass complete to Jheranie Boyd for 33 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 7:17	North Carolina	+28 yd	Trase Jones kickoff for 66 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 28 yards to the Clem 32.
Q1 7:17	North Carolina	+0 yd	Thomas Moore extra point GOOD.
Q1 6:02	Clemson	+26 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 26 yards to the NCaro 35 for a 1ST down.
Q1 1:12	Clemson	+25 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 25 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 1:12	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 1:12	Clemson	+22 yd	Chandler Catanzaro kickoff for 58 yards returned by Charles Brown for 22 yards to the NCaro 34.
Q2 10:18	North Carolina	+32 yd	Thomas Moore 32 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 7:46	Clemson	+29 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Martavis Bryant for 29 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 7:46	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q2 4:45	North Carolina	+20 yd	Bryn Renner pass intercepted by Kourtnei Brown at the NCaro 20, returned for 20 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 4:45	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q2 4:45	Clemson	+22 yd	Chandler Catanzaro kickoff for 65 yards returned by Charles Brown for 22 yards to the NCaro 27.
Q2 3:27	North Carolina	+58 yd	Bryn Renner pass complete to Jheranie Boyd for 58 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 3:27	North Carolina	+0 yd	Thomas Moore extra point GOOD.
Q2 0:30	Clemson	+46 yd	Chandler Catanzaro 46 yard field goal MISSED.
Q3 15:00	North Carolina	+31 yd	Trase Jones kickoff for 62 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 31 yards to the Clem 39.
Q3 11:20	Clemson	+39 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 39 yards to the NCaro 14 for a 1ST down.
Q3 10:02	Clemson	+1 yd	Tajh Boyd rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 10:02	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 9:47	Clemson	+12 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Brandon Ford for 12 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 9:47	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 7:11	Clemson	+42 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 42 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 7:11	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 7:11	Clemson	+43 yd	Chandler Catanzaro kickoff for 69 yards returned by T.J. Thorpe for 43 yards to the NCaro 44.
Q3 2:50	Clemson	+25 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Martavis Bryant for 25 yards to the NCaro 9 for a 1ST down.
Q3 1:42	Clemson	+9 yd	Tajh Boyd pass complete to Dwayne Allen for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 1:42	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 0:14	North Carolina	+0 yd	Bryn Renner sacked by Rashard Hall, fumbled, forced by Rashard Hall, recovered by Clem Kourtnei Brown at the NCaro 26, Kourtnei Brown for 26 yards, to the NCaro 0 for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 0:14	Clemson	+0 yd	Chandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 0:14	Clemson	+25 yd	Chandler Catanzaro kickoff for 69 yards returned by T.J. Thorpe for 25 yards to the NCaro 26.
Q4 10:06	North Carolina	+0 yd	Bryn Renner pass intercepted by Darius Robinson at the Clem 3, returned for no gain to the Clem 3.
Q4 7:38	North Carolina	+2 yd	Ryan Houston rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 7:38	North Carolina	+0 yd	Thomas Moore extra point GOOD.
Q4 2:50	North Carolina	+52 yd	Braden Hanson pass complete to T.J. Thorpe for 52 yards to the Clem 12 for a 1ST down.
Q4 2:19	North Carolina	+12 yd	Ryan Houston rush for 12 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 2:19	North Carolina	+0 yd	Thomas Moore 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

Clemson

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Tajh Boyd	27/46	367	8.0	5	0	78.6
Cole Stoudt	1/2	6	3.0	0	0	5.0

North Carolina

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Bryn Renner	19/33	264	8.0	2	3	36.9
Braden Hanson	1/2	52	26.0	0	0	100.0

Rushing

Clemson

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
D.J. Howard	7	25	3.6	0	8
Mike Bellamy	6	20	3.3	0	10
Roderick McDowell	3	17	5.7	0	10
Tajh Boyd	11	8	0.7	1	12
Andre Ellington	7	5	0.7	0	4
Adam Humphries	1	3	3.0	0	3
Sammy Watkins	1	-1	-1.0	0	0

North Carolina

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Ryan Houston	12	63	5.3	2	12
Giovani Bernard	11	44	4.0	0	14
Jheranie Boyd	1	1	1.0	0	1
Bryn Renner	3	-5	-1.7	0	7

Receiving

Clemson

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
DeAndre Hopkins	9	157	17.4	1	39
Sammy Watkins	8	91	11.4	1	42
Martavis Bryant	2	54	27.0	1	29
Dwayne Allen	6	51	8.5	1	13
Brandon Ford	1	12	12.0	1	12
Marquan Jones	1	6	6.0	0	6
Andre Ellington	1	2	2.0	0	2

North Carolina

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Jheranie Boyd	3	95	31.7	2	58
Erik Highsmith	7	62	8.9	0	13
T.J. Thorpe	1	52	52.0	0	52
Eric Ebron	3	32	10.7	0	15
Reggie Wilkins	2	31	15.5	0	16
Giovani Bernard	2	28	14.0	0	17
Dwight Jones	2	16	8.0	0	15

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Clemson

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Kourtnei Brown	1	20	1
Jonathan Meeks	1	17	0
Darius Robinson	1	2	0

North Carolina

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Sammy Watkins	4	96	24.0	31
Jaron Brown	1	36	36.0	36
Charone Peake	1	13	13.0	13
Martavis Bryant	1	9	9.0	9

North Carolina

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
T.J. Thorpe	4	182	45.5	100	1
Charles Brown	6	108	18.0	22	0

Kicking

Clemson

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Chandler Catanzaro	1/2	50.0	39	8/8	11

North Carolina

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Thomas Moore	1/1	100.0	32	5/5	8

Punt Returns

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
DeAndre Hopkins	4	6	1.5	4	0

North Carolina

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Charles Brown	4	9	2.3	7	0

Punting

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Dawson Zimmerman	6	241	40.2	0	0	55

North Carolina

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Tommy Hibbard	5	201	40.2	0	0	49

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 312950228) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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