The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2011 season / Reign #281 · Game 1,447 of 1,643
December 4, 2011 Week 14 · Regular Season Neutral site Belt changed hands

Clemson takes the belt, 38–10, at a neutral site over Virginia Tech.

Home · New Holder
ClemsonAP No. 21 38
AT
Away · Defending Holder
Virginia TechAP No. 5 10

AP poll, week 14: Virginia Tech No. 5 at Clemson No. 21 · No. 1 that week: West Virginia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Clemson took the belt here, ending Virginia Tech’s run of 24 days and 2 defenses (reign #280) and starting reign #281. It lasted 31 days and 0 defenses, until West Virginia took it on January 4, 2012.

For Clemson this was its 11th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 3 times before — and it took it back here.

It was the 3rd of 4 belt games between the two; going in, Clemson led the belt series 2–0; all-time Clemson leads 4–0. Every meeting →

AI-Written

Recap

Clemson dominated Virginia Tech from start to finish to claim the College Football Belt with a decisive 38-10 victory. The Tigers struck first when Tajh Boyd found Dwayne Allen for a 24-yard touchdown in the first quarter, but Virginia Tech answered quickly with a Logan Thomas pass to D.J. Coles for 45 yards and a score. Clemson's offense exploded in the third quarter, with Boyd connecting on touchdown passes to both Allen and Sammy Watkins (53 yards) while Andre Ellington added a rushing score, turning what had been a competitive game into a rout. Virginia Tech's three turnovers and struggles moving the ball—managing just 56 rushing yards—proved fatal against a Clemson team that controlled the line of scrimmage and kept the Hokies off balance throughout the afternoon.

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
 ClemsonVirginia Tech
Total yards457330
Rushing yards21756
Passing yards246296
First downs2519
3rd down conv.6/147/16
Turnovers03
Penalties–yards5–359–91
Time of possession18:0417:49

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
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 11:17Clemson+24 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Dwayne Allen for 24 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 11:17Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 0:44Virginia Tech+45 ydLogan Thomas pass complete to D.J. Coles for 45 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 2:02Virginia Tech+21 ydLogan Thomas pass complete to Marcus Davis for 21 yards to the VTech 47 for a 1ST down.
Q1 0:44Virginia Tech+0 ydCody Journell extra point GOOD.
Q2 9:54Clemson+20 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 20 yards to the VTech 6 for a 1ST down.
Q2 7:47Clemson+28 ydSpencer Benton kickoff for 60 yards returned by Tony Gregory for 28 yards to the VTech 38.
Q2 7:54Clemson+20 ydChandler Catanzaro 20 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 6:32Clemson+32 ydAndre Ellington rush over left tackle for 32 yards to the Clem 34 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:01Virginia Tech+42 ydCody Journell 42 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 14:54Clemson+27 ydSpencer Benton kickoff for 63 yards returned by Tony Gregory for 27 yards to the VTech 34.
Q3 12:57Clemson+22 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 22 yards to the VTech 40 for a 1ST down.
Q3 10:45Clemson+8 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Dwayne Allen for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 10:45Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 8:02Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 8:02Clemson+53 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 53 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 6:21Clemson+29 ydAndre Ellington rush over left end for 29 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 6:21Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q3 6:13Clemson+23 ydSpencer Benton kickoff for 61 yards returned by Tony Gregory for 23 yards to the VTech 32.
Q3 4:00Virginia Tech+29 ydLogan Thomas pass complete to Jarrett Boykin for 29 yds to the Clem 23, Clem penalty 15 yd Pass Interference on Coty Sensabaugh declined, VTech penalty 15 yd Unsportsmanlike on Jarrett Boykin accepted
Q4 13:04Clemson+1 ydTajh Boyd rush quarterback sneak for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 15:00Clemson+23 ydSammy Watkins rush over right end for 23 yards to the VTech 17 for a 1ST down.
Q4 12:56Clemson+20 ydSpencer Benton kickoff for 62 yards returned by Tony Gregory for 20 yards to the VTech 18, VIRGINIA TECH penalty 10 yard Holding on Derek DiNardo accepted.
Q4 13:04Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q4 11:18Virginia Tech+20 ydLogan Thomas pass complete to D.J. Coles for 20 yards to the Clem 46 for a 1ST down.
Q4 9:32Virginia Tech+41 ydLogan Thomas pass intercepted by Jonathan Meeks at the Clem 10, returned for 41 yards to the VTech 49.
Q4 4:51Virginia Tech+64 ydLogan Thomas pass intercepted by Bashaud Breeland at the Clem 2, returned for 64 yards to the VTech 34.

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

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Tajh Boyd20/292408.33073.4
DeAndre Hopkins0/100.0003.6

Virginia Tech

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Logan Thomas22/442746.21224.2

Rushing

Clemson

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Andre Ellington201256.3132
Sammy Watkins55511.0023
Tajh Boyd11282.518
D.J. Howard3113.708
Cole Stoudt111.001
Roderick McDowell300.002

Virginia Tech

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
David Wilson11322.9011
Josh Oglesby6223.708
Logan Thomas1220.208

Receiving

Clemson

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
DeAndre Hopkins79213.1022
Sammy Watkins58016.0153
Dwayne Allen23216.0224
Jaron Brown11717.0017
Charone Peake11717.0017
Brandon Ford155.005
Martavis Bryant122.002
Andre Ellington2-5-2.500

Virginia Tech

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
D.J. Coles711616.6145
Jarrett Boykin35819.3029
Marcus Davis45012.5021
Chris Drager22311.5013
David Wilson3144.7011
Danny Coale2115.507
Josh Oglesby122.002
Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Clemson

PlayerINTYDSTD
Bashaud Breeland1640
Jonathan Meeks1410

Virginia Tech

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Sammy Watkins12222.0220
Jaron Brown11717.0170

Virginia Tech

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Tony Gregory613522.5280

Kicking

Clemson

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Chandler Catanzaro1/1100.0205/58

Virginia Tech

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Cody Journell1/1100.0421/14

Punt Returns

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
DeAndre Hopkins231.530

Virginia Tech

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Danny Coale200.000

Punting

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Dawson Zimmerman520841.60053

Virginia Tech

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Danny Coale627746.20061

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 313370228) · This game in the downloadable dataset