N.C. State knocks off No. 7 Clemson

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Mike Glennon threw three touchdown passes and North Carolina State shut down No. 7 Clemson's explosive offense to help the Wolfpack beat the mistake-prone Tigers, 37-13, yesterday.

Tobais Palmer had a dazzling 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown to highlight a surprisingly dominant performance by N.C. State (6-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Wolfpack scored 27 points in the second quarter, then increased the lead and never let the Tigers (9-2, 6-2) build any momentum to rally.

It was N.C. State's first win against a top-10 team in five seasons under Tom O'Brien, and it was a surprising outcome considering the Wolfpack needed to win the final two games just to become bowl eligible.

The loss did not cost the Tigers much; they had already wrapped up the league's Atlantic Division crown and an appearance in the ACC championship game in Charlotte on Dec. 3.

The N.C. State defense -- which had held the previous two opponents to fewer than 200 total yards -- harassed Tajh Boyd and did not allow any big plays.

The Tigers averaged a league-best 37 points and 478 yards per game, but they didn't reach the end zone until the final 90 seconds. They didn't crack the 200-yard mark until late in the third quarter and earned many of their 337 total yards in the meaningless final minutes.-- AP