Virginia Tech 20, Clemson 16: Grunkemeyer finds Luke Reynolds again with 1:44 left

Virginia Tech trailed for most of the second half at Memorial Stadium and won anyway. Ethan Grunkemeyer threw a 5-yard touchdown to Luke Reynolds with 1:44 left, and the Hokies beat Clemson 20-16 on Saturday to move to 6-2.

The winning drive came after Clemson had scored 13 straight points in the third quarter. The Tigers answered every Virginia Tech possession but the last one, and their red-zone trips produced three field goals and one touchdown.

How it was won

J. Love opened the scoring with a 37-yard field goal at 1:20 of the first quarter. N. Hauser matched him from 34 yards early in the second. Virginia Tech then went ahead 10-3 before half when Grunkemeyer found Luke Reynolds for 6 yards at 1:24.

The third quarter belonged to Clemson. Hauser kicked a 49-yarder at 10:44, then Tait Reynolds ran 16 yards for a touchdown at 6:14 to put the Tigers up 13-10. Hauser added a 36-yarder with three seconds left in the quarter for a 16-10 lead.

Love cut it to 16-13 with a 47-yard field goal at 11:52 of the fourth. The Hokies' next scoring drive ended with the second Grunkemeyer-to-Reynolds touchdown, and Clemson could not answer in the final 1:44.

The box score was close throughout. Clemson outgained Virginia Tech 288 to 234 and ran for 135 yards to the Hokies' 70. Virginia Tech had more first downs, 19 to 15, held the ball for 32:24, and converted 5 of 15 third downs against Clemson's 3 of 14. Neither side turned it over.

Grunkemeyer finished 20 of 32 for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Luke Reynolds caught seven passes for 44 yards and both scores, and Que'Sean Brown added five catches for 69 yards plus 22 yards on two carries. Jeffrey Overton Jr. had 26 yards on 10 carries.

For Clemson, Tait Reynolds was 20 of 26 for 153 yards with no touchdown passes and led the team with 63 rushing yards and a score on 18 carries. Gideon Davidson ran 14 times for 62 yards. Tyler Brown caught eight passes for 62 yards and Bryant Wesco Jr. had five for 38.

Against the number

Clemson closed as a 3-point favorite, so Virginia Tech covered and won outright. The Hokies closed at +120 on the moneyline, with Clemson at -142.

The total closed at 50.5. With 36 points scored, the game went well under. Six field goal attempts, all good, and only three touchdowns kept it there; the two teams combined for 13 points in the first half. Full closing prices are on the game page.

What's next

Virginia Tech has won two straight since back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and California. The Hokies play next on Friday, November 6, at No. 23 SMU, on ESPN.

Clemson falls to 4-3, with all three losses coming against Virginia Tech, No. 4 Miami and No. 11 LSU. The Tigers travel to Florida State on Saturday, October 31, on ACC Network.