The Tigers proved themselves to be worthy of recognition Saturday night, beating then-No. 10 NC State, 30-20.

A game that was thought to be a toss-up to some was sealed by sophomore running back Phil Mafah when he rushed for 15 yards on third-and-9 in the fourth quarter, putting his team inside the Wolfpack 10-yard line. Soon after, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei sold a fake handoff to Mafah, resulting in a touchdown.

Mafah said, “I’m happy I got to contribute to sealing up the game. That was a big play, a big down that had to be done, and we got it done.”

Having been the guy for Clemson last year with other running backs Will Shipley and Kobe Pace out, Mafah feels the reps helped a lot with his confidence. He stated, “Just knowing the plays and having the guys count on me to do well made me step into a different role, see things in a different perspective and just work harder.”

While Mafah’s roommate and friend, Shipley, has been getting majority of playing time in Clemson’s backfield this season, Mafah is still producing notable stats. He has 126 rushing yards and a touchdown on 32 carries.

The Tigers are heading north to Boston College for this Saturday’s game. While “excited to see the landscape of Boston,” on the contrary, the low temperatures it comes with may not be something Mafah is looking forward to most.

Mafah on the Eagles: “Very physical team. They work hard, so you know, we’ll just have to compete with that and not saying that we don’t work hard, but they are a really good effort team. So we’ll just have to bring that effort, too.”