Reliving 2016: ‘It was game over,’ Clemson Survives Wolfpack
By: Ashby Mixon October 23, 2026

No. 3 Clemson 24, NC State 17 (OT)

Editor’s note: Each week, the Clemson Insider honors Clemson’s 2016 National Championship Team by reliving that week’s game on the schedule. Follow all season long as we talk to players and coaches who lived through the ups and downs of a dramatic season that brought Clemson its first national championship in 35 years.

CLEMSON — All that was standing in between the mighty ACC-contending Clemson Tigers and a much-deserved bye week was a pack of wolves.

Or at least, Dave Doeren’s fighting NC State Wolfpack, hungry to snap a seven-game losing streak at Memorial Stadium.

The Tigers, just two weeks after a heart-stopping, comeback win over Louisville, cruised past an overwhelmed Boston College team 56-10 on the road before returning to Death Valley to face the Wolfpack. 

As the air turned crisp and temperatures dropped low, spirits were high in Clemson.

The Tigers had not suffered a loss in front of orange-and-purple-clad fans in 19 games–and almost three years–to the day, and currently stood strong as the third-ranked team in the nation. 

Quarterback Deshaun Watson and his scrappy packmates had already taken down Heisman Trophy candidate Lamar Jackson and swarm of Cardinals, picking up three other Power Four wins along the way. They also had a 59-0 shutout over South Carolina State tucked neatly under their belts at the midseason marker.

Despite some early season bumps, like a victory snatched from the jaws of disaster against Troy, and a one-possession win over unranked Auburn, Clemson seemed to be, again, the real deal.

NC State, on the other hand, had already collected an early-season loss to East Carolina, and, three games later, had barely squeaked out an underwhelming 10-3 win over Notre Dame ahead of the trip to Memorial Stadium.

On paper, Clemson was the surefire favorite, expected to eviscerate the Wolfpack by 17 points and use midseason form to cruise into an open date untouched.

Unfortunately for head coach Dabo Swinney and his Tigers, though, no ACC game can be won by hype, previous wins or a homefield advantage. They certainly cannot be won on paper. And it’s especially difficult to hold onto an undefeated record when you cannot seem to hold onto the football. 

After kickoff, NC State and Clemson traded 99 empty yards over the course of nearly six opening minutes as the Wolfpack kicker Kyle Bambard missed a 43-yard field goal and Tiger running back Wayne Gallman gave up a rare fumble to keep the scoreboard unused.

Dangerously close to square one, the Tigers’ defense forced a punt and, in turn, the offense got on the scoreboard first with a 25-yard field goal.

It took two more turnovers–one from each squad–for either team to add onto the score, but with just over two minutes to play in the first half, Bambard drilled a chip-shot field goal to even the score 3-3.

In true two-minute-drill fashion, Watson, a Heisman favorite, completed eight of his nine pass attempts for 83 yards and a touchdown to give the Tigers a 10-3 advantage at the break. After the ever-steady Gallman suffered a concussion and had to head to the locker room, Watson understood that Clemson’s margin for error was small, and that the show must go on primarily through the air.

Unfortunately, that show began with some immediate conflict in the third quarter as Watson threw the first pick-six of his Clemson career, evening the score before fans had even returned from concourse concession stands.

The Tigers fumbled twice more in the third quarter and, despite eventually scoring another touchdown, the mistakes caught up to them when Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley led his team on a 75-yard touchdown drive to tie things at 17 a piece. 

NC State kicker Kyle Bambard misses what would have been a game-winning kick to the right at the end of regulation in Clemson’s overtime win over the Wolfpack in 2016. (Rex Brown/The Clemson Insider)

Just a few minutes later, Finley again led the ‘Pack down the field and positioned Bambard for a game-winning field goal as time expired. Clemson defensive end Christian Wilkins, who blocked another field goal in the third quarter, simply could not watch as Bambard lineup for what looked like an easy attempt.

“I kind of looked up and I saw it started to sail, then I closed my eyes because I couldn’t believe it was actually happening,” Wilkins said. “I waited for the crowd to cheer. They messed up because they gave us another chance.”

Blessed with a new life, a kicker’s nerves and a ball that sailed to the right of the goalposts, Watson led the Tigers on a touchdown drive in overtime, converting a fourth down and finding wide receiver Artavis Scott for the 10-yard score in the back of the end zone, much to the glee of 81,000 antsy fans.

On the next play, veteran defender Marcus Edmond, fresh off of a game-saving tackle against Louisville, sealed Clemson’s 24-17 victory with an interception in the end zone. 

For years, the cornerback had seen little playing time, trusting Swinney’s vision of development. Now, as a fourth-year junior, it was all coming together for the defensive player of the game.

“For me, it all came down to just having patience,” Edmond said. “Anyone, like me, that was in my position, they maybe would have transferred or something like that. I just had patience and stuck with it.”

Watson finished with 378 passing yards in the win, though Clemson did allow nearly 400 yards of total offense to their Tobacco Road foe. Both teams combined for five total turnovers as the Tigers escaped the reins of sure and sudden death in the Valley.

“It’s about faith and belief,” said Watson, fresh off of two touchdown passes. “It’s what we had to do to get the `W.’”

In the words of Edmond after his interception, “It was game over.”