Tigers hold off Wolfpack, 20-14

CLEMSON - After two straight losses - and 11 straight weeks of games - Clemson coach Tommy Bowden wasn't sure how much energy or emotion his players had left.

Freshman tailback C.J. Spiller and the Tigers defense showed against North Carolina State they had enough to snap their twogame losing streak.

Spiller ran for a careerhigh 154 yards and a touchdown, while the defense made critical stops near the end of each half in the Tigers 20-14 victory on Saturday.

''It's been a long tough season,'' Clemson center Dustin Fry said. ''You kind of go through a little bit of self doubt, 'Are we going to be the kind of rushing team we need to be? Are we the kind of offense we thought we were?' ... It's a relief to see we are still a pretty good offense.''

The Tigers (8-3, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) looked like the ACC's best team three weeks ago after a rousing 31-7 win against Georgia Tech. But their potent scoring offense - it had averaged nearly 43 points a game to lead the nation - was held to a touchdown and four field goals in defeats to Virginia Tech and Maryland that took the Tigers out of the ACC title hunt.

And while Clemson couldn't exactly break out as it had before - 1,000-yard rusher James Davis was limited to 34 yards - Spiller provided enough of a spark to send the Wolfpack (3-7, 2-5) to their fifth-straight loss.

''That was the main thing just getting the win and get ting some confidence going into our last game,'' Spiller said.

The Tigers take next week off before finishing the regu lar season against archriva South Carolina. Then there's a bowl game (although remember that a bowl bid in 2004 was taken away because of an ugly brawl against the Gamecocks) and the potentia for Clemson to finish with 10 victories for the first time since 1990.

''Whatever it takes to get the win,'' guard Nathan Bennett said. ''The last two weeks were pretty much dev astating ... Now we can look forward.''

Although the game began much like the last two - unti Spiller got involved.

He had a 17-yard carry with Clemson on its own 12 in the second quarter that gave the team some breathing room.

Three plays later, Spiller took off on a 52-yard TD run - Spiller's fifth scoring play of at least 50 yards this sea son.

Clemson took a 14-0 lead when Jacoby Ford returned the second-half kickoff 77 yards and Will Proctor fin ished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown throw to Tyler Grisham.