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10/24 22:48 CDT Ethan Grunkemeyer's TD pass to Luke Reynolds with 1:44 left lifts Virginia Tech past Clemson 20-16 Ethan Grunkemeyer's TD pass to Luke Reynolds with 1:44 left lifts Virginia Tech past Clemson 20-16 By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) --- James Franklin rolled the dice, and it paid off for Virginia Tech. Ethan Grunkemeyer threw two touchdown passes to tight end Luke Reynolds, including a 5-yard scoring strike on fourth and 1 with 1:44 left in the game as the Hokies stunned Clemson 20-16 on Saturday night. Grunkemeyer finished 20 of 32 for 156 yards with the two TDs and had no interceptions as Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-2 ACC) beat Clemson for the first time since 2007. Trailing by 3, Franklin said he briefly considered going for a field goal on fourth down to tie the game but a number of factors played into the decision to go for it, including playing on the road in a tough environment. He also felt his team had the momentum. "I just felt like fourth and 1 was as good of a situation as we were going to get," Franklin said, pointing to the fact that his team had struggled all night running the ball. The Hokies had used that same call on fourth down to convert a first down earlier in the game. "We have success with it earlier tonight, had success with it this year and has success in the past as well," Franklin said. "So good scheme and throwing to a good player." Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he wasn't surprised Franklin went for it, but added, "It was a gusty call for sure. We took our eyes off (Reynolds) and he got behind us." Tait Reynolds was 20 of 26 for 153 yards and ran for a 16-yard touchdown for Clemson (4-3, 2-2). Trailing 16-13, Grunkemeyer led an 11-play, 69-yard scoring drive to take the lead, aided by two Clemson pass interference penalties and a late hit out of bounds resulting in three first downs for the Hokies. Swinney wouldn't say if he had any problem with the calls, but added, "The refs were very active tonight. They got a lot of TV time tonight. But we don't control that. The things that we control we didn't do enough job to deserve to win the game --- and that's on me. We didn't do enough as coaches to help them win the game." Those penalties set up Grunkemeyer's winning TD pass. "You can say what you want about Grunk, but you can't question his toughness," Franklin said. The Tigers had a chance to win the game on their final possession, but Reynolds' 26-yard, third-down pass completion along the left sideline to Bryant Wesco Jr. to reach inside the Virginia Tech 30 was overturned after replay ruled the receiver did not complete the catch and that the ball came loose. Reynolds was sacked by Mylachi Williams on the following play on fourth-and-9 with 48 seconds left, sealing the Hokies' win. The win dealt a serious blow to Clemson's hopes of getting back to the ACC championship game which it once dominated. No. 1-ranked Miami is unbeaten at 5-0 in the conference, followed by No. 17 Wake Forest and No. 23 SMU at 4-1 in ACC play. Trailing 10-3 at halftime, Clemson used a stifling defense to set up three third quarter scores --- two coming on Nolan Hauser field goals and the other on Reynolds' go-ahead touchdown run off a quarterback draw. Clemson dominated the third quarter, outgaining Virginia Tech 146-13. It was the second straight win for Franklin's team after beating Georgia Tech 34-24 last week. After dominating the third quarter, Clemson's offense couldn't get anything going in the fourth quarter. "We had some critical missed opportunities on offense," Swinney said.

The takeaway Virginia Tech: The Hokies could get absolutely nothing going in the run game against Clemson's front seven, as they were held to 70 yards on 37 carries. That repeatedly put Grunkemeyer in third-and-long situations and made moving the chains a tough task all night. Clemson: The Tigers still lack explosiveness on offense and they get virtually nothing down the field in the passing game. They have two of the nation's most talented wide receivers in T.J. Moore and Wesco but they have been grossly underutilized this season. That's partially the result of playing a freshman quarterback and an offensive line that has struggled.

Up next Virginia Tech: at SMU on Friday. Clemson: at Florida State next Saturday. ___ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP's full college football coverage here.

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