Clemson's 40-24 win over Florida State means the Tigers have to beat N.C. State, in Raleigh, and Virginia, at home, to win the Atlantic Division.

That's it and not even Tommy Bowden could screw that up (or only Tommy Bowden could screw that up).

Even if the spirit of Bowden possesses the Tigers, 4-2 in the ACC, and they lose once, they would still hold the tiebreaker over Boston College (3-2), which finishes with Virginia, UNC and Maryland.

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -- C.J. Spiller had a career-high 165 yards rushing and his 20th touchdown of at least 50 yards and Clemson took its biggest step yet toward an ACC title with a 40-24 victory over Florida State on Saturday night.

Spiller, the Tigers’ star senior, caught a 58-yard TD pass from Kyle Parker and, with 312 all-purpose yards, surpassed the school record of 310 he set in Clemson’s 40-37 overtime win at Miami two weeks ago.

The Thursday night football game UNC hosted last month went well enough that the university expects to do it again.

The Oct. 22 game against Florida State was the first Thursday night game ever held on the UNC campus. For years,  officials had opposed the idea due to fears of congestion and other campus disruption.

But this year's game was held over Fall break, and athletics director Dick Baddour and others were pleased with how things went.

For the story, check out our higher education blog.

CARY — Tiffany McCarty was just too much to handle.

The Florida State sophomore forward broke free in the second half, leading her team to a 2-0 win over Duke in the first round of the ACC Women's Soccer Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park Wednesday.

Russell Wilson and the N.C. State offense need to produce yet again.

Bert Reed ran 3 yards on an end around for a touchdown with 1:36 remaining to put Florida State back ahead 45-42.

Middle linebacker Ray Michel, who leads N.C. State in tackles, and wide receiver/kick returner T.J. Graham will miss Saturday’s game at Florida State with injuries, the school announced Thursday evening.

Michel, who has 53 tackles, has an ankle injury and will be replaced by Dwayne Maddox in the starting lineup. Maddox usually plays the boundary linebacker position, where Terrell Manning will start Saturday.

It's now the third season since Chuck Amato was ousted as N.C. State's football coach, and his name barely has been mentioned as the Wolfpack prepares to face Florida State.

Amato is the executive associate head coach at Florida State, which plays host to N.C. State at noon Saturday. N.C. State senior running back Toney Baker said Wednesday that he would be happy to talk with Amato if he sees him on the field.

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Duke: Break up the Blue Devils, the best team in the state! Saturday's win over Maryland was a major step forward in the 40-year rebuilding project that is Duke football — winning games you're supposed to.

Staff photo by Chuck Liddy

Quarterback Christian Ponder sparked an improbable comeback as Florida State rebounded from a 16-point, second-half deficit to edge North Carolina 30-27 in the first Thursday night game at Kenan Stadium.

Ponder completed 33 of 40 passes for 395 yards as the Seminoles (3-4, 1-3 ACC) won their first conference game of the season. North Carolina (4-3, 0-3) led 24-6 early in the second quarter, but a stunning two-play turnaround lifted Florida State.

Staff video by Travis Long, Caulton Tudor and J.P. Giglio

Topic: Previewing Florida State's only trip to the Triangle.