RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to tie one of the few remaining Atlantic Coast Conference records he did not already own as North Carolina State posted a 17-15 victory over Clemson.
The two TDs give Rivers 79 in his career at North Carolina State, matching the mark held by Florida State's Chris Weinke. The senior signal-caller holds ACC career records for total offense, passing yards, completions, attempts and 300-yard games.
Rivers threw a four-yard TD pass to T.A. McLendon late in the first period and a 37-yard TD strike to Richard Washington early in the third quarter. Adam Kiker's 27-yard field goal 11 seconds into the final period made it 17-6 before the Wolfpack held off a late rally.
Aaron Hunt kicked a 21-yard field goal with 10:04 left before Clemson closed within 17-15 on Chad Jasmin's five-yard TD run with 6:01 remaining. But the Tigers could not made the two-point conversion as Charlie Whitehust threw low to Tony Elliott in the back of the end zone.
With 4:49 left, Clemson took over at its 47, its best field position of the night. But linebacker Pat Thomas almost single-handedly thrwarted the Tigers, first with a sack of Whitehurst for a seven-yard loss, then with a deflected pass that cornerback Dovonte Edwards picked off for his first interception of the season.
North Carolina State (5-3, 2-2 ACC) ran out the clock by picking up two first downs. The first came on an interference penalty and the second came when McLendon, who ran for 68 yards on 19 carries, gained four yards on 3rd-and-4 from the Tigers 29.
Rivers completed 20-of-34 passes for 213 yards with no interceptions. He gave the Wolfpack a 7-0 lead by tossing a four-yard TD strike to McLendon with 1:12 left in the first quarter.
Clemson (4-3, 2-2) held N.C. State scoreless for the remainder of the first half and closed to 7-6 at the intermission on field goals of 28 and 34 yards by Hunt in the second quarter.
Whitehurst completed 23-of-37 passes for 196 yards with an interception. Eric Coleman was Clemson's leading rusher with 51 yards on 11 carries.
