It was a win, and we'll take it

Clemson's 28-17 victory against Furman produced a few positives (another great passing day by Charlie Whitehurst, for example), but also plenty of negatives (more than 100 yards in penalties, a running game that remains anemic). Here goes.

THE GAME STORY: "Nearly chased down," says The State; "Tigers survive Furman," says the Greenville News; "Tigers survive to beat Furman," says the Anderson Independent-Mail; "Furman puts up fight at Clemson," says the Augusta Chronicle.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Tigernet has posted some video from the game. Check it out.

THE STATS: Here's a complete statistical summary of the game.

GAME ANALYSIS: The penalty problem is analyzed here and here.

The State grades the Tigers on various aspects of the game, and there's also an interview with Whitehurst where he expresses frustration at the team's offensive woes. Plus, there's a "high five," quarter-by-quarter highlights, and an injury report that includes an item on defensive back Justin Miller getting leveled by a Furman player.

The Anderson Independent-Mail has a story on how the pass is Clemson's best weapon in a season that was supposed to see the running game become more prominent.

Tigernet's Dan Scott says Clemson faces a much more difficult path through the ACC than preseason predictions indicated.

TASTES LIKE ...: The Charleston Post & Courier's Gene Sapakoff has a great line in his column this week:

The Tigers on Saturday warmed up for the regular season with a 28-17 victory over Furman that tasted like diluted vanilla.

So true.

ACC ROUNDUP: Florida State's 35-10 victory over Maryland puts the 'Noles in firm control of the conference race, but the real shocker was Wake Forest's 38-24 whipping of N.C. State. The Deacs are for real, folks. Another stunner: South Carolina's 31-7 evisceration of Virginia. Of course, the Cavs are missing all-star quarterback Matt Schaub, but that doesn't account for this tail-whipping.

Let's see: The "new power elite" in the ACC (Virginia, N.C. State, Maryland) is a combined 2-4 so far this season. They'll still probably kick our asses, though.

Georgia Tech was impressive in a surprising 17-3 victory over fading Auburn. We play those guys in Atlanta in two weeks.

Elsewhere, North Carolina went to 0-2 with a tough 49-47 overtime loss to Syracuse, and Duke got a much-needed 29-3 win against I-AA Western Carolina.