No. 9 Clemson and No. 23 North Carolina meet in the 2022 Subway ACC Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. on ABC. For the 12th time in
the 18-year history of the event, the ACC title game will be played in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers.
North Carolina clinched the Coastal Division with a 36-34 win at Wake Forest (Nov. 12), while Clemson earned the Atlantic Division crown on Nov. 5. This was the
earliest the matchup was known since 2017 when Miami and Clemson clinched on Nov. 11.
The Matchup
About UNC
- Carolina is seeking its sixth ACC Championship with the last one coming in 1980.
- With a victory in the ACC Championship game, Carolina would claim its ninth 10-win season, with Brown-led teams accounting for four of them.
- Carolina has won nine games for just the second time since Mack Brown’s first stint in Chapel Hill with 2015 being the other. It is UNC’s sixth ninewin season since 1982 with Brown-led teams accounting for five of them.
- UNC is 6-0 on the road for the first time in school history. UNC and TCU are the only schools in the country with six road wins. The six consecutive road wins is the second-longest active streak in the nation.
- The Tar Heels have been strong in the red zone this season. Carolina has scored on 50-of-59 possessions (84.7%) in the scoring area that didn’t end in kneel downs, with 41 of those instances resulting in touchdowns (69.5%).
- UNC has been one of the most effective offenses on fourth down in the nation in 2022. The Heels have converted 21-of-30 fourth downs (70%). The 21 conversions include five TDs, 10 that led to TDs, one that led to a FG, and one that ended a game.
- Quarterback Drake Maye leads the nation in total offense (373.0), ranks fourth in passing yards per game (320.6), fourth in passing TDs (35) and 10th in passing efficiency (165.2). The redshirt freshman ranks fifth nationally and third in the Power 5 with 41 total touchdowns (35 pass, 6 rush) and 248 points accounted for in 2022. Maye leads the ACC in all five categories.
- Wide receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green have become a lethal wide receiver combination in 2022. Downs is tied for second in the ACC and is tied for sixth nationally with 11 receiving touchdowns despite playing two less games than the other chart toppers. Green leads the ACC and is tied for second nationally with five catches of 50 or more yards and his 19.6 yards per catch ranks third nationally among receivers with at least 30 catches.
- UNC’s defense is giving up 30.3 ppg over all games this season, but they’ve tightened up during conference play. The Heels are only allowing 25.8 ppg in league play. Carolina has given up just 76 points in the second half during ACC play (9.5 ppg). They’re even better when they get to the fourth quarter, when they’ve only allowed 42 points in the eight league games or 5.3 ppg in that quarter.
About Clemson
- Clemson making its ninth all-time ACC Championship Game appearance, adding to the Tigers’ ACC record (2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020).
- Clemson attempting to become the first program in an active Power Five conference to win seven outright conference titles in an eight-year span since Alabama won eight SEC titles in nine seasons from 1971-79.
- Clemson attempting to improve to 8-1 all-time in ACC Championship Games.
- Clemson attempting to hold three straight opponents below 2.0 yards per carry for the first time since late in the 1991 season.
- Clemson has been powered in part this season by a North Carolina native, as Weddington’s Will Shipley has been one of the nation’s most versatile weapons. Shipley has recorded the 23rd 1,000-yard rushing season in school history, and his contributions as a receiver and as a kick returner have made him one of only two players in the nation with at least 1,000 rushing yards, 150 receiving yards and 200 kickoff return yards
- Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei attempting to improve to 22-6 as a starter. Uiagalelei (22 passing touchdowns, seven rushing touchdowns) enters the week as one of only seven Power Five players with at least 20 passing touchdowns and at least seven rushing touchdowns this season
- Linebacker Barrett Carter entering the game with 8.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Before 2022, the last two Power Five players to reach those numbers in all four categories were both Butkus Award winners: Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons (2019) and Georgia’s Nakobe Dean
(2021).
- Defensive tackle Tyler Davis (7.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks) entering the game within striking distance of his single-season career highs in tackles for loss (9.0 in
2019) and sacks (5.5 in 2019).
- Defensive end K.J. Henry (3.5 sacks this season, 13.5 sacks for his career) needing one sack to match his single-season career high.
UNC vs Clemson
- UNC will face Clemson in the 2022 Subway ACC Championship game for the second time.
- The two programs met in the 2015 championship game with Clemson taking the title, 45-37.
- The teams have only played three other neutral-site games, coming way back in 1915, 1907 and 1901.
- The teams have only met five times since 2010, with the Tar Heels lone victory over the Tigers coming that year, 21-16 in Chapel Hill.
How to Watch
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Television: ABC (Sean McDonough, play-by-play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; Molly McGrath, sideline)
Online: WatchESPN
ESPN Radio: Sean Kelley, play-by-play; Tom Ramsey, analyst; Kelsey Riggs, sideline
Tar Heel Sports Network: Jones Angell, play-by-play; Brian Simmons, analyst; Lee Pace, sideline
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM (81), App (81)
Per Release
