Jay Haynes injury: Clemson RB carted off field in ACC Championship

Clemson running back Jay Haynes was carted off the field after being injured on the kick return to begin the third quarter. Haynes took a hit to the knee and had to be helped to the sideline, where he was taken to the injury tent.

A few moments later, the cart came out to take him back to the locker room. That would seem to indicate that he will be out for the remainder of the game, leaving the Tigers to lean on Phil Mafah.

Haynes had five carries for 15 yards on the evening prior to his exit. He is coming off of a season-best 118 yards rushing and two touchdowns two weeks ago in a win against The Citadel.

Mafah is the team’s leading rusher this season with 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns. However, Haynes had been getting more work in this game as Mafah is also dealing with a shoulder injury.

Clemson entered the second half with a 24-7 lead but has allowed SMU to score to make it 24-14. That is where the score remains with one minute left to go in the third quarter.

Jay Haynes is third on the team this season with 280 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He has also serves as a kick returner with nine returns for an average of 19 yards.

Clemson hangs on to win ACC Championship on last-second field goal

Clemson kept its hopes of a national championship alive Saturday, taking out SMU to win the ACC Championship in a dramatic 34-31 victory.

The Tigers won on a 56-yard game-winning field goal from Nolan Hauser to earn an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions.

Clemson jumped out to a big lead early, scoring on its first two offensive possessions to take a 14-0 advantage in the first quarter. It never trailed in the eventual win and led by 17 entering the fourth quarter, but SMU rallied for a furious comeback to tie the game and make things interesting late.

The Mustangs got the ball back with four minutes remaining in the game and trailing 31-24. They used up nearly all of the clock as they marched their way down the field in 16 plays before Kevin Jennings found Matthew Hibner for a touchdown near the sideline with just 16 seconds remaining.

That would make it appear as if the game was heading to overtime, but Adam Randall returned the kickoff 41 yards to give Clemson a chance to win the game. With nine seconds left on the clock, quarterback Cade Klubnik completed a 17-yard pass to Antonio Williams and the Tigers called timeout to set up the game-winning field goal.