CLEMSON, S.C. - For a change, the Maryland football team found nothing grim about Death Valley last night.

The 19th-ranked Terrapins, who had dropped eight games here since a 1985 victory, defeated Clemson, 30-12, in an Atlantic Coast Conference game before 72,000 at Memorial Stadium.

More importantly, Maryland's eighth consecutive win kept it on the heels of Florida State (8-3, 7-0) in the ACC race. The Seminoles defeated North Carolina yesterday, 40-14, and have one more league game, at North Carolina State on Saturday.

"We've got to hope and pray that N.C. State can find a way to beat Florida State," said Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, whose team plays at Virginia on Saturday. "Next week will be a big determination as to whether or not we play a Jan. 1 bowl or some other bowl."

If the Seminoles lose to the Wolfpack and the Terps (9-2, 5-1) win their final two ACC games, Florida State and Maryland will be conference co-champions, and one of the teams will gain a Bowl Championship Series bid.

The Terps can clinch second place and a probable Gator Bowl berth at the least by beating Virginia in Charlottesville, where Maryland hasn't won since 1990.

Maryland got another big performance from its defense, which held the Tigers (6-5, 4-4) to 211 total yards, 74 fewer than the Terps gained on the ground alone, and kept an opponent out of the end zone for the third time this season.

Friedgen put a scare into his secondary, talking about Clemson's wide receivers and their speed. But only one Tigers receiver caught as many as three passes last night, as quarterback Charlie Whitehurst completed only 12 of 26 passes for 130 yards.

"We knew that they couldn't run against us because no one's run against us this year," said cornerback Domonique Foxworth. "So Friedgen and [defensive coordinator Gary] Blackney said a couple of times the game would hinge on the secondary, how well we played. And I think we answered the challenge well."

The defensive effort, holding Clemson to four field goals by Aaron Hunt, made up for a clunky one by the offense. The Terps rushed for 285 yards (including 101 from Chris Downs) and quarterback Scott McBrien threw three touchdown passes, but McBrien also threw three interceptions.

The game wasn't a classic, but it was good enough for the Terps, given the team's history here, including a 35-14 loss in 2000.

"I remember the last time we played here, we made a touchdown and it was a big deal because it was the first time we'd scored a touchdown here in how many quarters," said tight end Jeff Dugan. "It's not like we stunk up the joint [last night]. We played well enough to win."

Both offenses began slowly in the rainy conditions. Groundskeepers came out early in the game to stamp down clumps of turf, and Maryland's Brooks Barnard and Clemson's Wynn Kopp each punted three times in the first quarter.

Bruce Perry had 12 rushes in the first half, surpassing his season total coming into the game. And McBrien threw an interception, getting picked off by Clemson's Justin Miller.

Whitehurst - sharp in the past two games for the Tigers - looked uncomfortable in the first half, completing only one of three passes on third-down situations and getting sacked once.

Nonetheless, a big play occasionally sneaked in, like McBrien's 54-yard scramble on third down to the Clemson 5-yard line. The run, coming after he eluded two pass rushers, set up the Terps' first score.

Three plays later, McBrien threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Derek Miller with 6:15 to go in the first quarter. Though Nick Novak missed his first extra-point kick in 73 tries, Maryland had a 6-0 lead.

In the second quarter, some pop returned to Maryland's normal attack as McBrien completed eight of his 10 passes, including a 34-yard touchdown throw to Jafar Williams for a 13-3 lead with 7:55 remaining.

Hunt hit three field goals in the second quarter to keep the Tigers in the game with a 16-9 deficit, though all three came after the team had ventured deep into Terps territory.

The first kick, from 29 yards with 12:56 left, came after a 20-yard run by Whitehurst to the Maryland 18. The second, from 35 yards with 6:12 left, came after Justin Miller's 76-yard kick return to the Terps' 24.

After a 19-yard field goal by Novak, Hunt kicked a 22-yarder as time expired, after a 46-yard desperation heave from Whitehurst to Derrick Hamilton to the Maryland 5.

Maryland dodged a couple of bullets in the third quarter on the way to a 23-12 lead.

The first came after Kopp's punt appeared to touch Foxworth and lead to a Maryland fumble - but the ball actually had touched a Clemson player first, making the play dead.

Next, McBrien was intercepted for the second time, this one by Mo Fountain, and the mistake gave the Tigers another chance.

Clemson did nothing with the ball and gave it back to the Terps, who took advantage of the opportunity, driving 82 yards in 13 plays. The march ended with a 4-yard touchdown catch by Dugan with 5:13 left in the quarter.

Maryland allowed Hunt his fourth field goal of the night with 29 seconds left in the third quarter

The Terps capped the scoring midway through the fourth quarter, driving 64 yards on 12 plays before McBrien ran in from 3 yards.

Next for Terps

Matchup:Maryland (9-2, 5-1) vs. Virginia (7-4, 5-2)

Site:Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, Va.

When:Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

TV/Radio:ESPN2/WBAL (1090 AM)

Yesterday:Virginia beat North Carolina State, 14-9.