BLACKSBURG -- Two Thursdays ago, they were roasted. This Thursday, they were toasted.

Two weeks after being embarrassed at Boston College in front of ESPN's national cameras, the Virginia Tech Hokies showed the country that they're still legitimate, throttling 10th-ranked Clemson 24-7 at noisy Lane Stadium.

Forget Clemson's "Thunder and Lightning" tailbacks combination of James Davis and C.J. Spiller. The best back on the field this chilly night was a kid without a nickname, Tech's Branden Ore.

"What a performance from that guy," Tech coach Frank Beamer said.

No doubt.

Totally strip-mining the Tigers' nationally ranked defense, the strong-legged Ore carried the ball a career-high 37 times for 203 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Hokies' total domination. The 5-foot-11, 204-pound Chesapeake native becomes the first Tech player to surpass 200 rushing yards in consecutive games. Ore had a career-high 207 yards Saturday against Southern Mississippi.

"I just wanted to prove to everybody that I was one of the top backs in the ACC," Ore said.

So does this prove that the Hokies' one-man grinding machine has more spark and a bigger roar than Clemson's natural phenomenons?

"You can go ahead and say that. ... I'll say that," Ore proclaimed. "You can't take anything away from those two guys. Those two guys are great backs. But I feel like I'm a little bit more special and this just proves it."

Tech, which entered the game ranked 82nd in the nation in rushing (119.1 yards per game), finished with 224 ground yards against the country's seventh-ranked rushing defense (72 ypg).

Tech's defense took care of the rest, holding the nation's No. 1 scoring offense to only one touchdown and a putrid 166 yards in total offense. Clemson came to town averaging 43.3 points and 456.3 yards per game. Clemson's crunching ground attack was held to 80 yards, 180 below its norm. Davis, the ACC's leading rushing with 931 yards, had 30 yards on 12 carries. Spiller had 41 yards on 10 attempts.

"Number one, we beat a great football team," Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "And number two, I thought our defense was great. And third, our offense did what we needed to do to win.

"I thought our defense had a great game plan ... We were in the right spot most of the time. You didn't see gaps in there. You didn't see holes in there. Because if you did, those two running backs will come out the other end."

The victory keeps Tech (6-2, 3-2) alive in the ACC's Coastal Division race behind Georgia Tech and Miami, who meet Saturday in Atlanta. It was the first loss in seven games for Clemson (7-2, 4-2), which likely saw its hopes of winning the Atlantic Division crown shipped down the tubes.

"We're not surprised," defensive back Brandon Flowers said of Tech's upset. "We're back."

After Davis' 6-yard touchdown run -- in which he ran right past Tech rover Aaron Rouse -- capped a 67-yard drive that gave Clemson a 7-0 lead midway in the first quarter, momentum quickly shifted.

The Hokies owned the night the rest of the way, riding Ore's strong legs and a defense that was not to be denied.

Following Clemson's scoring drive, Tech did something few thought it could do in this game, driving 84 yards to square the game at 7. Running behind an offensive line that totally whipped a more-heralded Clemson front, Ore ran six times for 65 yards on the drive, including a 39-yard burst to the Clemson 1-yard. Sean Glennon's sneak from the 6-inch line provided the TD.

The most important thing about the drive wasn't a play, but a fourth-down call by Tech coach Frank Beamer. Facing a fourth-and-inches from Tech's 36-yard line, Beamer decided to gamble and go for the first down. The 6-foot-4 Glennon took the snap and got 2 yards on a sneak to keep the drive going.

Owning field position, the Hokies took advantage to get a 37-yard field goal from Brandon Pace to take a 10-7 lead with 11:36 left in the second half.

Clemson, which had only 21 total yards in the second quarter, had a great chance to get points after recovering a Glennon fumble at the Tech 26, but Tigers QB gave the ball right back on a mishandled snap in which the ball was recovered by Tech's Barry Booker.

While its defense held Clemson without a first down in the third quarter, the Hokies put the game away with a pair of touchdowns.

Set up at the Clemson 35 by an interception by linebacker Xavier Adibi, Tech needed only five plays to score. Ore took care of the honors, scoring on an 11-yard run to make it 17-7 with 2:39 left in the third quarter.

After Clemson went three-and-out on its offensive series, Glennon found tight end Sam Wheeler of Blacksburg for a 41-yard completion to the Tigers' 25. Ore scored on a 4-yard run to make it 24-7 with 1:31 left in the third.

"We needed this just to prove to ourselves that we can compete with a nationally ranked team and to prove to everybody else that we could compete with those guys," Ore said.