CLEMSON – With Clemson’s big Gaines Adams charging hard, Sam Hollenbach stood strong and fired a critical pass to Isaiah Williams on Maryland’s game-winning drive.

That, Terps coach Ralph Friedgen says, is a big reason why his team is suddenly alive in the Atlantic Coast Conference race.

Hollenbach’s 13-yard throw to Williams put Maryland in field-goal range inside Clemson’s 30. Five plays later, Dan Ennis kicked a 31-yarder to give the Terps (7-2, 4-1 ACC) a 13-12 win over then-19th ranked Clemson on Saturday.

Maryland broke into the top 25 at No. 23 and Clemson dropped out of the rankings for the second time this season.

“Last year, Sam would’ve bailed out” on the throw under Clemson’s pressure, Friedgen said.

Adams is a defender who’ll “rip your heart out,” Friedgen said. But it was Hollenbach who moved smoothly forward and found Williams downfield.

Hollenbach, a senior, didn’t see the throw as all that remarkable. “I think our confidence, my confidence in them and their confidence in me is at an all time high,” he said. “It’s got to keep getting better as the season rolls on.”

If it does, Maryland could have a special finish ahead. The final month got off to a great start with the Terps win at Death Valley, where Clemson hadn’t lost in eight games dating back to September 2005 and an overtime loss to Boston College.

“It’s really a great win for us,” Friedgen said. “We’re just starting to get better.”

And that could spell trouble for the rest of the ACC.

Maryland won the conference in Friedgen’s debut season five years ago and finished second in the league the next two seasons. After consecutive 5-6 years had some doubting Friedgen’s plan, the Terps look like they’re ready to move forward again.

They have won four straight games by a total of 12 points – “Just another day at the office,” Friedgen quipped – and have made themselves players in the Atlantic Division race.

Maryland came into the weekend tied with No. 22 Boston College and No. 18 Wake Forest. After Wake’s 21-14 win against BC Saturday night, it’s a two-way tie between the Terps and the Demon Deacons.

The path to a championship won’t be simple. Maryland takes on Miami at home, then goes to BC before finishing at home with Wake Forest.

For the first two months of the season, Clemson figured to be the one in the ACC title chase. Instead, the Tigers (7-3, 4-3) will spend another week wondering what went wrong. Clemson was the No. 1 scoring offense at more than 42 points a game. But it has managed just 19 points and one touchdown in consecutive losses to Virginia Tech and the Terps.

“When you can’t score when you are inside the red zone, someone has to make a long run or break away for a long catch and right now we are not doing that,” Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said.

Maryland is doing just enough to stay successful.

Hollenbach said it was the defense’s play, holding Clemson without a touchdown, that shaped the victory. Even when the Tigers appeared to score as with James Davis’ fourth-quarter touchdown, an offensive penalty took it off the board.

“That just speaks volumes about our defense,” Hollenbach said. “They came to play. ... I was really happy about that.”

Maryland looked like a third-straight losing season was ahead after early season losses at West Virginia and Georgia Tech.

Remarkably enough, the rally began when the Terrapins trailed Virginia 20-0 at halftime. Maryland scored four touchdowns in the second half to defeat the Cavaliers 28-26, a margin preserved when Josh Wilson knocked away the tying two-point conversion.

Victories over North Carolina State (26-20) and Florida State (27-24) preceded Maryland’s trip to Clemson.

“We live for close games,” Wilson said.

While Virginia Tech’s 24-7 win over the Tigers dropped them out of the top 10, they expected to rebound against Maryland. But the Terrapins held tailbacks Davis and C.J. Spiller in check.

“Just from where we came from ... everybody saying we won’t be able to do it,” Wilson said. “To keep this momentum, this magic going, it’s exciting.”

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