RALEIGH, N.C. – Tajh Boyd threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 3 Clemson beat North Carolina State 26-14 on Thursday night.

Boyd’s second scoring pass, a 30-yarder to Martavis Bryant, capped a critical third-quarter sequence that allowed the Tigers (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to seize momentum in front of a hostile crowd.

Clemson pulled away from there. Boyd found Bryant for another touchdown, with Bryant snatching the ball from defender Niles Clark for a 15-yard score that helped the Tigers blow the game open early in the fourth.

Sammy Watkins added 10 catches for 96 yards on a night when Clemson’s explosive offense didn’t manage many big plays yet finished with 415 yards.

Shadrach Thornton scored the Wolfpack’s first touchdown on a 21-yard run in the second. N.C. State (2-1, 0-1) led 7-6 at that point but couldn’t complete the upset in Coach Dave Doeren’s first league game.

NOTES

TEXAS/ALABAMA: A few days after Alabama won the 2013 national championship, a University of Texas regent and a former regent talked with Nick Saban’s agent about the possibility of the Crimson Tide coach replacing Longhorns Coach Mack Brown, The Associated Press has learned.

Who initiated the contact with Texas is unclear.

Brown, who had just finished his 15th season at Texas and is under contract until 2020, said he wanted to keep coaching and the matter was dropped.

NEBRASKA: Coach Bo Pelini said Taylor Martinez is doubtful for Saturday’s game against South Dakota State and that redshirt freshman Tommy Armstrong Jr. is the probable starter.

Martinez has missed all week of practice because of a turf toe injury on his left foot.

ARKANSAS: Coach Bret Bielema says quarterback Brandon Allen has yet to throw in practice this week and remains a game-time decision against Rutgers.

Allen initially hurt his right shoulder while diving for a touchdown against Southern Mississippi last week. The sophomore was replaced by junior A.J. Derby, who led the Razorbacks to a 24-3 win over the Golden Eagles.

BYU: Brigham Young University says the NCAA approved a waiver that will allow Notre Dame transfer safety Chris Badger to play immediately.

Badger, a Provo native, enrolled at Notre Dame out of high school, but went on a two-year Mormon mission and put off college. He redshirted at Notre Dame last year then decided to transfer to BYU to be near his ill mother.

The NCAA granted his request to waive the requirement to sit out another full season.

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