Clemson Beats Charleston Southern By 66-17

No. 25/21 Clemson (1-1, 0-1 ACC) defeated Charleston Southern (1-1) 66-17 in its 20th consecutive home opening at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Clemson amassed 679 yards of offence and outgained Charleston Southern by 606 yards. The Tigers’ defence limited the Buccaneers to just 73 total yards and 12 running yards. Clemson forced eight three-and-outs, recorded two sacks, and had ten tackles for loss.

Cade Klubnik finished his debut at Death Valley with a 28-for-37 completion percentage, 315 yards, and a career-high four touchdown throws. Beaux Collins tied his previous career high of 137 receiving yards and set a new one with seven catches, while Antonio Williams added two receiving touchdowns to his 64 yards. Will Shipley led the Tigers in rushing with 73 yards, and Phil Mafah added 59 yards and two touchdowns.

Klubnik’s 10-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Williams completed the Tigers’ first possession, resulting in a 68-yard score for the club. On Clemson’s subsequent drive, a handoff error on fourth-and-1 resulted in a 25-yard return of a fumble by Charleston Southern to the Clemson one-yard line, setting up the Buccaneers for a one-yard touchdown run to tie the game.

Charleston Southern went in front. Leon Thomas hit Klubnik with a pick-six with 3:47 remaining in the first round. As Clemson responded with a 57-yard drive, running back Phil Mafah scored on a one-yard run to tie the game at 14-14.

The Clemson defense’s third three-and-out of the first half was made possible by Xavier Thomas’ first sack of the season. The next Clemson possession began with a 29-yard pass from Klubnik to Williams, putting the Tigers in scoring position. The pair connected for a five-yard touchdown throw on the third play of the drive.

With 5:26 remaining in the first half, Charleston Southern was forced to settle for a 45-yard field goal to cut the score to 21-17. The Tigers would add a field goal of their own to make the halftime score 24-17.

The second half would be dominated by Clemson. On Clemson’s first possession of the second quarter, Shipley gained 31 yards, laying the framework for fellow running back Mafah to score his second touchdown of the game and extend Clemson’s lead to 31-17.

Wade Woodaz intercepted a pass on the first play of Charleston Southern’s subsequent drive, and he returned it 35 yards for a Clemson score after a strong hit from Jeadyn Lukas knocked it loose. The two Clemson touchdowns were scored barely 12 seconds apart from one another, which is a school record for scrimmage plays.

Beaux Collins was connected to by Klubnik across the middle on Clemson’s subsequent drive, and Collins outran the defence to score the game’s first touchdown and extend the lead.

Following another defensive stop, Klubnkik led the Tigers on a 91-yard scoring drive, during which he connected with redshirt freshman Josh Sapp on a 25-yard touchdown pass, giving Sapp his first collegiate touchdown.

Hunter Helms took over as quarterback in the fourth quarter and led Clemson on a 90-yard drive that freshman Jay Haynes capped with an eight-yard run for his first score of the season.

With a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Paul Tyson to receiver Haynes in the final five minutes of play, Clemson extended its lead to 66-17. Prior to the game, Dabo Swinney and Jim and Candace Brown participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open Clemson’s renovated Tiger Walk plaza to the west of Memorial Stadium.

The renovated Tiger Walk location now honours legends of Clemson’s past, establishing a 365-day destination for Tiger supporters and a permanent embodiment of Clemson Football’s history and culture. It features era-specific in-ground plaques identifying every team captain in programme history.

On Saturday, September 16, Clemson will play the second of its current three-game homestand when the Tigers take on Florida Atlantic at Memorial Stadium during Family Weekend. The ACC Network’s prime-time game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.