Clemson blasts S.C. State in game shortened due to blowout

CLEMSON Dabo Swinney wanted to see his team play well in all three phases of the game for 60 minutes Saturday against South Carolina State.

Clemson’s first 30 minutes were so good the Tigers didn’t have to.

Clemson (3-0) set a record with 31 first-quarter points on its way to a 59-0 win over the Bulldogs (0-3) at Death Valley. The Tigers led 45-0 at the half prompting Swinney and S.C. State coach Buddy Pough to agree to shorten the quarters in the second half to 12 minutes.

“The refs came to me right before the half and said would I be OK with some type of shortening of the game if South Carolina State was. I said, ‘That would be fine with me,’ ” Swinney said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in that.”

Three Clemson quarterbacks threw touchdown passes, and seven Tigers found the end zone. Clemson outgained the Bulldogs 555-102.

The Tigers put points on the board on nine of their first 10 drives, failing to score only when Greg Huegel’s second-quarter field goal attempt was blocked.

“They were dialed in, and I knew they were going to play well,” Swinney said of his offense. “It’s been a very good week. They had an edge about them all week.”

Clemson played three quarterbacks in the first quarter and 65 players in the first half, dominating in every way.

S.C. State didn’t help itself by literally giving Clemson a touchdown. The Tigers led 14-0 with 5:20 remaining in the first quarter, Huegel kicked off to Ahmaad Harris in the end zone. Harris caught the ball and tossed it toward an official instead of taking a knee. The ball landed in the end zone and Clemson’s Denzel Johnson recovered it for a touchdown.

In addition to Johnson, freshmen Diondre Overton and Tavien Feaster and sophomore Trevion Thompson scored their first career touchdowns.

“I was excited to see those guys play and get some experience and see them cut it loose,” Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson said. “We want to dominate each and every opponent. We want to make sure that we play to a standard. We can’t play to our opponent’s standard. We have to play to Clemson’s standard and dominate.”

Watson finished 12-for-15 for 152 yards with three touchdowns. Backup Nick Schuessler was 7-for-11 for 118 yards and a score and Kelly Bryant also threw a touchdown.

Ray-Ray McCloud was Clemson’s leading receiver with four catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Williams caught four balls for 47 yards. Deon Cain added a touchdown catch.

Feaster, the Spartanburg High alum who was Mr. Football last year, led the Tigers with 12 carries for 83 yards and the score.

Bulldogs quarterback Caleb York completed 8 of 22 passes for 54 yards with an interception. Lynard Jamison led S.C. State in receiving with three catches for 33 yards, while Labron Morris rushed for 41 yards.

TURNING POINT

Clemson scored two touchdowns with no time coming off the clock for the first time in school history. Wayne Gallman scored on a 3-yard run and on the ensuing kickoff, Johnson recovered the S.C. State fumble in the end zone. The gift touchdown gave the Tigers a 21-0 lead with 5:20 remaining in the first quarter.

THREE POINTS

Star of the game: Ray-Ray McCloud: In limited playing time the sophomore caught four passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns and returned three punts for 56 yards with a long of 31.

Play of the game: Freshman receiver Overton scored on a perfectly-placed 45-yard pass from Schuessler late in the first quarter.

Stat of the game: 555-102: That was the difference in total yards for Clemson and S.C. State. The Tigers finished with 18 more first downs than the Bulldogs (27-9).

OBSERVATIONS

Confidence boost: Even though it was S.C. State, Clemson’s offense looked much better than it did in the first two games. The Tigers protected the ball, didn’t drop passes and averaged more than 5 yards per carry.

Thursday will tell us a lot: While Clemson played a clean game against the Bulldogs, we will learn if the Tigers are really rolling when they travel to Georgia Tech on Thursday. The Yellow Jackets beat Vanderbilt 38-7 Saturday.

Energy was better: Watson said earlier this week Clemson needed to get back to having fun playing football, and it appeared the Tigers did in the blowout win.

NEXT

Who: Clemson at Georgia Tech

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta

TV: ESPN

This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Clemson blasts S.C. State in game shortened due to blowout."