CUTigers

10-1 & 4 TO GO!!! POST-GAME INTERVIEWS (UPDATED SUNDAY)

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 14:20:37

Will have Dabo and post-game interviews posted in the next hour or two!

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 14:38:22

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 16:10:07

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 16:17:02

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 16:18:00

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 16:21:17

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 16:22:11

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 16:22:45

I'll have a bunch more, including Kelly B and Venables, posted in a bit when they are done uploading, guys. Stay tuned!

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 16:27:46

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 16:40:47

BOX SCORE

CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 2 Clemson football team finished its 2017 slate of home games undefeated on Saturday, defeating The Citadel 61-3 on Saturday in Death Valley. With the win, Clemson improves to 10-1 overall, while The Citadel moves to 5-6.

The Clemson defense held The Citadel to just 216 yards compared to the Tigers’ 662. The Tiger offense was led by Travis Etienne and Tee Higgins, who accounted for four of Clemson’s touchdowns. Higgins amassed 178 yards on six catches, while Etienne rushed for 62 yards on eight carries. Kelly Bryant was 17-22 for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

Bryant connected with Deon Cain for a 53-yard touchdown to open the scoring with just over eight minutes left in the first quarter. A Trayvon Mullen acrobatic interception at midfield on The Citadel’s next drive set up Clemson’s second touchdown of the day, an Etienne six-yard rush. The Tigers took a 21-0 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter when Bryant found Hunter Renfrow for a 12-yard score.

T.J. Chase hauled in the Tigers’ first touchdown of the second quarter, a 13-yard pass from Bryant with 12 minutes remaining in the half. Six minutes later, an Alex Spence 26-yard field goal brought the score to 31-0, and Higgins caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Zerrick Cooper through traffic as time was expiring to bring the halftime score to 38-0.

Tavien Feaster gave Clemson a 45-point advantage on the very first play of the second half, rushing 61 yards from scrimmage for a score. Etienne then rushed seven yards for his second score of the day, and Hunter Johnson found Higgins for a 78-yard touchdown to complete the third quarter scoring with Clemson leading 58-0.

A Christian Groomes 38-yard field goal and a 30-yard field goal by The Citadel rounded out the fourth quarter scoring, bringing the final to 61-3.

The Tigers go on the road to face their rival South Carolina next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Williams-Brice Stadium.

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 16:48:11

CLEMSON TEAM NOTES

Clemson won on Military Appreciation Day for the 10th straight time, improving to 20-4 overall in such games.
Clemson won its 302nd game in Death Valley, improving to 302-102-7 all-time at the venue dating back to 1942.
Clemson improved to 41-3 in its last 44 games dating back to 2014.
Clemson improved to 29-1 in its last 30 home games.
Clemson improved to 52-2 in its last 54 games against unranked opponents.
Clemson won its 59th game in the past five years, which is the second-most of any program in that stretch.
Clemson won its 102nd game in the past 10 years, which is the fourth-most of any program in that stretch.
Clemson improved to 86-21 in the 2010s. That .804 winning percentage is the best of any decade in program history.
Clemson scored a season-high 61 points.
Clemson totaled a season-high 479 passing yards.
Clemson won its 54th straight game when holding the opposition to under 23 points, dating back to 2010.
Clemson defeated The Citadel for the 17th straight time.
Clemson improved to 32-5-1 all time versus The Citadel dating back to 1909.
Clemson improved to 32-0 all time versus FCS opponents, winning by double digits for the 31st time in such games.
Clemson earned its 10th win, marking the seventh straight season that the Tigers have won at least 10 games, and their 14th season overall that they have earned at least 10 wins. The streak of seven straight 10-win seasons is tied for the sixth-longest such streak in the nation.
On Senior Day, Clemson’s senior class improved to 48-6 over, with the .889 winning percentage serving as the best winning percentage of any class in program history.
With the win, the senior class also improved to 27-1 at home, with the 27 home wins serving as the most of any class in program history.

CLEMSON INDIVIDUAL NOTES

With the win, head coach Dabo Swinney reached the 10-win mark for the seventh time since becoming Clemson’s head coach, the most of any head coach in program history.
Swinney won his 99th game as a head coach, the fourth-most wins by an ACC coach in conference history. The 99-win mark also serves as the fifth-highest win total for any head coach in his first 10 years as a head coach.
Quarterback Kelly Bryant won his 10th game as a starter, tying a program record for the most wins earned by a first-year starting quarterback.
Bryant also accrued a career-best .773 completion percentage.
Quarterback Hunter Johnson set career highs in completions (7), pass attempts (8), percentage (.875), passing yards (144) and also threw his first career touchdown pass and completed a career-long 78-yard pass.
Quarterback Zerrick Cooper set a career high in passing yards (105) and also threw his first career touchdown pass and completed a career-long 39-yard pass.
Wide receiver Deon Cain hauled in a reception for the 34th straight game, the 10th-longest active streak in the nation.
Cain also amassed a career-high 140 receiving yards.
Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow hauled in a reception for the 25th straight game.
Running back Travis Etienne accrued his 11th rushing touchdown of the season, the most rushing touchdowns by a freshman in program history.
Wide receiver Hunter Renfrow scored his first touchdown of the season on a 12-yard reception in the first quarter.
Wide receiver T.J. Chase scored his first career touchdown on a 13-yard reception in the second quarter.
Wide receiver Tee Higgins set career highs in receptions (6), receiving yards (178), receiving touchdowns (2) and also hauled in a career-long 78-yard reception. The 178-yard mark serves as the highest total for Clemson this season.
Wide receiver Jack Swinney established career highs in receptions (2) and receiving yards (6) and also hauled in a career-long four-yard reception. Additionally, Swinney accrued his first career carry on a two-yard rush.
Wide receiver Kanyon Tuttle hauled in his first career reception on a nine-yard catch, finishing with two receptions in the contest.
Wide receiver Will Swinney accrued a career-best 15 receiving yards.
Running back Ryan Mac Lain accrued a career-best 11 rushing yards.
Linebacker Shaq Smith collected his first career interception.
Linebacker James Skalski (9), linebacker Judah Davis (5), defensive end Xavier Kelly(5), linebacker Shaq Smith (three) and safety Nolan Turner (3) all set career highs in tackles.
Kicker Christian Groomes made his first career field goal on a 38-yarder.
Kicker Drew Costa made his first career extra point.

QUOTES

CLEMSON HEAD COACH DABO SWINNEY

On the Senior Day victory:
“Congratulations to the seniors. Senior Day is always an emotional game. Today, we showed some maturity as a team…to get control of the game and get other guys some opportunities and hold The Citadel to three points was awesome.”

On the well-rounded performance of his team:
“We played so many guys. We also had three quarterbacks throw for over 100 yards, and I don’t know if that’s ever happened before. It was great to see Deon Cain get back on track. How about Tee Higgins? What a performance he had. Also, Travis Etienne broke C.J. Spiller’s freshman touchdown record. James Skalski got first start and played well. Again, so many guys made critical plays at critical times. This was just a fun day to see these guys have a great time playing well and seeing other guy play well and get excited about that, too.”

On the success of the senior class:
“We’ve now gotten at least 10 wins seven years in a row. The class of 2011 got it started, and it’s carried forward to this year’s senior class. It’s really hard to do that, and for them to go 27-1 at home is mind-boggling. I’m just really proud of the standard that these guys have bought into during their time here.”

On Military Appreciation Day:
“It’s been awesome all day. The job that Clemson does on Military Appreciation Day is amazing. There were so many spectators on hand today, and we wanted to put on a special show for them. I’m glad that everybody got to take part and enjoy themselves for three hours on a such a meaningful day.”

CLEMSON PLAYERS

HUNTER RENFROW, Wide Receiver
On execution of the offense:
“We wanted to get some rhythm in the passing game. We got Tee [Higgins], Deon [Cain] and Ray Ray [McCloud] all going on deep balls today, and that’s what we needed. We’re excited about finishing strong.”

On South Carolina next week:
“They’re definitely talented...they are good enough to beat us. They’re a good team, and that’s something that growing up in South Carolina, I’ve always looked forward to. They had our numbers when I was in high school, and hearing a lot of smack talk from Carolina fans certainly keeps me motivated.”

On the South Carolina game his freshman year:
“I remember it being a lot closer than maybe it should have been. It was close...it came down to an onside kick, and so for the guys that went down there and played, that is definitely in our minds, and we’re ready to go take care of business.”

ZERRICK COOPER, Quarterback
On his personal performance:
“I found my rhythm, and I’ve been working on all aspects of my game. It’s nice to go out and prove all of the hard work you put in is doing something.”

On things he’s improved on since getting the Syracuse experience:
“I think I’ve tried to improve my confidence and self esteem the most, along with my moves. I can always work on some things. Anything I work on, I put my best effort into it.”

On the fumble-turned-touchdown pass:
“I knew I had one-on-one with Tee Higgins...I knew he was going all the way. There was a little bad fall, but in that moment, it was my redeeming shot. I looked downfield, and let it fly, and he executed it perfectly.”

JUSTIN FOSTER, Defensive End
On confidence going forward from today:
“Confidence-wise, I think the biggest thing is being confident in myself being out there, and getting out there and being able to play 15-20 snaps gives me confidence that next time I’ll go out there.”

On the transition of the fall and getting thrown into the action:
"Being throw in is rough...just learning the system and everything. You just have to take it day by day. That’s what I did. I learned the defense and everything, and it’s just gotten better each day.”

The hardest part about the transition from high school to college:
“In high school, I didn’t spend as much time in football. [Here], you’re with football 24/7... it’s your life. I thought it’s just the hardest thing...it’s your life.”

MARCUS EDMOND, Cornerback
On being back on the field for the first time since September 7th:
“It felt great to get back on the field, playing with my brothers again...and the last time being in the Valley too.”

On his rust level on the field:
“I feel like I knocked all the rust off at practice.”

On being at the top of the Hill for the final time:
“I was just thinking about how fast it went...five years went by so fast. The only years I remember are my redshirt year and last year and this year. Every other year was like a blur.”

THE CITADEL HEAD COACH BRENT THOMPSON
On moving the ball on offense:
“It was all we could do to try to get first downs and move the ball on each drive. I was happy with that last drive we had. We threw the ball real well and got in position to at least put three points on the board.”

On the overall season they had:
“It has definitely been an up and down season for us. There is no doubt about it. The games that we lost were to some pretty good football teams...five 7-1 teams, and these guys right here [Clemson]. So I don’t think it is as bad as we made it out out be. We definitely had opportunities to win...it’s just our expectations were a lot higher. We have our work cut out for us. We just have to find a couple of more guys to fill in some of the spots that we missed.”

On ending the season playing an FBS team:
“It’s tough, but we just love the opportunity to come play in this environment. Our players get excited to play this game, and I even get excited to play this game. It’s something I don’t always get the chance to experience, and playing around 80,000 fans is fun too.”

CUTrevor 2017-11-18 17:53:57