CLEMSON, SC - Well, maybe the season just started 6 quarters too soon for the Tigers. Saturday's home opener got off to a great start, with the offense marching 68 yards on the opening possession for a touchdown. Cade was 6-8 for 64 yards on the drive, and they converted a 4th and 4 on the drive. On the Bucs' first possession, the defense forced a three-and-out. However, the sloppy mistakes that cost the Tigers the game at Duke on Monday night reared their ugly head again. In a show of bravado and little respect for their FCS opponent, Dabo elected to go for it on 4th and one from his own 29 after the Bucs declined a holding penalty. I'm pretty sure he's never gone for a 4th down inside his own 30 before, and perhaps the football gods didn't like that decision because Cade fumbled the snap, and the Bucs returned it to the one-yard line, promptly punching it in for a TD to tie the game. Like the fumble by Mafah on first and goal at Duke, Cade showed great hustle to run down the defender and make a touchdown-saving tackle, but it was another egregious gaff at the worst possible time, giving the opponent an easy 7 points. On the ensuing kickoff, the Bucs recovered an onside kick, adding insult to injury. Fortunately, the defense stepped up again and forced another three-and-out. The bad karma continued for Cade and the offense, however. After the Bucs downed their punt at the one-yard line, Beaux Collins had a 99-yard touchdown called back because he barely stepped on the sideline at the Tigers' 18-yard line. A few plays later, after driving 65 yards, Cade made another terrible blunder. He had Briningstool wide open for a first down on 3rd and 12 and looked right at him, but instead of throwing it, he looked to the other side of the field and was pressured. He then compounded the mistake by throwing the ball up for grabs as he was falling backwards, and it was intercepted for a pick-six. So Cade gift-wrapped the Bucs' only two touchdowns of the game, and the Tigers actually trailed 14-7 in the first quarter. Fortunately, Cade would settle in and post his first career win as a starter. It's ironic that he didn't lose a single game as a starter in high school but lost his first two starts at Clemson! The Tigers played lights out for the rest of the game, particularly in the second half, which I'll get to in a moment.
This was the first-ever meeting between the two schools, and it was Dabo's 100th game as the head coach in Death Valley. It was also the 100th Tiger Walk, which he inaugurated before his very first game as the interim head coach in 2008. Before the game, he cut the ribbon and christened the new and improved Tiger Walk, and you can watch my video of that below! The Tigers also entered the field from the new west goal post tunnel for the first time.
Cade and the offense responded quickly after the pick-six put them behind 14-7. They drove 57 yards, culminating with a touchdown run by Mafah, his first of the season, to tie the game. Just before the score, Dabo called a timeout on 2nd and goal from the one with 17 seconds left in the quarter, and I think he used that to tell the offense to focus and protect the football. The defense forced another three-and-out with their first sack of the season by Xavier Thomas, who almost forced a fumble on the sack. Dabo was unhappy with the job Antonio Williams had done on punt returns so far this season, so he gave the true freshman Tyler Brown an opportunity, and he seized it. He made a couple men miss and broke a tackle for an electric 29-yard return to the Bucs' 39-yard line that provided a big spark for the team and the crowd. The offense paid it off quickly in 3 plays for a 5-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Williams, his second of the game, putting the Tigers back in front 21-14. Antonio also had a 29-yard catch on the drive.
After regaining the lead, the defense gave up the biggest drive of the game for the Bucs, resulting in a 45-yard field goal. That should have been the only 3 points of the game for the Bucs, but it made the score 21-17. On the ensuing possession, the Tigers went three-and-out for the first time, and Cade made another mental error that could have resulted in another pick-six. Instead of taking a sack, he floated the ball up for grabs again as he was falling, but luckily, it fell harmlessly to the ground, and he was called for intentional grounding. He needs to learn that it's okay to take a sack and get those mistakes out of his system before the Seminoles come to town in a couple weeks!
The defense forced their fourth three-and-out of the half--they forced 8 in the game--and the offense went back to work. They drove all the way to the Bucs' 6-yard line but had to settle for a field goal with 4 seconds left in the half. That wasn't such a bad thing, though, because Robert Gunn finally made his first career field goal after two low kicks were blocked at Duke. That gave the Tigers a 24-17 lead at halftime, and they were all business in the second half.
The defense forced another three-and-out--their 4th in 5 possessions, not counting the one-play touchdown--and the offense went 54 yards, capped by another Mafah touchdown run. That's complimentary football, as Dabo likes to say. On the ensuing possession, Wade Woodaz scored on a pick-six after a big hit by Jeadyn Lukus jarred a completion loose into his waiting hands. Woodaz seems to be Johnny on the spot. He recovered the muffed punt at Duke, and he had a fumble recovery in his first game as a freshman last season against Georgia Tech. That really got the crowd going, and the Tigers were suddenly up 38-17 in a blink of the eye, less than 5 minutes into the second half. The defense forced yet another three-and-out, and the offense scored again on just 3 plays with a 69-yard touchdown completion to Beaux Collins. He almost made a big blunder and started jogging at about the 10-yard line, and he was almost tackled short of the end zone. I'm sure Dabo said something to him about that! However, the Tigers led 45-17 and never looked back.
The subs came into the game, and there was no drop off at all. Helms, Tyson and Vizzina all got to play at quarterback, and all played at a high level. Running backs Dominique Thomas and Keith Adams had some nice runs, as did true freshman Jay Haynes, including a pair of touchdowns in his first game--one run and one catch. Even the walk-ons were getting in on the fun. Hamp Greene made a spectacular one-handed catch that got a huge roar from the crowd and sent the starters on the sideline into a frenzy. Tristan Rigby had a 35-yard run, and Clay Swinney made a nice 24-yard catch that set up a score. The Tigers played a record 117 players, including every offensive lineman but one, and 16 different players caught a pass. Redshirt freshman tight end Josh Sapp, who had a great camp, made his first career touchdown catch, and true freshman TE Olsen Patt-Henry had a 12-yard catch. True freshman defensive end TJ Parker followed up his great debut at Duke with another good game, leading the team with 4 solo tackles, including 3 tackles-for-loss and a quarterback hurry. Nate Wiggins provided the other sack to go along with that of Xavier Thomas.
We also finally got to see WR Troy Stellato in action after injuries have kept him sidelined for the past two seasons. Dabo has been telling us all that time how talented he is, and it was on display on Saturday with Cole Turner out with a minor injury. He is day to day, as is Mukuba, who also missed the game. Stellato had 5 catches for 51 yards, which was third most in the game behind Collins and Williams.
The Tigers rolled to a 66-17 win and, after a few early gaffs, finally looked like the team I was expecting. I said after the Duke game that I still believed the Tigers would beat FSU in a few weeks, and no one else in the media seemed to believe that, nor did many fans. Many scoffed at Dabo when he told me on Wednesday night that he felt even better about his team after watching the Duke film. He said that if the offense rushed and passed for over 200 yards in every game this season, they wouldn't lose again. Well, they've done that in consecutive games for the first time since the ACC Championship in 2019 and the first time to start the season since 2000! That shows what kind of balance this offense has and how good the offensive line is. Sure, this was an FCS team, and the Tigers were supposed to blow them out, but as I said before, they would have beaten a very good Duke team on the road if not for the stupid, self-inflicted mistakes. It was a fluke loss, and flukes don't happen often. That's why they're called flukes. The Tigers played lights out and mistake-free for 3 quarters, and let's hope that continues next week and the following week when the Noles come to town for a huge showdown. The Tigers outgained the Bucs 679-73. It's just a shame that the offense gave them 14 points because that will skew the defense's points allowed ranking. It also messed up my 55-0 score prediction. The offense scored 59 points, and the defense really only allowed 3 points, so I was right on it if you take away the blunders.
I'll have more in a bit after I watch the tape. Don't forget to go to The Valley forum for our Sunday evening teleconference with Dabo. In the meantime, our post-game interviews, highlights and notes are below!
WITH THE WIN...
- Clemson improved to 98-17-8 in home openers.
- Clemson won its 20th straight home debut. The win extended Clemson’s longest winning streak in home openers all-time, now three ahead of its 17 from 1944-60.
- Clemson improved to 60-2 at Memorial Stadium in the College Football Playoff era (since 2014).
- Clemson continued its streak of having not lost consecutive contests at Memorial Stadium since 2008 in Tommy Bowden's final home game as head coach and Dabo Swinney's first home game as interim head coach.
- Clemson improved to 38-0 against Football Championship Subdivision teams since the NCAA formed the division known previously as Division I-AA prior to the 1978 season.
- Clemson improved to 37-4 against non-conference opponents at Death Valley under Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson still has not lost back-to-back games in the same season since November 2011, the nation's longest such streak.
- Clemson improved to 32-8 in games following a loss under Swinney, including season openers following a loss in the previous season finale.
- Clemson improved to 87-9 in regular season play since the start of the 2015 season. Seven of Clemson’s nine regular season losses in that span have been decided by a final margin of 10 or fewer points.
- Clemson improved to 33-6 under Swinney in games in which the Tigers enter ranked lower in the AP Poll than they did in its previous contest. Clemson dropped from No. 9 to No. 25 in the latest AP Poll.
- Clemson improved to 125-16 against AP-unranked teams under Dabo Swinney and improved to 102-6 in those games since the start of the 2012 season.
- Clemson is now 76-5 when scoring first since 2015.
- Clemson led 24-17 at halftime and has now won 107 of its last 111 games when leading at halftime.
- Clemson improved to 128-3 since 2011 when leading after three quarters.
- Clemson now has a 124-5 record when totaling more first downs than its opponent since 2011.
- Clemson improved to 77-3 when rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson is now 59-1 when both passing and rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson is 107-1 in its last 108 games when holding teams under 23 points (dates to 2010).
- Clemson improved to 64-2 since 2015 when outscoring opponents in the “Middle Eight,” defined as the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half.
- Head Coach Dabo Swinney won his 162nd career game to pull within three victories of College Football Hall of Famer Frank Howard’s career record at Clemson (165).
GAME NOTES
- The game was Head Coach Dabo Swinney’s 100th home game at Memorial Stadium. He is 92-8 all-time in games played at Death Valley.
- Unofficially, 117 Clemson players played in the game, breaking Clemson’s record of 111 set against Charlotte in 2019.
- Clemson’s 66 points were its most since a 73-7 win at Georgia Tech in 2020.
- Clemson compiled 679 yards of offense, its most since gaining 702 yards against Wofford in 2019. It was Clemson’s 31st 600-yard game all-time, with 30 instances coming since 1981 and 24 of the 31 coming in Swinney’s tenure.
- Overall, Clemson outgained Charleston Southern, 679-73 (+606), the second-highest yardage margin in single-game records dating to 1950, trailing only a +691 margin against South Carolina State in 2014.
- Clemson held a 37-4 advantage in first downs. Clemson’s +33 margin in first downs is its largest in single-game records dating to 1950.
- Defensively, Clemson held Charleston Southern to four first downs, its fewest allowed in a single game since 2009 against Boston College (four).
- Offensively, Clemson’s 37 first downs were its third-most in school history, trailing its 40 against South Carolina in 2016 and its 38 against South Carolina in 2018.
- Clemson held Charleston Southern to 73 total yards. It was the fifth time under Dabo Swinney that Clemson held an opponent to 100 or fewer yards, and the 73 yards were its fewest surrendered in a game since 2014 (44, South Carolina State).
- Clemson has now exceeded 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards in back-to-back games for the first time since 2019 against South Carolina and Virginia.
- Clemson has now opened the first two games of a season by reaching 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards in consecutive games for the first time since 2000 (vs. The Citadel and Missouri).
- Clemson has now rushed for 200 yards in each of the first two games of a season for the first time since 2010 (vs. North Texas and Presbyterian).
- Clemson’s 405 passing yards represented its first 400-yard passing game since the 2020 season finale against Ohio State (400) and its most since a 439-yard passing day against Notre Dame in November 2020.
- Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 28-of-37 passes for 315 yards with four touchdown passes and one interception. His 315 passing yards were five shy of his career high of 320 set in the 2022 Orange Bowl.
- Klubnik’s four touchdown passes were a career high and Clemson’s most by a quarterback since DJ Uiagalelei’s five touchdown passes at Wake Forest in 2022.
- Klubnik recorded his second career 300-yard passing game to tie current Clemson offensive player development assistant Cole Stoudt for seventh-most in Clemson history. Klubnik is now one of eight quarterbacks in Clemson history with multiple 300-yard passing games.
- Wide receiver Beaux Collins led Clemson in receiving, setting a career high with seven receptions and matching his career high with 137 receiving yards, set in 2021 against Wake Forest.
- Wide receiver Antonio Williams caught five passes for 64 yards with one touchdown.
- Williams posted the first multi-touchdown game of his career and the first by a Clemson pass catcher since tight end Davis Allen caught two touchdown passes at Wake Forest last September.
- Clemson opened the scoring on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to Williams.
- The first touchdown pass from Klubnik to Williams was the culmination of a 10-play, 68-yard opening drive on which Klubnik completed 6-of-8 passes for 64 yards.
- Running back Phil Mafah rushed nine times for 59 yards with a career-high two touchdowns.
- Mafah scored his first touchdown of the season — the eighth of his career — on a one-yard rushing touchdown late in the first quarter.
- Clemson has now scored at least one rushing touchdown in a national-best 69 of its 71 games since the start of the 2018 season.
- With Mafah’s first touchdown, the game was tied 14-14 after one quarter despite a 198-6 Clemson advantage in offensive yardage. Clemson also held a 12-0 advantage in first downs at the quarter break.
- Williams scored Clemson’s third touchdown of the first half on a five-yard pass from Klubnik in the second quarter.
- Mafah recorded his second touchdown of the game on a five-yard run on Clemson’s opening possession of the second half.
- Collins scored his first touchdown of the season on a career-long 69-yard pass from Klubnik in the third quarter.
- The 69-yard pass from Klubnik to Collins was Clemson’s longest since Trevor Lawrence completed a 70-yard pass to Cornell Powell against Pitt in November 2020.
- Tight end Josh Sapp caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik in the third quarter. The touchdown came on the Clemson legacy’s first career reception.
- Sapp’s touchdown gave Clemson 28 points in the third quarter, Clemson’s highest-scoring third quarter since a 28-point third quarter against Louisville in 2018. It was Clemson’s highest-scoring quarter in any frame since a 31-point first quarter against Pitt in 2020.
- Clemson’s 42-point second half was Clemson’s most in a half since a 35-point second half against Louisiana Tech last season.
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