Football

HAUSER GOES 5-5, DEFENSE DOMINATES AND TAIT TAKES HELM AS CLEMSON BEATS GSU 22-7

2026-09-14 18:30:41
0

By Trevor Groves

CLEMSON, SC - I cannot believe we had another two-hour lightning delay! I didn't get home until 4 am. Nice to get back in the W column, though! The defense and special teams were great and the offense wasn't, but a win is a win. The offensive line needs to get a lot better before UNC comes to town next week! The Tigers had a total of 10 penalties for 100 yards. Three of them were on Braydon Jacobs--two false starts and a hold. The offense was only able to get into the endzone once, in the first quarter, and they only had 347 total yards.

The defense was vastly improved, however. Granted, Georgia Southern isn't as good as LSU, but the Eagles do have a good, experienced quarterback in Max Johnson, who has played for LSU, Texas A&M and UNC last year. Outside of a slip and fall by Washington on their lone touchdown and a coverage bust on a reverse flea-flicker, the coverage was outstanding. The defense forced 9 three-and-outs and 2 turnovers on downs, including a goal-line stand at the end of the game. The only thing that they didn't do was produce a turnover--the Eagles' only turnover was a muffed punt that led to the Tigers' only touchdown. Will Heldt had 2 sacks and a TFL, and Ronan Hanafin had a sack and a big tackle on the goal-line stand. Ashton Hampton almost had his second INT in consecutive games, and he was on their receivers like a blanket all night.

True freshman Tait Reynolds took over at quarterback in the first quarter after a bad interception by CV. He had a terrible start, albeit in the rain with a wet ball. Before the interception, he had three bad passes. One of them was a touchdown, thanks to a great diving catch by TJ Moore. After the interception, I said that it was time to bring Tait in on the next series, and that's exactly what happened. However, Dabo told us after the game that CV was pulled because his left arm was numb after taking a shot from a helmet. I don't know if that was just to save CV some embarrassment, but regardless, I expect Tait to get his first start next week against the Heels. He had several freshman moments in the game, including a fumble (again, wet ball) at the 5 yard line, but he also made a few tremendous plays that should excite Clemson fans about the future. He threw an outside shoulder to TJ Moore from the opposite hash on a frozen rope that would make Trevor Lawrence smile! He also showed his ability as a runner, even on a wet field. Moore had over 100 total yards to go along with the TD.

Hauser was 5-5 with a 50 and 49-yarder. He is 3-3 from 49 plus this season. Richard Jackson holds the Clemson record, going 6-6 against Boston College in 2009. I was here that day, and there were 3 weather delays! Jack Smith was also excellent for the second straight game, averaging 40 yards per punt with 5 inside the 20.

I'll have more in a bit. In the meantime, post-game interviews, highlights and notes are below!

WITH THE WIN...

Clemson improved to 2-0 all-time against Georgia Southern. Georgia Southern remains one of 46 all-time opponents against which Clemson is undefeated and one of 43 against which Clemson has a perfect record (no ties).
Clemson earned its 100th win in a home opener in school history. Clemson is now 100-18-8 in home openers.
Clemson won its home opener for the 22nd time in its last 23 seasons. The Tigers are now 37-3 in home openers since 1987.
Clemson improved to 74-9 at Death Valley in the College Football Playoff era, the nation’s fourth-best home winning percentage in that span.
Clemson improved to 44-6 in non-conference home games under Dabo Swinney, including a 34-3 mark in its last 37 non-conference home games.
Clemson improved to 14-0 all-time against teams from the Sun Belt Conference.
Clemson won its 12th consecutive home game against opponents from the state of Georgia. Clemson’s last home loss to a team from the Peach State came against Georgia Tech in 2008, Dabo Swinney’s first game as interim head coach.
Clemson improved to 39-8 in regular season non-conference games since the start of the 2014 season.
Clemson improved to 36-11 in night games since the start of the 2018 season and 57-14 in night games since 2015.
Clemson improved to 23-2 in night games at Memorial Stadium in the College Football Playoff era.
Clemson improved to 41-13 in games following a loss under Dabo Swinney, including season openers following a loss in the previous season finale.
Clemson improved to 111-21 in regular season play since the start of the 2015 season.
With a win in Clemson’s first game against Georgia Southern Head Coach Clay Helton, Clemson improved to 173-78-3 since 1950 (and 56-12 since 2011) when facing a coach for the first time.
Clemson improved to 144-12 when totaling more first downs than its opponent since 2011.
Clemson is now 128-4 in its last 132 games when holding teams to fewer than 23 points, a span that dates to the middle of the 2010 season.
Clemson led 16-7 at halftime and is now 162-12 under Dabo Swinney when leading at halftime.
Clemson is now 152-7 when leading after three quarters since the start of the 2011 season.
Clemson won despite losing the turnover margin, 2-1. Clemson is now 45-33 under Dabo Swinney in games in which it loses the turnover margin. It was Clemson’s first such win since last season at Boston College.
Head Coach Dabo Swinney (188-54) passed Joe Paterno and Urban Meyer (187 each) for the fourth-most victories within the first 20 seasons of a head coaching career. Swinney trails only Tom Osborne (195), Nick Saban (191) and Bob Stoops (191) despite 2026 only being Swinney's 19th season (and 18th full season).

GAME NOTES

The game incurred a two-hour pregame lightning delay (officially 1:56 from the original kickoff time). It was Clemson’s second straight week with a pregame lightning delay after its season opener at LSU was delayed roughly two hours.
The 9:30 p.m. ET start is believed to be the latest on record for a home game in Clemson history. With a 9:30 p.m. ET start in each of its first two games and an upcoming 10:30 p.m. ET start at Cal on Sept. 25, three of Clemson’s first four games of the 2026 season will kick off at 9:30 p.m. ET or later.
Clemson’s seven points surrendered were its fewest since a 16-7 win at South Carolina in 2023.
Clemson’s defense opened the game by forcing three-and-outs on each of Georgia Southern’s first six possessions.
Quarterback Tait Reynolds took over on Clemson’s fourth possession and completed 16-of-27 passes for 178 yards and rushed 14 times for 38 yards.
Wide receiver T.J. Moore recorded seven receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown.
The 100-yard receiving game was Moore’s first of the season and the fifth of his career.
Moore scored the game’s first points on a 10-yard pass from Christopher Vizzina. It was Moore's 10th career touchdown reception.
On the game’s first play from scrimmage, Moore extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 29, a streak covering every game of his Clemson career. He needs a catch in his next game to become the 12th player in school history to record a 30-game reception streak.
A first-quarter interception on Clemson’s seventh pass attempt of the game ended a streak of 156 consecutive pass attempts at home without an interception, dating to last season. Clemson ended its 2025 home slate with no interceptions thrown in each of its final four home games.
Defensive end Will Heldt recorded a career-high-tying 2.0 sacks among his 3.0 tackles for loss.
Heldt recorded his first sack of the season to force a three-and-out on Georgia Southern’s first possession.
Heldt added his second sack of the game in the second quarter, giving him his first game with multiple full sacks as a Tiger. It was his first game with 2.0 sacks since Aug. 31, 2024, when he did so with Purdue against Indiana State.
Safety Ronan Hanafin recorded his first career sack in the third quarter.
Cornerback Ashton Hampton was credited with a career-high three of Clemson’s seven pass breakups.
Playing in his first career home game, long snapper Jackson Reach recorded his first career fumble recovery on a muffed punt following the Tigers’ first drive.
Kicker Nolan Hauser went 5-of-5 on field goals and 1-of-1 on PATs, accounting for 16 points in the 15-point win.
Hauser tied his single-game career high in made field goals, matching a five-field-goal game against Florida State in 2024.
Hauser’s performance marked the eighth five-field-goal game by a kicker in Clemson history. Hauser (two) joins Nelson Welch (three) as the only kickers in Clemson history to convert five field goals in multiple games in a career.
During the contest, Hauser (41-of-51) moved past Mark Buchholz (37 from 2007-08) into the Top 10 in school history in career field goals made.
On a 20-yard second quarter field goal, Hauser (222) passed Bob Paulling (209) for 10th in school history in kick scoring.
Hauser also added field goals of 34 and 38 yards in the second quarter and field goals of 50 and 49 yards in the fourth quarter.
The 50-yard field goal by Hauser was his first of 50 yards or more this season. It was his fourth career field goal of 50 yards or more, giving him sole possession of fourth-most in Clemson history behind B.T. Potter (nine), Donald Igwebuike (five) and Chris Gardocki (five).
Hauser (222) passed Wayne Gallman (216) and Andre Ellington (218) to move into 14th in school history in career scoring.
Punter Jack Smith placed a career-high five of his seven punts inside the 20. It was the most punts inside the 20 by a Clemson punter since Aidan Swanson’s six punts inside the 20 against Pitt in 2024.
Wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. recorded a career-long 26-yard punt return in the first quarter, surpassing his previous long of 17 set at North Carolina in 2025.
Clemson’s captains for the contest were linebacker Jeremiah Alexander, tight end Olsen Patt-Henry, offensive lineman Chapman Pendergrass and punter Jack Smith.

MORE CLEMSON FOOTBALL COVERAGE HERE

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