CLEMSON, SC - Back in the win column! The offense was somewhat vanilla, as one would expect for an FCS opponent, but the defense posted its first shutout since 2021 when they beat the Gamecocks 30-0 in Columbia. Shutouts are hard, even against FCS opponents, so 9t was an impressive performance by the defense, although they did not create a turnover. The Tigers' lone turnover came on special teams, which was a scoop and score by Kylon Griffin, who was also one of the captains for the game. Once again, special teams were outstanding for the Tigers, as they have been all season. They did allow one big kick return, but they scored for the second time this season, had a couple big returns and Groza candidate Nolan Hauser was 3-3, breaking his career record with a 59-yard field goal! His previous best was his 56-yard walk-off that won the ACC Championship as a freshman two years ago. Personally, I was shocked that Dabo let him attempt that kick because of the strong, swirling winds! Everyone knows he has the leg to make it from 60 yards, but the odds of making it from that distance in those conditions are miniscule--even for the best NFL kickers! The odds are much greater that the kicker will try to drive it low, and it will get blocked. That's why I fully expected Hauser to pooch punt it went Dabo sent him out there--especially the second time, after the timeout. I asked Dabo after the game if he had any second thoughts, and he said that he sure did. Incidentally, Spencer Benton still holds the Clemson record at 61 yards. Drew Woodaz even blocked a punt--something the Tigers have rarely done over the years--but it was negated by a pre-snap penalty. Shout out to Robert Gunn III as well for making a TD-saving tackle on the Bucs' long kickoff return.
Tait played reasonably well, although the stats won't show it. He made a beautiful pass in the first quarter on a 40-yard fade to Moore in the corner of the endzone, but it went off Moore's hands. He had to stretch out for the catch, but should have made it, as you can see in John Bolton's photo. Tait did not throw any interceptions, but he had another bad fumble in which he was holding the ball like a loaf of bread, just like the Cal game. Luckily, he recovered it this time. He was also errant on several screens passes. I'm not sure why he continues to struggle so much with those. Otherwise, he managed the offense pretty well. He still only has one pass TD in his career! Chris Johnson finally reached the endzone as a Tiger, scoring twice in the first half. With Jarvis Green nursing a shoulder injury, Jay Haynes made his return for the first time since his ACL tear in the ACC Championship. His average per carry wasn't great, and he was stopped at the goal line for a turnover on downs, but it was good to get him several game reps.
The best thing from the win is that Dabo was able to get a ton of players into the game, and the only significant injury was WR Tristan Smith. TE Logan Brooking made his first two catches, including a key third down conversion, and all three freshman receivers--Sellars, Burroughs and Blivens--posted catches. It was a first for Burroughs and Blivens. The former also scored on an end around, but it was negated by a penalty.
The bad news was that the Tigers continue to rack up the penalties, and they lost the turnover margin again with Pearman's two interceptions. They had 8 penalties for 70 yards. A couple were on the coaches, but the offensive line has to cut out the holding and false start penalties. And the Tigers have yet to win the turnover margin this season!
Nobody does Military Appreciation Day better than Clemson, and Saturday was no exception. OL Elyjah Thurmon was given the honor of carrying the flag down The Hill for The Most Exciting 25 Seconds in College Football.
I'll have more in a bit. In the meantime, post-game interviews, highlights and notes are below!
WITH THE WIN…
- Clemson improved to 41-0 against FCS teams since the NCAA split Division I in 1978.
- Clemson improved to 2-0 all-time against Charleston Southern.
- Clemson improved to 222-66-13 all-time against foes from the state of South Carolina. Clemson has a winning record against all 12 Palmetto State opponents it has faced all-time.
- Clemson won its 62nd consecutive home game against Palmetto State opponents outside of its rivalry with South Carolina. Clemson's most recent home loss to a Palmetto State team other than South Carolina came in a 13-12 loss to Presbyterian in 1943, Clemson's second year in Memorial Stadium.
- Clemson improved to 45-6 in non-conference home games under Dabo Swinney, including a 35-3 mark in its last 38 non-conference home games.
- Clemson improved to 42-13 in games following a loss under Dabo Swinney, including season openers following a loss in the previous season finale.
- Clemson improved to 76-10 at Death Valley in the College Football Playoff era, the fourth-best home record in the country in that span.
- Clemson improved to 114-22 in regular season play since the start of the 2015 season.
- Clemson is now 19-6 following regular season open dates under Dabo Swinney.
- Head Coach Dabo Swinney (191-55) tied Nick Saban (191) and Bob Stoops (191) for the second-most wins through the first 20 seasons of a head coaching career in FBS history, behind Tom Osborne (195). Swinney accomplished the feat in his 19th season (and only his 18th full season). Note: Stoops is not included on the NCAA’s official list of most wins through 20 seasons because he did not coach for 20 years.
- Swinney earned his 55th October win of his head coaching career (55-13), passing Frank Howard (54-57-4) for the most October wins in school history.
- Clemson improved to 23-16 in games started by true freshman quarterbacks since the NCAA instituted permanent freshman eligibility in 1972.
- Clemson is now 96-10 when scoring first since the start of the 2015 season.
- Clemson is now 40-8 in regular season non-conference games since the start of the 2014 season.
- Clemson is now 81-5 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.
- Clemson is now 164-12 under Dabo Swinney when leading at halftime, including a 147-8 mark since the start of the 2011 season.
- Clemson is now 154-7 when leading after three quarters since the start of the 2011 season. Clemson is 170-10 in total in those games in Swinney’s tenure.
- Clemson is now 146-12 when totaling more first downs than its opponent since 2011.
- Clemson improved to 131-7 since 2011 when scoring 30 or more points, the nation's second-highest winning percentage in such games.
- Clemson is now 131-4 in its last 135 games when holding teams to fewer than 23 points, a span that dates to the middle of the 2010 season.
- Clemson is now 90-4 when rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson is now 69-2 when both passing and rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney. Overall, Clemson is 120-2-1 in program history when reaching those marks.
GAME NOTES
- Clemson recorded its ninth shutout under Dabo Swinney and its first since a 30-0 shutout of South Carolina in 2021.
- Clemson limited Charleston Southern to 76 yards, Clemson’s first time holding an opponent under 100 yards since Charleston Southern’s most recent visit in 2023 (73).
- Clemson’s 50 passing yards allowed were its fewest since 2019 against Wake Forest (41). That 2019 Wake Forest game was also designated as Military Appreciation Day, and the opposing head coach of that 2019 Wake Forest squad served as Saturday’s television analyst.
- Clemson allowed six total yards in the second half, including no passing yards.
- Clemson held Charleston Southern to 26 rushing yards. It marked the second time this season Clemson has held an opponent under 30 rushing yards (22 vs. Georgia Southern).
- Clemson did not allow a single third-down conversion (0-for-11). It marked the fourth time since 1978 that Clemson did not allow a third-down conversion in a game (1978 vs. Wake Forest, 1992 vs. North Carolina, 2021 vs. UConn).
- Clemson recorded a season-high 13 tackles for loss on Charleston Southern’s 45 offensive plays. It was Clemson’s most tackles for loss in a game since posting 16 at Pitt on Nov. 16, 2024.
- Clemson recorded a season-high 37 points and 438 yards of offense. It was Clemson’s second 400-yard game of the season.
- With 231 rushing yards, Clemson recorded its second 200-yard rushing game of the season, joining its 257-yard effort at Cal.
- Clemson reached 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards in a game for the 71st time in Dabo Swinney’s head coaching career and for the first time this season.
- Clemson reached 200 yards in both rushing yards and passing yards for the first time since Nov. 22, 2025, vs. Furman.
- Clemson scored 24 second-quarter points, its most in a quarter since a 24-point second quarter at Boston College in 2025.
- Clemson scored points on each of its first five drives, its first time accomplishing the feat since 2025 at Boston College.
- Clemson did not allow a sack for the first time since September 2025 at Georgia Tech.
- Running back Chris Johnson Jr. recorded his first career game with multiple rushing touchdowns, collecting two rushing touchdowns and 34 yards on seven carries.
- Johnson recorded his first rushing touchdown as a Tiger on a six-yard run in the first quarter.
- The rushing touchdown was the sixth of Johnson’s career, including one with Miami (Fla.) and four with SMU.
- Johnson added his career-high second rushing touchdown of the game on a two-yard run in the second quarter.
- Running back Gideon Davidson rushed 13 times for 59 yards and a touchdown.
- Davidson rushed for a seven-yard touchdown in the second quarter, his fifth rushing touchdown of the season.
- Davidson became the first Clemson player to rush for a touchdown in four straight games since a six-game streak by Will Shipley in 2022.
- T.J. Moore extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 33 games, tying Antonio Williams (33 from 2022-24) for the seventh-longest streak in Clemson history.
- On his third catch of the game, wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. (101) reached 100 career receptions. He became the third active Clemson player to reach the mark, joining T.J. Moore and Tyler Brown.
- Tight end Christian Bentancur recorded a career-high 74 receiving yards on four receptions. His previous career high was 51 yards on five receptions at South Carolina in 2024.
- Bentancur’s 74 receiving yards were the most by a Clemson tight end in a game since Jake Briningstool’s 104 yards at Wake Forest in 2024.
- Collectively, Clemson’s tight ends accounted for 109 receiving yards, the unit’s most since a 113-yard effort against Wake Forest in 2024.
- Fifteen different players caught a pass for Clemson, tied for the fourth-most in a game under Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson scored its first non-offensive touchdown of the season in kickoff coverage on a 17-yard fumble return by Kylon Griffin in the second quarter.
- The fumble recovery was the second of Griffin’s career but his first to be returned for a touchdown.
- Griffin’s touchdown came nine seconds after the rushing touchdown by Johnson. It was Clemson’s shortest time between touchdowns since 2020 vs. The Citadel. Coincidentally, Clemson scored nine seconds apart thanks to 17-yard fumble returns into the east end zone against in-state FCS opponents in both games.
- Clemson has scored in rapid succession in both all-time games against Charleston Southern. Clemson scored 12 seconds apart against the Buccaneers in 2023.
- The fumble was forced by wide receiver Tristan Smith. It was the second of his career but his first with the Tigers. He previously forced a fumble with Southeast Missouri State in 2024.
- Defensive end London Merritt recorded his second sack of the season in the second quarter.
- Defensive tackle Vic Burley recorded his first career sack in the fourth quarter.
- Later on the same possession, defensive lineman Caden Story recorded the first full sack of his career to force a turnover on downs.
- Story added another half-sack in the fourth quarter, sharing the stop with linebacker C.J. Kubah-Taylor.
- One game after producing a then-career-long 42-yard kickoff return against Miami (Fla.), Johnson opened the game with a career-long 43-yard kickoff return.
- Johnson became the first Clemson player to record a kickoff return of 40 or more yards in consecutive games since Artavis Scott did so against Louisville and Boston College in October 2016.
- Kicker Nolan Hauser went 3-for-3 on field goals and 4-for-4 on PATs. He is now 15-of-16 on field goals and 11-for-11 on PATs this season.
- On his third field goal of the game, Hauser became the ninth kicker in Clemson history to reach 50 career field goals.
- On a 41-yard field goal to open the game’s scoring, Hauser (50) passed David Treadwell (47) for sole possession of ninth in career field goals in Clemson history. He is now one field goal shy of Jad Dean (51) for eighth.
- On his fifth point of the game (a PAT following a touchdown run by Davidson), Hauser (258) became the ninth kicker and 13th player overall in school history to reach 250 career points.
- Hauser (258) passed Jad Dean (250) for eighth in Clemson history in career kick scoring and for 12th overall in Clemson history in career points of any kind.
- With his final PAT of the game, Hauser (108) passed Bob Paulling (107 from 1979-83) for fifth in Clemson history in career PATs.
- Hauser recorded a career-long 59-yard field goal in the final minute of the second half.
- The 59-yard field goal by Hauser was the second-longest field goal in Clemson history, trailing only a 61-yarder by Spencer Benton against Ball State in 2012.
- With the kick, Hauser recorded his fifth career field goal of 50 or more yards to tie Donald Igwebuike (five from 1981-84) and Chris Gardocki (five from 1988-90) for second-most in Clemson history.
- Hauser is now responsible for two of the five longest field goals in Clemson history.
- The game featured two notable returns from injury. Running back Jay Haynes appeared in his first game action since suffering multiple knee injuries in the 2024 ACC Championship Game, and defensive tackle Kourtney Kelly made his Clemson debut after tearing his ACL in the spring.
- Dabo Swinney coached against Charleston Southern Head Coach Gabe Giardina for the second time. Giardina served as a placekicker and holder on the 2000 Alabama Crimson Tide squad for which Swinney served as wide receivers coach.
- Offensive lineman Elyjah Thurmon served as Clemson’s flagbearer for Military Appreciation Day. Both of Thurmon’s parents, Earnest Thurmon and Tammie Williams, served in the U.S. Army.
- Clemson’s captains for the contest were safety Kylon Griffin, kicker Robert Gunn III, quarterback Trent Pearman and wide receiver/holder Clay Swinney.
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