Tigers overcome sluggish start to rout Bucs

Nate Wiggins delivers a blow in the first half (Photo by Merrell Mann).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Sep 09 17:38:12 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Clemson overcame a mistake-filled and sluggish start and used a 28-point third quarter to pull away from Charleston Southern by a 66-17 score in Death Valley Saturday afternoon.

Two early turnovers – one a fumble on fourth down and another an interception that turned into a pick-six helped the Buccaneers score two early touchdowns and take a 14-7 lead on the Tigers. Clemson led just 24-17 at intermission but scored four touchdowns in the third quarter to break away.

Cade Klubnik was 28-of-37 for 315 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Phil Mafah had nine carries for 73 yards to lead the rushing attack. Beaux Collins had a breakout game with a seven catches for 137 yards. Clemson outgained CSU 679-73.

Clemson improves to 1-1 on the season and will host Florida Atlantic next week at 8 pm on the ACC Network. CSU falls to 1-1.

It didn’t take the Tigers long to put points on the board. Charleston Southern won the toss and deferred. The Tigers drove 68 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 10-yard to the middle from Klubnik to Antonio Wiliams for a 7-0 lead.

Another weird series of events led to a tied game. Clemson faced a 4th-and-1 at their own 29 and elected to go for it. Klubnik, in the shotgun, simply fumbled the snap away, and it was recovered by Charleston Southern and returned to the Clemson one. JD Moore ran it around the right end for an easy score to tie the game at 7-7 midway through the first quarter.

Clemson took the ensuing kickoff and drove down to the CSU 38. Facing a 3rd-and-12, Clemson’s offensive line allowed pressure to get to Klubnik, and it appeared he tried to throw the ball out of bounds. It was intercepted at the hash, however, by Leon Thomas, who returned it 67 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 CSU lead.

The Tigers responded without a turnover on the next drive, however, and Phil Mafah capped a seven-play, 57-yard drive with a one-yard run to tie the game at 14-14 late in the first quarter.

The Clemson defense forced a three-and-out and Tyler Brown returned the punt 27 yards to the CSU 39. Five plays later, Klubnik tossed a five-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Wiliams for a 21-14 lead with 12:27 remaining in the half.

CSU put together a drive that ended with a field goal, making it 21-17, and the Tigers added a 23-yard field goal by Robert Gunn at the end of the half to lead 24-17 at intermission.

The defense forced a 3-and-out on CSU’s initial drive of the second half, and the Tigers put together a quick five-play, 57-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard plunge by Mafah. On CSU’s ensuing possession, Clemson’s Jeadyn Lukus delivered a shot to the wide receiver just as he turned around after the catch and the ball popped in the air. Wade Woodaz grabbed it and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown for a 38-17 lead.

The back-to-back touchdowns by Mafah and Woodaz 12 seconds apart are the quickest back-to-back touchdowns in Clemson history, breaking the previous mark of Derrick Hamilton catching scoring passes from Charlie Whitehurst 14 seconds apart against Duke in 2003.

Following another CSU punt, the Tigers finally put a big play on the board, with Klubnik hooking up with Collins on a 69-yard touchdown and a 45-17 lead. Collins appeared to slow down around the 20, unaware a defender was on his heels and was tackled as he rolled into the endzone.

Clemson added another score before the end of the third quarter when Klubnik ended a 91-yard scoring drive with a 29-yard connection to Josh Sapp for a 52-17 lead. The Tigers then emptied the bench and got two late touchdowns from freshman running back Jay Haynes, one rushing and one receiving.

Clemson-CSU box