Clemson Football: Tigers pull away from CSU after a shaky first half

Clemson Football weathered a rough start that actually saw the Charleston Southern Buccaneers leading the game in the first half before pulling away to win 66-17.

Clemson received the opening kickoff. After a couple runs, Cade Klubnik elected to go long to Adam Randall, but he couldn’t manage to put his hands on the catchable ball. Another pass was dropped by Beaux Collins. The Tigers went for it on fourth down and converted with a pass to Antonio Williams.

From there the Tigers moved the ball into the red zone. Klubnik found Williams for a touchdown pass for the 7-0 lead.

Barrett Carter and Justin Mascoll made stops to force the Buccaneers into three-and out. Again the Tigers went for it on fourth down on their first series of the drive, and this time there was a botched snap. Charleston Southern recovered the ball and returned it to Clemson’s 1-yd line. The Bucs scored on the next play and tied the game 7-7.

CSU surprised the Tigers with an onsides kick and recovered the ball. The Bucs couldn’t convert and had to punt the ball. The coffin corner punt forced Clemson to start at their 1-yd line.

Troy Stellato made two receptions on the drive after a long absence. It was all for not as Klubnik made a horrendous decision to throw the ball into the air and it was intercepted for a pick-six. Charleston Southern took a 14-7 lead to shock the crowd at Death Valley.

The Tigers used the ground game to move the ball and Phil Mafah scored a touchdown to tie the game 14-14 as the first quarter ended.

There were Peter Woods and Xavier Thomas sightings on the next defensive series as the Tigers forced a three-and-out.

Tyler Brown had an electric punt return to put the Tigers on CSU’s 38-yard line. It didn’t take long for Klubnik to find Williams for his second touchdown reception. Clemson took the 21-14 lead.

Charleston Southern moved the ball into Clemson territory before a Nate Wiggins sack pushed them backwards. They kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 21-17.

Clemson’s offense went three-and-out following another poor decision by Klubnik that was flagged for intentional grounding.

A good tackle for a loss by Mascoll on first down eventually resulted in a CSU punt. The Tigers drove into the red zone but couldn’t find the end zone. Robert Gunn came on and made his first field goal of the season to extend the lead to 24-17 just before halftime.

The second half for Clemson Football was much more positive

CSU received the ball to start the second half but couldn’t convert and punted. Clemson took over around midfield.

The Tigers drove quickly behind some good rushing by Will Shipley. Mafah punched it in for his second touchdown of the day. Clemson led 31-17.

The first play of CSU’s next drive turned into an interception by Wade Woodaz following a catch that was dislodged on a great hit by Jaedyn Lukus. Woodaz took it the distance for the touchdown and Clemson led 38-17.

The defense continued their hot streak with another three-and-out and a punt. After two runs by Keith Adams, Jr., Klubnik found Collins who broke away for a 69-yard touchdown. Clemson led 45-17.

After a CSU first down, Clemson forced a punt on the following series. Klubnik remained in the game but Dominique Thomas took over at running back and rumbled for a few first downs. Klubnik found Josh Sapp for a 25-yard touchdown, his first in a Clemson jersey. Clemson led 52-17 at the end of the third quarter.

Following a pass interference on Clemson, the Tigers again forced a punt. A block in the back wiped out a nice punt return by Hamp Greene.

Hunter Helms entered the game at quarterback and made some nice passes. Greene made a highlight-worthy catch for a first down.

Adams Jr. continued the great rushing day for Clemson, but the freshman Jay Haynes found the end zone for his first Death Valley touchdown. Clemson took a 59-17 lead.

After another CSU punt, Paul Tyson took over at quarterback. Several reserves got opportunities in the fourth quarter. Haynes caught a pass for a touchdown to push the score to 66-17.

After another Bucs punt, Christopher Vizzina entered and handed off to walk-on Tristan Rigby, who got the Tigers into the red zone on two rushes. Clemson decided to let the clock run out to end the game with a 49-point victory.