Clemson recovers from a poor first half with an excellent second as they handle business against Charleston Southern in Death Valley.
It was a tale of two halves for the Clemson football team as Dabo Swinney and the Tigers beat Charleston Southern 66-17 in Death Valley on Saturday.
Clemson ended the first half with a 24-17 lead over the Buccaneers, in a half that felt very similar to their game against Duke other than them actually being able to score. There were two bad turnovers for the Tigers in the half that led directly to Charleston Southern points, with the first coming on a 4th and 1 fumble on the Tigers’ own 29 and the second on a 67-yard pick-six after a poor decision from starting quarterback Cade Klubnik.
Wide receiver Antonio Williams was one of the few bright spots of the first half, scoring two of three touchdowns. The other first-half score came from Phil Mafah’s touchdown run.
A great sign for Clemson fans was the way Swinney’s squad responded in the second half. The Tigers scored 28 points in the third quarter and completely controlled the game.
It started with a Mafah 5-yard touchdown run, and on the next drive, Wade Woodaz made a huge play. Woodaz took advantage of a pass breakup and took it to the house for a 35-yard pick-six.
These scores were followed by two Klubnik touchdown passes. One was to wide receiver Beaux Collins on a pass down the middle, he took 69 yards to the house, and the other on a Josh Sapp 25-yard touchdown.
In the matchup, Klubnik completed 28-37 passes for 315 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. His top receivers were Antonio Williams (5 catches, 64 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Beaux Collins (7 catches, 137 yards, 1 touchdown). On the ground, Phil Mafah took 9 carries for 59 yards and two scores, with Will Shipley adding nine carries for 72 yards.
Clemson’s defense was dominant in this performance, allowing just 73 yards of total offense.
