Clemson vs. The Citadel – Syndication Server

Clemson takes down The Citadel as the Tigers head into Rivalry Week

Clemson handles business against The Citadel.

Clemson football rolled past The Citadel on Saturday with a dominant 51-14 victory at Memorial Stadium, fueled by standout moments on both sides of the ball.

Defensive tackle Payton Page set the tone early, intercepting a rushed throw by Citadel quarterback Jonathan Bennett and returning it 57 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter. Ricardo Jones provided a crucial block to secure the score, giving Clemson a 14-0 lead. This followed Cade
Klubnik’s opening touchdown pass to Antonio Williams, a flawless 30-yard connection capping a 5-play, 78-yard drive.

The Tigers’ offense dominated, piling up over 500 yards. Klubnik delivered another stellar performance, completing 12 of 16 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns while adding 34 rushing yards. His day ended early in the second half.

Jay Haynes shined with a career-best 118 yards on five carries, including a 70-yard touchdown that highlighted his speed. Clemson reached a 42-0 lead by halftime, with additional scoring contributions from Bryant Wesco and linebacker Barrett Carter in a goal-line package.

Defensively, however, Clemson struggled to contain The Citadel’s option offense, allowing 288 rushing yards. The Bulldogs controlled early possession, racking up 196 yards on the ground in the first half alone. Despite lapses, notable plays such as Aveion Terrell’s hustle to force a fumble after a 48-yard run showed resilience.

The victory extended Clemson’s perfect record against FCS opponents to 39-0 and secured its 19th consecutive win over The Citadel. It also marked Clemson’s 14th straight nine-win season, tying Florida State’s historic streak.

The Tigers are now focused on their archrival, South Carolina, in a pivotal matchup next week.

Clemson dominates first half, leads The Citadel 35-0

Clemson is in complete control.

Clemson football entered halftime against The Citadel with a dominant 35-0 lead, but the first half revealed both strengths and struggles.

The offense, operating behind a patchwork line, was unstoppable, racking up over 300 total yards while averaging an explosive 14.5 yards per play. Cade Klubnik was nearly flawless, completing 10 of 13 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns while adding 34 yards on the ground. Jay Haynes also delivered a standout performance, recovering from a missed block to break off a career-long 70-yard touchdown run. Haynes finished the half with 94 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries.

The defense, however, had a rough outing, allowing 196 rushing yards before halftime. The Citadel controlled the clock early, holding possession for over 13 minutes in the first quarter. Poor tackling and blown assignments allowed the Bulldogs to exploit gaps, including a 48-yard run stopped only by Aveion Terrell’s hustle play to strip the ball. Adjustments brought flashes of improvement, such as Ricardo Jones providing key blocking on Payton Page’s interception return for a touchdown. Still, inconsistencies remained, leaving much to address in the second half.

Clemson’s offense has proven its explosiveness, but the defense must find answers with postseason aspirations looming. Saturday’s performance serves as a reminder of the balance needed for the Tigers to have a chance at the College Football Playoff.

Clemson defensive tackle Payton Page rumbles for a 57-yard pick-six

Page makes a ridiculous interception for a touchdown.

Clemson football’s defense set the tone early against The Citadel, delivering a game-changing play late in the first quarter.

With the Bulldogs facing third-and-13 at Clemson’s 43-yard line, linebacker Sammy Brown blitzed up the middle, forcing Citadel quarterback Jonathan Bennett into an ill-advised throw. Defensive tackle Payton Page intercepted the pass and rumbled 57 yards to the end zone, with Ricardo Jones providing a key block to secure the score. The play gave Clemson a commanding 14-0 lead with 3:17 left in the first quarter.

Before the defensive highlight, the Tigers’ offense struck first with an efficient opening drive.

Cade Klubnik led a five-play, 78-yard march, capping it off with a perfectly placed 30-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Williams. Klubnik went a flawless 3-for-3 for 50 yards on the drive, notching his 27th touchdown of the season, with Williams claiming his ninth scoring grab.

This dynamic start propelled Clemson to a strong first quarter, showcasing their dominance on both sides of the ball.

Clemson strikes first against The Citadel behind another Klubnik to Williams touchdown

Clemson takes an early lead.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers struck first in their matchup against the Citadel behind a perfect first offensive drive from starting quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Klubnik found his favorite target, wide receiver Antonio Williams for, a 30-yard touchdown. It was a 5-play, 78-yard drive for the Tigers, who made the scoring drive look effortless behind Klubnik’s strong play.

The Tigers starting quarterback went 3-3 on the drive for 50 yards and the touchdown to Williams. Klubnik now has 27 touchdowns to 4 interceptions, with 9 of those passing touchdowns going to Williams.

A great offensive start for the Tigers secures Clemson the 7-0 lead. Clemson’s defense has surprisingly struggled early.

Turri’s score prediction for The Citadel at No. 17 Clemson football

Score prediction for Clemson’s matchup against the Citadel.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football team in there final test before their rivalry week matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

This is a game where the Tigers should have no issues, but having no issues and playing well are two different things. Clemson needs to play a complete football game, start to finish, as they have very few more opportunities to prove themselves to the College Football Playoff committee.

There are issues on Clemson’s offensive line, with five Tigers out for the season. A game against an FCS opponent should allow the Tigers to test some things on the offensive line and see what works. Regardless of what happens up front however, Clemson should dominate this game.

Expect Clemson running back Phil Mafah to get back on track this week, even with The Citadel having a respectable defense among FCS teams. I’m expecting 150 and a score from the star running back. That along with Cade Klubnik slinging the ball up and down the field like he did in the first half last week will be too much for them to handle.

Clemson’s defense will dominate as they should.

Clemson 54, The Citadel 10

USA TODAY Sports experts’ predictions for Clemson vs. The Citadel, major Top 25 games

Here’s who USA TODAY Sports experts think will win Saturday’s game between Clemson and The Citadel, plus other Top 25 games that could impact the Tigers’ CFP chances.

After a late fourth-quarter rally to slip past the Pitt Panthers, the Clemson Tigers are taking on The Citadel in Week 13.

Clemson (8-2 overall, 7-1 conference) got a 50-yard Cade Klubnik touchdown run with 1:16 remaining, and Khalil Barnes’ game-sealing interception as time expired lifted the Tigers to a 24-20 win over Pittsburgh last Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.

Klubnik threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns to receiver Antonio Williams, who hauled in a career-high 13 catches for 149 yards. T.J. Parker tied a school record with four sacks to help keep Clemson’s slim College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Dabo Swinney’s Tigers are ranked No. 16 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll. In the updated CFP Rankings released Tuesday, Clemson rose three spots to No. 17. The Citadel is 5-6 and is coming off a 30-17 win at Wofford last Saturday.

On Thursday, USA TODAY Sports’ college football experts released their predictions for every Top 25 team in Week 13, including Clemson vs. The Citadel. To no surprise, the six-member panel of Dan Wolken, Paul Myerberg, Eddie Timanus, Scooby Axson, Jordan Mendoza and Erick Smith all picked the Tigers to win.

Kickoff for Clemson vs. The Citadel is set for 3:30 p.m ET at Clemson Memorial Stadium. The game can be seen on The CW. The Tigers will be wearing their iconic purple jerseys and matching pants to celebrate Military Appreciation Day.

Expert predictions: Are Miami and SMU shoo-ins for ACC title game?

Not necessarily, but the Hurricanes (9-1, 5-1) and Mustangs (9-1, 6-0) aren’t exactly closing out their respective regular seasons with a veritable Murderers’ Row of opponents.

Miami is at home this Saturday to take on Wake Forest, while SMU is in Charlottesville to take on Tony Elliott and the Virginia Cavaliers. Not surprisingly, the six USA TODAY Sports experts all favor Miami and SMU to win Saturday.

To reach the ACC title game, Clemson needs Miami to lose to either Wake Forest or Syracuse in its final two regular-season games, or for SMU to lose to both Virginia and California.

Experts’ picks for huge Week 13 Top 25 college football matchups

Three games this week feature teams that are both ranked in the Top 25 in this week’s polls. The biggest is in Columbus for the top five showdown between the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers and No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes.

Only one of USA TODAY Sports’ experts (Mendoza) picked Indiana to win. The Hoosiers are 10-0 for the first time in school history while Ohio State is 9-1 overall and No. 2 in the CFP rankings. Kickoff for Indiana-Ohio State set for noon ET (Fox).

Another matchup pitting Top 25 teams is at Yankee Stadium, which hosts No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1) and undefeated Army (No. 17, 9-0). All members of the six-man panel picked Riley Leonard and the Irish to win. Kickoff for Army-Notre Dame is at 7 p.m. ET (NBC).

In the Big 12, No. 15 BYU (9-1) visits No. 22 Arizona State (8-2). All six members of USA TODAY Sports’ panel picked the Sun Devils to beat BYU, a week after the Cougars suffered their first loss of the season in a 17-13 home upset against the Kansas Jayhawks.

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Clemson vs. The Citadel game gets The CW network’s No. 1 broadcast crew

Here’s who will be on the call for The CW Saturday when the Clemson Tigers welcome The Citadel to Death Valley.

Clemson football is making its first television appearance of 2024 on a network that isn’t under the ESPN umbrella of channels this week. That means there will be a new set of announcers for the Tigers’ Week 13 matchup against The Citadel Saturday.

The CW, which began televising ACC football games in 2023, is sending it’s No. 1 broadcast team to Death Valley for the Tigers-Bulldogs matchup. Veteran play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman will call Saturday’s game with analyst Max Browne. Treavor Scales will report from the sidelines.

It’s Clemson’s first time appearing on The CW this year and just the second time overall. Last year, the network televised the Tigers’ 24-17 loss to NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Radio coverage for Saturday’s Clemson game will be carried on SiriusXM Channel 193, featuring the Clemson Athletic Network crew of Don Munson, Tim Bourret and Reggie Merriweather.

Clemson (8-2, 7-1) stayed at No. 16 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll after wrapping up the ACC portion of its schedule with a 24-20 victory over Pitt last Saturday. The Citadel is 5-6 and coming off a 30-17 win over Wofford in the Southern Conference.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. The Tigers won their last meeting against The Citadel, 49-0 in 2020. Dabo Swinney is 3-0 against the Bulldogs as Clemson’s coach.

Can Clemson still get to ACC Championship Game?

Yes, though the Tigers’ chances are slim. Clemson trails the No. 12 SMU Mustangs (9-1, 6-0) in the ACC standings. The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes (9-1, 5-1) are currently behind Clemson in the standings but only because the ‘Canes have two conference games still to play while Clemson is already finished with conference play.

To reach the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte on Dec. 7, the Tigers will need the Hurricanes to lose against either Wake Forest or Syracuse in their final two regular season games — or for SMU to drop both of its final regular season games against Virginia and California.

Clemson moved up three spots to No. 17 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, unveiled Tuesday night.

The Citadel head coach says you ‘better not say anything bad’ about Dabo Swinney

Don’t speak negatively on Swinney in front of this head coach.

The Citadel head coach Maurice Drayton holds Clemson’s Dabo Swinney in the highest regard, crediting him for a moment of personal kindness that left a lasting impression.

Drayton recalled his time as an assistant at Coastal Carolina when he brought his son Montrel, who was battling heart issues, to visit Clemson. Swinney and his staff welcomed them with open arms, creating a memory Drayton cherishes to this day. Montrel even participated in the Tigers’ post-practice team breakdown, a gesture that meant the world to the Drayton family.

Drayton emphasized how Swinney’s warmth and genuine character stood out, recounting how Swinney still refers to him as “Montrel’s dad.” This deeply personal connection fuels Drayton’s unwavering support for the Clemson coach. “You better not say anything bad about Dabo around me,” Drayton said passionately. It’s clear that for Drayton, Swinney’s leadership transcends football, rooted in compassion and authenticity.

The Citadel coach also highlighted how these values translate into Swinney’s approach to the game. As Clemson gears up to face The Citadel, Drayton doesn’t view Swinney merely as an opposing coach but as a person who embodies the best qualities of mentorship and humanity. These shared experiences reflect how coaching can leave a meaningful impact far beyond the field.