Clemson, SC
Clemson starts the young season 3-0 after a dominating performance in front of 79,000 orange clad fans on Saturday.
Clemson came into this contest with a set of goals Dabo Swinney and staff discussed all week in press conferences and media availabilities. Goal one was to get the run game moving and establish the line of scrimmage to open up more of the pass game. Passing wise the goal was to continue to take advantage of the “Big Play” that has retuned to the Clemson game plan.
Swinney mentioned all week how important it was to build on last weeks lessons at Texas A&M, and at the same time learn and teach and see these all come to fruition on the field on Saturday. A chance to put players to the test prior to the start of ACC play next week in Atlanta as the Tigers face inter-divisional rival Georgia Tech.
The game itself was not the big story of the week or day, as Tropical Storm Florence dominated the minds of South Carolinians and attendee’s from all over the south east. Florence dominated the news all week and caused the cancellation of many games in the North Carolina and South Carolina regions and Clemson entertained the idea of postponing the Tigers game with Georgia Southern. However after consultations and researching extra available resources the University made the decision to carry on and instead move the game from a 3:30Pm start up to 12PM.
Clemson used a balance attack of run and pass amassing 595 yards of total offense. On the flip side the defense held the Eagles to 140 yards of offense and only seven first downs all day. Tiger QB’s Kelly Bryant 7 out of 10, and Trevor Lawrence 12 out of 19, combined for 286 passing yards with each also throwing interception. Lawrence however connected on the longest pass of the day, 57 yards to fellow freshman Justyn Ross.
The Tigers run game also came to life today, as Travis Etienne finished with a career high 164 yards on 16 carries averaging over 10 yards per carry. Tiger Running backs all got into the action as Tavien Feaster and Adam Choice both scored on TD runs.
Defensively five sacks on the day included in that total, two by Austin Bryant who led the way for the defense on its way to a dominating performance that overwhelmed the Eagles all day long.
Brent Venables’ defense only giving up 80 yards on the ground and additional 60 through the air the Clemson defense was nothing short of smothering. Georgia Southern did managed their only score late in the 4th quarter, after a Clemson turnover led to a double pass trick play by the Eagles versus the Tiger reserves . . . and two plays later Werts scored for their only points on the day.
The only bad news on the day came when Clemson starting QB Kelly Bryant was hurt late in the 2nd quarter, we later found out he had a potential bruised chest/sternum and was held for the rest of the game.
Clemson ends the first 3 games relatively unscathed and healthy as the Tigers now turn their eyes to the ACC and a showdown in Atlanta with long time rival from the coastal side of the conference the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech.
Final Score:
Clemson 38 Georgia Southern 7
Dabo Swinney Post Game Press Conference :
-
Clemson has now won 46 of its last 50 games, dating to 2014.
-
Clemson has now opened 3-0 for four straight years and for the seventh time in the last eight years.
-
Clemson extended its winning streak in non-conference regular season play to 18 games. Dating back to 2014, Clemson’s current 17-game winning streak in regular season non-conference games entering the game was already the longest such streak in program history.
-
Clemson won its 10th consecutive game at Memorial Stadium, dating back to a 56-7 win against South Carolina on Nov. 25, 2016. The team’s current home winning streak is Clemson’s third double-digit home winning streak in Dabo Swinney’s tenure as head coach (21 from 2013-16, 13 from 2011-12). Clemson has won 31 of its last 32 at home.
-
Clemson extended its winning streak in Saturday games to 19, the longest of any Power Five school in the country. It is the second-longest Saturday winning streak in school history, trailing a 21-game Saturday streak across the 2014-16 campaigns.
-
Clemson won its 16th consecutive game in the month of September, dating back to 2014.
-
Dabo Swinney pushed his all-time record in non-conference play as a head coach to 39-13, including a 32-8 record against non-conference opponents in regular season play.
-
Swinney improved to 9-6 as a head coach all-time in games against schools from the state of Georgia. He entered the game with a 6-5 mark against Georgia Tech, a 1-1 record against Georgia and a 1-0 mark against Georgia State.
-
Clemson led 24-0 after three quarters and is now 76-2 since 2011 when leading after three quarters.
-
Clemson recorded a 27-3 advantage in total first downs, and is now 76-2 record when recording more first downs than its opponent since 2011.
-
Clemson has now won 58 straight games when holding teams under 23 points (dating back to 2010).
This Game Recap Brought to you by our Sponsor:
