By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

CLEMSON —The only suspense in No. 12 Clemson’s  52-27 victory over Ball State Saturday in Death Valley was whether or not the storms that threatened the area midway through the second quarter was going to rain on Clemson’s home opener.

As it turned out the rain stayed north of Clemson and much to the disdain of Ball State, the Tigers offense kept pouring it on. Clemson scored on seven of its eight first half possessions in route to a 45-10 halftime lead.

Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd was 19-for-23 for 229 yards and three touchdowns in the opening 30 minutes. No surprise, his top target was DeAndre Hopkins, who had three touchdown receptions on six catches for 105 yards.

Hopkins had touchdown receptions of 13, 34 and 15 yards.

The highlight of the game came on the last play of the half when kicker Spencer Benton nailed a 61-yard field goal as time expired to end Clemson’s scoring for the half. The 61-yard field goal was not only a Clemson record, but it was also an ACC record.

The Tigers had 382 yards in the first half on 55 plays. Clemson’s 45 first half points were the most scored in a half since Clemson dropped 49 on Wake Forest in 1981.

Boyd completed five of six passes on the opening drive of the game in leading the Tigers to a 6-0 lead. The Virginia native completed passes to Charone Peake, Brandon Ford and Adam Humphries. Running back Andre Ellington capped the drive off with a 4-yard touchdown run.

The Tigers went up 13-0 on their next possession as Ellington went over from the 2-yard line to cap an 8-play, 74-yard drive. Ellington finished the afternoon with 41 yards on 13 carries.

Ball State finally got on the scoreboard thanks to a 54-yard touchdown by Horactio Banks with 1:42 to play in the first quarter, but Clemson answered with an 8-play, 68-yard drive, capped with a 13-yard Boyd to Hopkins touchdown to make the score 21-7 with 13:47 to play.

After Ball State added a 45-yard Steven Schott field goal, Clemson scored 24-answered points to put the game away. Clemson outscored the Cardinals 32-3 in the second quarter.

The Cardinals attempt at an onside kick came up short and Boyd used three plays to make them pay, hitting Hopkins in stride on a crossing route for a 34-yard touchdown and a 28-10 advantage.

Middle linebacker Stephone Anthony intercepted a pass on Ball State’s next possession, which Clemson turned into a 15-yard Boyd to Hopkins touchdown for a 35-10 advantage. Another interception, this time by cornerback Darius Robinson, turned into a 27-yard Roderick McDowell touchdown.

Benton ended the scoring spree with his 61-yard field goal for a 45-10 halftime lead.

Clemson got a 22-yard Cole Stoudt touchdown pass to Martavis Bryant in the fourth quarter.