By Heath Bradley.

By Heath Bradley

CLEMSON – For the third straight game in Death Valley the Clemson defense has put points on the board on their own to help lead the Tigers to victory. Three games ago against Georgia Tech the Tigers stopped the Jackets behind the goal line for a key safety during the second half, just one game later Jonathan Meeks returned a Logan Thomas interception 74 yards to pay dirt. Not to be outdone, defensive end Corey Crawford decided to join the party in Saturday’s 45-10 victory over Maryland.

With just over seven minutes remaining in the first quarter, Maryland quarterback Sean Petty rolled left to throw as Crawford was feverously approaching. Petty, while attempting to throw the football out of bounds, lost the handle of the ball, fumbling it on the 16-yard line.

Already pursuing the play, Crawford changed courses and fluidly picked up the fumble and raced untouched to the end zone to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead with 7:07 to play in the first quarter.

Following the game there was no player for No. 8 Clemson with a bigger smile on his face than Crawford.

“Those do not come every day, the feeling is indescribable,” he said. “I am just so happy right now.”

Crawford isn’t sure what transpired to lead to his first career touchdown, all he knows is that he was doing his job.

“I don’t even know what happened, all I know is the ball came out, I scooped it and ran for my life,” he said.

As the ball rolled across the ground, Crawford said all that was running through his mind was getting to the ball and securing it so he could race towards the end zone.

“I have to get this ball and run,” he said. “I saw I was by myself.”

The Clemson defense has now scored 14 points this season.

“That’s an indicator that our guys are pretty sure of themselves,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “They are playing with a great deal of confidence and playing with an aggressive manner. That’s good and that’s a product of a lot of hard work and guys focusing on the little things.”

For a defense that struggled early in the season, the effort and ability to make plays in recent weeks has shown what a great job this defense has done in improving. On Saturday, the Tigers held Maryland to 180 total yards, the best output by a Clemson defense in over three years.

“Our defense is getting better every game,” Crawford said. “The coaches challenge us every week, and I feel like we have been playing hard.”

The Terrapins had just 41 yards passing  and for the third straight week, the Tigers held an opponent to under 150 yards on the ground.

“They are a product of experience,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “They are not losing focus. They keep learning. They are an easy group to keep focused and they are ready to play. We want to play with a hard edge and when we make mistakes, we always feel like someone will step up and make a play.”