By Will Vandervort.
Saturday’s 41-0 victory over NC State was Clemson’s first shutout in the Dabo Swinney era. It was the first shutout overall in six years for the Tigers, and the first shutout over an ACC opponent in 16 years.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Clemson defensive end Corey Crawford said after the game.
It has been a long time.
On September 6, a shutout looked like a sure thing against S.C. State as the Tigers held the Bulldogs to 44 total yards and had a 73-0 lead late in the game. But fullback Kurt Fleming was stripped on a running play late in the fourth quarter and SC State took it back for a touchdown to kill the shutout.
But there was no fluke touchdowns allowed on this day as Clemson held what was the ACC’s best offense to 156 total yards and no points. It was the first shutout since beating S.C. State 54-0 in 2008 and the first time a Tigers’ team shutout an ACC foe since Tommy West’s last team at Clemson beat Maryland, 23-0, in 1998.
The 156 yards were the fewest yards allowed to an ACC opponent since 2009, when Clemson held Boston College to 52 total yards. NC State entered the game averaging 505.6 yards of total offense and 40.4 points per game.
The Wolfpack’s longest play of the game was an 18-yard pass play.
“It was something that we needed. It was something we need to get the momentum of our defense and our whole team going,” Crawford said. “It’s motivation. It proves when we work hard and focus, we can get better every day.”
Clemson’s focus was the difference this week in pitching a shutout against the Wolfpack and allowing 28 points and 342 yards against North Carolina a week ago.
“It’s the difference in playing as well as we did against Florida State and then playing well in the first half against North Carolina and slopping around in the second half,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “I appreciate the guys’ hard work and I’m really happy for them that they were able to be rewarded with a strong performance like that.
“Hopefully it is validation for what we asked them to do.”
What the Tigers did on Saturday was harass and embarrass NC State quarterback Jacoby Brissett all afternoon. The Wolfpack signal caller came into the game second in the ACC in total offense, third in completion percentage, first in passing touchdowns, first in points responsible for, second in passing yards per game, second in passing yards and third in passing efficiency.
But a week after he chopped up top-ranked Florida State for 359 yards and three scores on 32 of 50 passing, he was neutralized by a Clemson defense that better resembled one from the Danny Ford era than anything the 78,459 people in Death Valley have seen from any defense in the last 25 years.
“I’m really proud of (the shutout),” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “It is great momentum for our defense.”
Before Saturday afternoon, NC State (4-2, 0-2 ACC) had scored 40 or more points in four straight games, including 41 against the top-ranked Seminoles last week.
“Watching NC State put that many points on Florida State, we knew they would want to come in here and try and do the same to us,” Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley said. “I feel our defense responded and we played a full game.
“We played all four quarters.”
Brissett was sacked three times and was hurried six more. The end result was 4 of 18 passing for 35 yards and two lost fumbles. Both fumbles led to touchdowns, including a 16-yard stripe sack and score by Beasley, who tied the Clemson career record for sacks on the same play.
It was a dominating performance from beginning to end. The Wolfpack’s 35 passing yards were the fewest passing yards Clemson has allowed against an ACC opponent since 2009, when Clemson held Boston College to just 25 passing yards.
NC State entered the game averaging 274.4 passing yards per game.
“They had to fight for every yard they got today,” Swinney said. “I’m really proud of our defense. They only had 156 yards of offense and only 35 passing – that’s a good quarterback.
“I can’t say enough about what we were able to do.”