In case you didn’t know, that Deshaun Watson guy is pretty good. And oh by the way, the defense isn’t too bad either as Clemson pitched its first shutout since 2008 and its first against an ACC opponent since 1998.
“This was just a dominate performance,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We talked about this being a momentum Saturday for us and I’m just so proud of them. They put all three phases together – offense, defense and special teams. Just really proud of our guys. Really proud of our defensive performance. Those three turnovers were huge.”
After throwing for six touchdowns in last week’s victory over North Carolina, Watson’s encore was a four-touchdown performance in the first half against NC State Saturday afternoon in Death Valley.
The freshman threw two touchdown passes to Mike Williams and ran for two more as Clemson beat the Wolfpack, 41-0.
Watson finished his day after the third quarter. He ended it 17 of 29 for 267 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
On Clemson’s first drive of the day, Watson found Mike Williams down the right side for a 56-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
He found Williams again, down the seam this time, for a 31-yard score as Williams made a great diving catch in the end zone. That gave Clemson a 14-0 lead with 9:42 to play in the first quarter.
It was more of the Watson show later on as he kept the ball for a 5-yard touchdown run and a 21-0 lead with 3:33 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers (3-2, 2-1 ACC) went up 28-0 with 10:56 to play in the first half when Watson kept the ball for a three-yard touchdown.
Williams finished the half with five catches for 131 yards and two scores. The Tigers had 312 yards of total offense in the opening half and finished the game with 493 yards, including 226 yards on the ground. With Watson’s 267 yards, Clemson now improves to 65-0-1 all-time when running and throwing for at least 200 yards in the same game.
Williams finished the game with six catches overall for 155 yards.
“Offensively, we just put it all together,” Swinney said. “Deshaun Watson was awesome again. Just amazing to see where he is right now after only five games into the season. Wayne Gallman played really well also. I’m proud of our offensive line.
“Our guys came out and really performed well. Just couldn’t be more proud of them. It was a complete game offensively, defensively and on special teams.”
The Clemson defense was just as impressive as they held the Wolfpack to 156 total yards. The shutout was the Tigers first since 2008 and the first against an ACC opponent since Tommy West’s last Clemson team beat Maryland 23-0 in 1998.
How dominant was the defense? NC State (4-2, 0-2) did not pick up a first down until its sixth possession. NC State entered the game leading the ACC with 505.6 yards of offense per game and was second in scoring at 40.4 points per game.
“This was an extra-special win for me because this is my first shutout as a coach,” Swinney said.
The Tigers harassed NC State quarterback Jacoby Brissett the entire day as they sacked him three times and forced two fumbles. They also held him to 4 of 18 passing for 35 yards. He entered the game second in the ACC in total offense and passing offense.
The defense even put seven points on the board when defensive end Vic Beasley stripped the ball from Brissett, caught it in the air and then ran the ball the remaining 16 yards for a touchdown. It was Beasley’s 28th career sack, which tied him with Michael Dean Perry and Gaines Adams for the all-time record.
NC State had moved the ball to the Clemson one late in the first half, but a delay of game penalty and then Brissett not aware of the time on the clock cost the ‘Pack points. On third-and-goal, Brissett roll right and then threw the ball out of bounds after avoiding a sack. But his toss to the sideline came with three seconds to go and by the time it hit the ground time, time had run out.
“That was big-time,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “Whatever it was down there, after they got down there, three or four plays in a row they just had that bite-down mentality and that never-be-denied attitude. That was strong. That says a lot about our guys, their resolve and their focus there.”
And that’s why they go the shutout.