By Kaila Burns-Heffner.

Clemson’s defense had one of their most impressive performances in a very long time against North Carolina State on Saturday with their first shutout against an ACC opponent since it beat Maryland in 1998. The Tigers fully executed in all four quarters to hold a team that had been averaging 505.6 yards a game to only 157 total yards in a 41-0 victory.

“The shutout is a byproduct of doing everything right and that’s what is most pleasing and satisfying,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “They play hungry they play tough, they play with great passion and are very physical. You know we smacked that quarterback around pretty good.

“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.”

What was really impressive was the defense was able to keep the Wolfpack contained with even their second and third string players in the game. Veteran linebacker Tony Steward was pulled from the game because of a hamstring injury, after recording five tackles in the first half. This helped pave the way for backup linebacker B.J. Goodson.

Goodson answered with a great play in the fourth quarter in which he recovered a fumble and returned it for 24 yards after running for nearly 70 as he zigzagged all over the field . He joked that people had questioned him about the potential of him moving to running back.

“I’ve had questions,” the redshirt junior said. “But I like doing the hitting you know, rather than taking it.”

Goodson mentioned Venables has him learning the majority of the defense, and that he will play wherever the coach feels he is most effective. As of now, Goodson is focused on the strong side linebacker position as well as contributing to special teams.

“I’ve embraced it, any role that the team has given me to help out, and you know this year that’s happened to be the role that the coaches have called me upon,” Goodson said. “You know, it’s been working out pretty good.”

Head coach Dabo Swinney believes Steward will recover from his injury quickly and be ready to play on Saturday against Louisville, but he is pleased with how well Goodson is performing. He mentioned that he could get some more playing time against the Cardinals.

Clemson’s defense will get another chance to show how well they can perform and execute at a high level against Louisville (5-1, 3-1 ACC) in Death Valley. If the Tigers (3-2, 2-1) play with the same hunger and intensity that they brought out against NC State, Clemson should be in great shape.

“Our message was that this was going to be a hard game,” Swinney said about the NC State game. “My message was also, if we can just put it all together, if we can put all three phases together, I really think we can overwhelm an opponent.”

Clemson definitely lived out that message.