Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables didn’t want give away any secrets after Saturday’s 41-10 win over Appalachian State.

After wrapping up his media obligation, Venables, beaming from ear to ear, shouted to Carlos Watkins, “Don’t give away any secrets.”

It was Watkins who had the first touchdown of the day, a 15-yard interception return, to give Clemson a 10-0 lead with 11:42 left in the second quarter.

“It’s a zone blitz,” Venables said, when asked about the call.

The follow-up question also got shot down.

“Can’t give answers to the opponent…it’s a zone blitz,” Venables said. “There’s some things that they do. We’ve got to do certain things, so (Watkins) did a great job.

“With that call, I’ve had a number of guys through the years dropped it in the same situation. We dropped one against Ohio State, same situation and then (Stephone Anthony) picked it off the next play.”

Watkins’ interception was the second of three-straight thrown by Appalachian State quarterback Taylor Lamb.

Jayron Kearse had the first, a first-down grab from inside the west end zone. Ben Boulware got his hands on No. 3, which led to a 24-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to Charone Peake, the first score of the afternoon by the Clemson offense.

Co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said the pick-6 offered a “boost” to a unit that struggled to find its footing in the first quarter.

“We always challenge them. Who’s going to be the first to make a play, to light the fire? And testament to the defense, they did that today,” Elliott said. “Once they did that, we were able to find our rhythm.”

The offense punched in three second quarter touchdowns, to give Clemson a 31-0 halftime lead. Like Elliott, Watson credited the Watkins for pushing the team back on course.

“We were kind of down — I wouldn’t say down — just weren’t communicating on the same page,” Watson said, “So once that turned it around, we got the momentum.”

Watkins was more than happy to make it happen.

“It’s really every big guy’s dream to get in the end zone,” he said. “Caught the ball, realized I had it, realized how close the end zone was, then it was like a dream come true almost.”

Clemson forced its fourth turnover of the afternoon when Ryan Carter pounced on a fumble with 9:45 to play.

“Turnovers are a huge part of the game and really kind of tilted things our way,” Venables said. “Really seized the momentum and capitalized as a team, complimented each other.”