Game Day Blog: Clemson 56, NC State 41 Final
By: will-vandervort October 31, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C. — Clemson beats NC State 56-41 to remain undefeated.

 

Greg Huegel makes a 22-yard field to extend Clemson’s lead to 56-41 with with 5:52 to play in the game. The drive took five minutes and 24 seconds off the clock.

 

Jacoby Brissett threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Johnathan Austin to make the score 53-41 with with 10:58 to play in the fourth quarter.

Brissett’s touchdown pass came after Clemson’s Deshaun Watson threw his fifth touchdown pass of the night, a 36-yard pass to Ray Ray McCloud with 11:12 remaining in the game. He has also run for a touchdown.

NC State’s 41 points are the most points by an ACC foe against the Clemson defense since Florida State scored 51 against them in 2013.

 

Deshaun Watson finds Zac Brooks on a screen pass and Brooks does the rest as he weaves his way through traffic for a 35-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 47-27 lead with 1:00 to play.

Watson has 398 total yards and is responsible for four touchdowns. Watson is 22 of 29 for 347 yards and three touchdown passes.

 

Deshaun Watson throws a 40-yard touchdown pass to freshman Deon Cain as the Tigers extended their lead to 40-27 with 4:39 to play in the third quarter. Watson is now 20 of 27 for 291 yards and three touchdowns.

The scoring drive was six plays, 75 yards and took 2:24 off the clock.

Jaylen Samuel goes in from a yard out to pull NC State within six points, 33-27, with 7:13 to play in the third quarter.

Samuel set up his own touchdown with a 66-yard run the play before that brought the ball down to the one-yard line. That was the largest run from scrimmage against the Clemson defense all year.

 

Clemson extended its lead to 33-20 with an three-yard Wayne Gallman touchdown. That gives him 100 yards.

The Tigers have 369 total yards already, the most allowed by an NC State defense all year.

 

The first half was definitely full of a lot of tricks and treats on Saturday at Carter-Finely Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.

Third-ranked Clemson and NC State combined for 29 first quarter points. The Tigers lead 26-20 at the break.

The Wolfpack opened up the game with a 75-yard scoring drive, which quarterback Jacoby Brissett capped with a 13-yard touchdown on third down.

It did not take long for Deshaun Watson and Clemson to answer the Brissett touchdown. The Tigers’ quarterback went 24 yards on a quarterback draw, which was sprung by Joe Gore block and finished by a Charone Peake block near the goal line.

It took just one play for State to get back in front as Nyheim Hines returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a 13-7 lead. That came with 11:04 to play in the first quarter.

But Clemson needed just 25 seconds to tie the game. Watson found Hunter Renfrow wide open down the middle of the field for a 57-yard touchdown pass. Like NC State’s opening extra point, Greg Huegel PAT’s was blocked and with 10:27 to play in the first, the game was tied 13-13.

Clemson got a Huegel 29-yard field goal with 3:39 left in the first quarter, and he then connected on a 41-yard field goal with 11:50 to play in the half for a 19-13 advantage.

But on third-and-one with under six minutes to play Brissett got Clemson peaking in the back field as he rolled to his right and then threw back to the left where Jaylen Samuel beat Ben Boulware to the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown pass.

After sacking Watson and forcing a three-and-out on Clemson’s next possession, the Wolfpack moved the ball deep into Tigers’ territory, but on third down Brissett’s pass to Matt Dayes went for a nine-yard loss. Kyle Bambard missed a 44-yard field goal wide left.

With 55 seconds to play in the half, Watson first hit Artavis Scott for 31 yards and then on the next played he completed the 73-yard drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Peake with 40 seconds left in the opening half.

That gave the Tigers a 26-20 halftime lead.

Watson was 12 of 16 for 186 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, while Gallman rushed for 74 yards on 14 carries. The Tigers had 282 total yards.

It was not the best first half for the defense, however. NC State amassed 188 total yards, while Brissett was 12 of 16 for 114 yards and Dayes had nine carries for 72 yards.

 

Clemson leads NC State 26-20 at halftime.

 

NC State takes a 20-19 on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to Jaylen Samuels with 5:46 to play in the second quarter.

 

Greg Huegel extends Clemson’s lead to 19-13 on a 41-yard field goal with 11:50 to play in the second quarter. The Clemson scoring drive was 12 plays and covered 38 yards in 5:15.

 

Clemson leads 16-13 at the end of the first quarter.

The Tigers had 175 total yards in the first quarter, while NC State had 92. Clemson is averaging 8.8 yards per play.

 

Greg Huegel makes a 29-yard field goal to give Clemson a 16-13 lead with 3:29 to play in the opening quarter. The scoring drive was 10 plays, 34 yards and took 3:56 off the clock.

 

Deshaun Watson throws a 57-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow to tie the game, but the point after was blocked. It took the Tigers two plays and 25 seconds. The extra point was blocked.

 

https://twitter.com/ClemsonFB/status/660549419775991808

 

NC State quickly answered the Clemson touchdown with a 100-yard touchdown return by Nyheim Hines to give the Wolfpack a 13-7 lead with 11:04 to play in the first quarter.

 

Deshaun Watson caps a four-play, 57-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown run. The Tigers take a 7-6 lead with 11:16 to play in the opening quarter.

Joe Gore and Charone Peake provided the two key blocks to spring Watson on the touchdown. Gore’s game at the second level where he took out the linebacker and Peake’s blocking down field allow Watson to get into the end zone.

 

Jacoby Brissett capped an opening touchdown drive for NC State as the Wolfpack take a 6-0 lead. The scoring play was six plays and 75 yards. The extra point, however, was blocked.

With 12:37 to play in the first quarter, NC State leads 6-0. It marks just the third time all year the Tigers have trailed in a game. In each of the last two occasions Clemson scored on the ensuing drive to tie the game.

 

The third-ranked Clemson Tigers travel to Raleigh, N.C. on Saturday to take on NC State. The Wolfpack are 5-2 coming into the game. The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on ABC regionally and on ESPN 2 nationally.

Clemson won the toss and they deferred to the second half.

 

 

Happy Halloween

Clemson is 13-7 on Halloween.  The most recent game was a 49-3 win over Coastal Carolina in 2009. The Tigers biggest win on Halloween, they beat Wake Forest 82-24 in 1981.

Clemson offense surging. The Tigers have at least 520 yards of total offense in the last three games.  Clemson has won each of the three by at least 17 points.  The Tigers have averaged 45 points and 545 yards the last three games.

Win No. 40. A win Saturday will give the senior class 40 wins.  Only two previous classes in Clemson history have met that mark.  This year’s senior class is 39-7 entering today’s game.  Three more wins will make this the winningest senior class in Clemson history.

 

Fast Start for Tigers. Clemson is off to a great start this season with a 7-0 record and No. 3 ranking in the Associated Press Poll.  The Tigers have outscored the opponents 81-13 in the first quarter and 98-20 in the second.  Clemson has outscoered the opponents 179-33 in the first half good enough for a 20.9 halftime lead.  That is second in the nation only to Baylor.

About NC State: The Wolfpack is coming off a 35-17 victory at Wake Forest last week. NC State had five touchdowns of 50-plus yards in the win, including four in the first quarter, the first FBS team to do that in 10 years. Of NC State’s four wins against FBS competition, neither team has a winning record after eight weeks.

NC State’s offense: This season the Wolfpack are once again one of the more balanced teams in the FBS. The ‘Pack is averaging 212.3 yards per game on the ground and 200.1 yards per game through the air. Running back Matthew Dayes has 793 rushing yards to rank second in the ACC and leads the ACC in rushing touchdowns with 12. His 12 touchdowns are also tied for the overall lead in the conference. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett ranks 17th in the nation in completion percentage as he has thrown for 1,382 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has thrown just one interception. He is averaging 206 total yards per game.

NC State’s defense: The Wolfpack currently ranks in the top 15 in the FBS in almost every team defensive category, including third in total defense at 247.8 yards allowed per game. No team has scored more than 28 points against NC State all season.

Records: Clemson (7-0, 4-0 ACC); NC State (5-2, 1-2 ACC)

Series record: Clemson leads 54-28-1

Games in Raleigh: Clemson leads 19-16

First meeting: Clemson 24, NC State 0 in 1899

Last Meeting: Clemson 41, NC State 0 in 2014

Last NC State win: NC State 37, Clemson 13 in 2011

Streak: Clemson has won 10 of the last 11 games

Injuries: Clemson – Out: LB Korin Wiggins (knee); WR Mike Williams (neck); C Zach Riggs (knee); DT Jabril Robinson (knee). Probable: C Ryan Norton (knee); DE Kevin Dodd (foot). NC State – No injuries to report.

Stat worth noting: Clemson has an average scoring margin of 39-15 against its four ACC opponents to this point. In conference games only, the Tigers lead the ACC in six offensive categories and six defensive categories, including scoring offense (38.8) and scoring defense (14.5), total offense (509.2) and total defense (223.5).

Second stat worth noting: With a win over NC State, Clemson can go to 5-0 in the month of October. The Tigers have been 5-0 in a month jut three times before – October of 1977, October of 1981 and September of 2000.

Third stat worth noting: Clemson has averaged 45 points and 545 yards of total offense in the last three games. The Tigers have averaged a balanced 302 passing and 243 rushing yards over that time period, an average of 6.82 yards per play.