CLEMSON — Fast starts were absent in the Clemson Tigers’ first two games of the 2023 season, but all it took was the energy of a night game in Death Valley to get Dabo Swinney’s team running on all cylinders from the opening kickoff.

After jumping out to a 34-0 halftime lead, the Tigers stalled out in the third quarter but it didn’t matter as Clemson widened the gap en route to a dominant victory. With the Tigers moving to 2-1, here’s the 411 on the 48-14 dismantling of Florida Atlantic.

-Freshmen were the stars tonight. None more than wide receiver Tyler Brown, who had three catches for 49 yards and two touchdowns. He’s one of Garrett Riley’s best weapons and the chemistry with quarterback Cade Klubnik is obvious. Imagine what he’ll look like after a couple seasons of experience. Whew. On the other side of the ball, freshmen defensive backs Avieon Terrell and Khalil Barnes each had six tackles while the latter tacked on an interception. The young talent is alive and well.

-Wes Goodwin’s defense created pressure in the first two weeks, but they turned it up a notch against the Owls. Both quarterbacks were harassed by the likes of Justin Mascoll and T.J. Parker. The pressures were in abundance and the two sacks don’t tell the story of how dominant Clemson’s defensive front was.

-Klubnik delivered a strong outing. 16-27 for 169 yards and three touchdowns, but he made a couple questionable throws in the third quarter before the backups came in. Those were absent in the first half, and it needs to be next week.

-Linebacker Wade Woodaz is a ball magnet. He had a pick-six last week, and came close to one under the lights. He was lurking and found himself in the right place, which led to his 59-yard interception return before the Owls saved a touchdown. His comments about feeling like Will Shipley last week didn’t age so well here. He needed another gear for the touchdown.

TURNING POINT

The Owls started the game with a 16-yard gain from scrimmage. Three plays later, Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins was high-stepping into the end zone as Death Valley erupted. Night-time atmosphere can’t be overstated here, and Wes Goodwin’s unit fed off the noise early as the Tigers only snowballed from there.

TELLING STAT: 4-1

Clemson has lost the turnover battle in eight of their last nine games, but got back on the right track against the Owls. With three interceptions in the game, the Tigers defense made sure that trend would end. These takeaways led to 13 points for Clemson. A muffed punt by Brown was the only blunder in the turnover department.

The mistakes didn’t cost them against Charleston Southern, but they will against Florida State in a week’s time. Turnovers tend to decide the game, and it’s imperative that the Tigers carry the clean football into next week’s key matchup with the Seminoles.