CLEMSON — If any group deserved to have a big day on Saturday, it was the Clemson defense.
The Tigers stoned Charleston Southern with a 37-0 victory at Memorial Stadium, making it Clemson’s first shutout since a 30-0 win at South Carolina in 2021. It was their first shutout in Death Valley since a 49-0 win over the Citadel in 2020.
It was another steady performance by a unit that has shown steady improvement since Clemson’s Week 1 loss at LSU.
Head coach Dabo Swinney, who has now been a part of nine shutouts in his 18 years at Clemson, enjoyed watching his defense dominate the entire game, and not only by keeping their intensity throughout, but it got better as the game went on.
“One of the things I would say, and I’ve been, as you know, around here a minute and we’ve had some games like this over the years where you know I’m not real happy in the fourth quarter because we’re sloppy, playing a bunch of guys and all of a sudden it just you know you lose your edge a little bit,” he said. “I just thought they never lost their edge. They played tough.
“I mean it’s hard to shut people out. I mean (Charleston Southern) scored 49 points against South Carolina State, which is a championship team, last week. So, I am just really proud of the team. We dominated the opponent and we played complimentary football.”
How dominant was Clemson’s defense on Saturday?
The Tigers (4-2) limited Charleston Southern to 76 total yards, Clemson’s first time holding an opponent under 100 yards of total offense since Charleston Southern’s most recent visit to Clemson in 2023. That year, the Buccaneers had 73 yards of offense.
Clemson’s 50 passing yards allowed were its fewest since 2019 against Wake Forest, when that team held the Demon Deacons to 41 passing yards.
In the second half on Saturday, the Tigers held CSU to six total yards, including no passing yards.
Charleston Southern (3-4) managed just 26 rushing yards. It marked the second time this season Clemson held an opponent under 30 rushing yards. The Tigers held Georgia Southern to 22 rushing yards back in Week 2.
Clemson did not allow a single third-down conversion (0-for-11). It marked the fourth time since 1978 that a Clemson team did not allow a third-down conversion in a game (1978 vs. Wake Forest, 1992 vs. North Carolina, 2021 vs. UConn).
Clemson’s defense also recorded a season-high 13 tackles for loss on Charleston Southern’s 45 offensive plays. It was Clemson’s most tackles for loss in a game since posting 16 at Pitt on Nov. 16, 2024.
Four of those 13 tackles for loss were sacks, one of which came from defensive tackle Vic Burley and another from defensive end Caden Story on the very next play late in the fourth quarter to preserve the shutout.
“Our pressure has been getting better and better and better as far as just winning some matchups,” Swinney said. “I feel like that’s been an area from Game One to now that has improved. Guys are getting some confidence and just winning matchups and just pass rush, finding the ball, getting off blocks, just some fundamental stuff, you know, that’s been much better.”