CLEMSON — It surely wasn’t all pretty, but Clemson took care of an overmatched Charleston Southern team 37-0 on Military Appreciation Day at Death Valley on Saturday.
The Buccaneers’ offense was stymied all afternoon, and despite not being very effective throwing the ball, the Tigers were able to win comfortably.
Tom Allen’s D
The Tigers recorded their first shutout since blanking the Gamecocks 30-0 in 2021.
After giving up 55 yards in the first quarter, the defense really got dialed in. The Bucs managed just 21 yards over the final three. Clemson’s run defense was stout, allowing just 23 yards and less than one yard per carry. Clemson limited CSU to just six first downs.
Charleston Southern was 0-for11 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down, while Clemson had three sacks and 12 tackles for loss.
The only negative was the defense not forcing a turnover. The Tigers did get one, but it came on special teams. Charleston Southern actually won the margin 2-1.
Everything Looks Hard
There is just nothing easy coming for this Clemson passing attack. Tait Reynolds tried to attack this Charleston Southern defense early on, taking multiple shots into the end zone on the Tigers’ first offensive series. Two of those went right through T.J. Moore’s hands.
Reynolds continued to take some shots into the end zone throughout the first half to no avail. He still has just one touchdown pass on the season. Rarely used defender Kylon Griffin’s fumble return on a kickoff in the second quarter gives him as many scores as Reynolds has through the air this season.
About half of Reynolds’ completions were behind the line of scrimmage, as the freshman went 17-of-26 for just 127 yards. He also put the ball on the ground again due to poor ball security on a second-quarter run. Fortunately, he was able to recover it.
Absolutely nothing is coming easy through the air, despite 15 different receivers catching a pass on Saturday.
The offense mustered just 30 points (seven came on special teams). SC State and Georgia Southern both scored more against the Bucs this season.
This game was an opportunity for this passing attack to take a big step forward. That did not happen.
What a Weapon
When you have an offense that is struggling, you need a kicker that can put it through the uprights and the Tigers have that in Nolan Hauser. The junior made three more kicks in this one, including a career-best 59-yarder late in the second quarter. Hauser is now 15-of-16 on the season.
Building Depth
The Tigers were able to roll a lot of bodies into the game during that second half. Freshmen who have barely played or not played at all to this point were seeing action, including guys like CN Marcell Gipson, Jakarrion Kenan, Kam Cody, Logan Anderson and Michael Foster on the defensive side. Anderson looked good when he was on the field, finishing with two tackles and a tckles for loss.
Naeem Burroughs notched his first career catch on the other side of the ball, with fellow wideout Gordon Sellars notching some snaps as well. Leo Delnaey, Braden Wilmes, Tucker Kattus and Ian Reed logged some snaps up front in the fourth quarter.
Trent Pearman saw some time at quarterback but played behind an offensive line full of guys who have not played much, leading the fan favorite to throw two interceptions, with one coming in the end zone.