CLEMSON DEFEATS NC STATE, 59-35, WINS 800TH GAME
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CLEMSON, S.C. – An explosive offense and opportunistic protection helped Clemson grow to be the 14th FBS program and first within the ACC to win 800 video games with a 59-35 victory over NC State (2-2, 0-1 ACC) in a sold-out Memorial Stadium within the 92nd installment of the Textile Bowl. Junior quarterback Cade Klubnik continued his robust play, main the Tigers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) to touchdowns on seven of his 9 drives, accounting for 4 of them in serving to Clemson end with 254 passing yards and 269 yards on the bottom.
The Tiger protection pressured two first-quarter turnovers and the offense was capable of capitalize, leaping out to a 28-0 lead after the primary quarter and a 45-7 halftime lead.
Klubnik completed 16-for-24 for 209 yards and three scores via the air and ran for 70 yards on 4 carries, together with a career-long 55-yard landing. Klubnik has led Clemson to touchdowns on 15 of his previous 17 drives and accounted for 11 touchdowns (eight passing, three speeding) in that span.
Working again Phil Mafah rushed for 107 yards on seven carries, together with a 38-yard landing run. On the landing run, Mafah (2,056) grew to become the twenty second participant at school historical past to succeed in 2,000 profession speeding yards.
Defensively, the Tigers pressured two first-quarter fumbles deep in NC State territory and cornerback Ashton Hampton added a 53-yard interception for a landing late within the third quarter. The Tigers completed with eight tackles for loss, together with 4 from freshman linebacker Sammy Brown and two from sophomore defensive finish T.J. Parker, who additionally pressured a fumble on his sack within the first quarter. Brown’s 4.0 tackles for loss had been essentially the most by a Tiger since Jake Venables additionally had 4.0 in opposition to Wofford in 2019.
Klubnik opened the scoring with a career-long 55-yard landing run on the fourth play from scrimmage, opting to maintain the ball and bursting up the center untouched. It marked the longest run by a Clemson quarterback since Trevor Lawrence’s 67-yard landing run in opposition to Ohio State within the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.
Following a scoreless drive by the Wolfpack and pinned again on the 9-yard line, Mafah bought the drive shifting with a 34-yard rush. Three performs later, Klubnik accomplished a 31-yard cross to Antonio Williams whereas on the run for a landing. The scoring drive lined 91 yards in only one:34 in elapsed recreation time, giving Clemson a 14-0 lead early within the first quarter.
Cade Denhoff recovered a fumble pressured by Parker on the NC State 18-yard line through the Wolfpack’s ensuing drive. Arrange within the crimson zone, the Klubnik and Williams duo linked once more, scoring one other two-yard passing landing which made the rating 21-0, marking Williams’ second multi-touchdown recreation of his profession.
The Tiger protection continued to stress the Wolfpack as Avieon Terrell pressured and recovered one other NC State fumble. On the following play, Mafah scored Clemson’s fourth landing of the day on its fourth offensive drive with a 38-yard run, extending the Tigers’ result in 28-0 with 2:08 left within the first quarter.
After Clemson’s first scoreless drive of the sport, the Wolfpack earned their first factors of the sport when Jordan Waters ran for a five-yard landing. Clemson responded as huge receiver Cole Turner scored his first profession landing of any type on an 18-yard run to make the rating 35-7. The landing run by Turner was the primary speeding rating by a Clemson receiver since Will Swinney scored on a faux area objective in opposition to UConn in 2021.
Jay Haynes later capped a nine-play, 89-yard drive with a 19-yard landing run, his first of the season. As time ran out within the first half, Nolan Hauser made a 20-yard area objective for the Tigers, giving Clemson a 45-7 lead headed into the break.
Rolling into the second half, Klubnik linked with Adam Randall for a four-yard landing reception on Clemson’s first possession out of halftime, his third landing cross of the sport. NC State responded on the following drive with a 10-yard speeding landing by Kendrick Raphael.
Each Clemson and NC State went on to punt on the following three possessions. The 6:07-long scoring drought was snapped when Hampton intercepted a C.J. Bailey cross and sprinted 53 yards down the appropriate sideline for a landing, extending the result in 59-14.
NC State scored back-to-back touchdowns to start out the fourth quarter and added one other with 5 seconds left within the recreation to drag the ultimate margin to 24 factors.
Clemson will play the third leg of its present three-game homestand on Saturday, Sept. 28 when the Tigers face Stanford on Homecoming. That recreation is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN; ticket packages for video games at Memorial Stadium can be found right here.