Pour it on: Clemson football roasts NC State in Tigers’ ACC opener

Different North Carolina school.

Same blowout result.

The Clemson football team ran all over another opponent at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. And no, the Tigers didn’t do it to App State. They did it to N.C. State.

Two weeks after blowing out the Mountaineers at home, No. 21 Clemson took it to another level in a 59-35 thrashing of the Wolfpack that had the Tigers looking more explosive than they have in years — and had Swinney’s program looking like an ACC favorite as it torched a team that had beaten them in two of the last three meetings.

Quarterback Cade Klubnik had 279 total yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers, running back Phil Mafah had 107 yards and the Tigers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) played a game of pitch and catch all day with the Wolfpack defense in both teams’ ACC opener.

Two weeks after torching App State 66-20 in its home opener, there were some fair questions surrounding Clemson. The Tigers got embarrassed by No. 1 Georgia in their season opener, scoring just three points.

And while a 42-point win and offensive explosion in Death Valley wasn’t nothing, it did come with a Group of Five asterisk.

Plus, that same Mountaineers team lost by 34 points at home to South Alabama two days before Clemson hosted N.C. State, which has historically played the Tigers tough under coach Dave Doeren, regardless of circumstances.

About that …

Clemson (a 17.5-point betting favorite) left no room for doubt against a regional rival, leading 28-0 after one quarter of what’s known as the Textile Bowl rivalry and 45-7 at halftime — prompting a significant number of satisfied home fans to clear out for the second half on a pretty (but notably hot) day.

Wolfpack true freshman quarterback CJ Bailey was valiant in his first career start in place of the injured Grayson McCall, but Clemson’s offense overwhelmed its opponent from the start and looked exactly like it did before an off week:

Red hot.

“A lot of guys are making explosive plays, and it’s fun to see,” Swinney said. “And anybody can go off on any given day — we’ve got a lot of guys, and that really bodes well for us moving forward.”

GAME RECAP

Much like Clemson’s rout of App State two weeks ago, this game spoiled the plot early. When Klubnik — whose previous career-long rush was 22 yards — sped in for a 55-yard rushing TD after a fake handoff four plays into the game, things felt … similar.

Then Klubnik hit a wide-open Antonio Williams in the end zone for a 14-0 lead. And he found the junior wide receiver again for a short score after an N.C. State turnover.

By the time Mafah — who left the game briefly in the first quarter but came back and looked healthy — scooted in for a 38-yard rushing touchdown, Clemson was up 28-0 and had already forced two turnovers and had over 200 yards of total offense.

The blowout was beyond on.

Bailey, the true freshman, had a few impressive plays on a scoring drive to get N.C. State within 28-7 in the second quarter, giving the Wolfpack some life.

But the Tigers (who were down a starting receiver in Tyler Brown) didn’t blink and followed that N.C. State response with back-to-back TDs to keep their lead healthy.

A chip-shot field goal right before halftime made it 45-7 Clemson — the most points ever allowed by a Doeren-coached N.C. State team in a half.

“I think we’re playing great,” Klubnik said. “Our preparation, the way we attack every day, it’s so special. We come out and the moment’s not too big. We just play and execute.”

Added Doeren: “We were never in this game.”

The Wolfpack have now lost 10 straight at Clemson dating back to 2002. They didn’t help themselves early with a few (in hindsight) conservative play calls, including punting on fourth and 7 from the Clemson 42 on its opening drive and taking and missing a 48-yard field goal while down 28-0 in the second quarter and in dire need of points.

It played right into a second scintillating week for offensive coordinator Garrett Riley’s offense, which had 408 yards of total offense and was averaging 10.5 yards per play at halftime against a power conference opponent.

The Tigers wound up scoring 59-plus points in back-to-back games for only the third time in school history. They averaged over 7.5 yards per play in consecutive games for the first time since 2020. And, per ESPN, they became the first FBS team in 20 seasons to lead by 28-plus points after the first quarter of consecutive games.

The game was chippy, too, with N.C. State offensive lineman Anthony Belton getting ejected in the second quarter for spitting on an opponent and a handful of personal foul penalties.

Clemson kept its starters in for one drive in the third quarter — to go up 45 points, 52-7, on a Klubnik to Adam Randall touchdown pass — and then called off the dogs against the Wolfpack.

The team’s only other touchdown came on a 53-yard pick-six from freshman cornerback Ashton Hampton — one of a few highlights for a Clemson defense that played without its best defensive lineman, Peter Woods, and allowed over 440 yards but kept the Wolfpack off the board when it mattered and forced three turnovers.

NC State wound up scoring 28 of 35 points in the second half against a mix of second- and third-team Tigers defenders.

Backup quarterbacks Christopher Vizzina and Trent Pearman finished the game for the Tigers, who are now 1-0 in conference play after starting 0-2 last year and essentially getting eliminated from the conference championship game by Week 4.

That wasn’t the case Saturday. Far from it.

“Momentum is a powerful thing ... because that leads to confidence and belief,” Swinney said. “And you need confidence and belief to win at the highest level. Just gotta stay the course, reset each week and keep building those championship habits.”

Next Clemson game

Who: Stanford (2-1, 1-0 ACC) at No. 21 Clemson (2-1, 1-0 ACC)

When: 7 p.m. Sept. 28

Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson

TV: ESPN