Taking care of business: Clemson football handles The Citadel on senior day

And just like that, it’s time to pivot to the Palmetto Bowl.

The Clemson football team got the no-doubt result it was hoping for Saturday afternoon, cruising past FCS opponent The Citadel 51-14 with little resistance at Memorial Stadium during a senior day game that finished under the lights.

Coach Dabo Swinney’s No. 17 Tigers moved to 9-2 (7-1 ACC) in dominant fashion and, perhaps more importantly, escaped without any more major injuries ahead of next Saturday’s highly anticipated rivalry game vs. No. 18 South Carolina.

Quarterback Cade Klubnik threw three touchdown passes, the offense scored on each of its first six possessions with Klubnik under center and an opportunistic Tigers defense contributed two turnovers and an entertaining pick six from defensive tackle Payton Page in a 37-point blowout.

Rushing defense was a big issue, but Clemson’s starting unit still pitched a first-half shutout (35-0) and nullified scoring options for The Citadel, an in-state FCS school from Charleston that finished its season at 5-7 on Saturday.

Clemson racked up 562 total yards and averaged 9.5 yards per play during a game that went as expected, considering Clemson was favored by 48.5 points and had won all 38 of its previous games against FCS foes since 1978.

The win was Clemson’s ninth on the season, giving Swinney’s program nine or more wins in 14 consecutive seasons, something only three others (Nebraska from 1969-2001, Florida State from 1987-2000 and Alabama from 2008-23 Alabama) can claim.

Now, the Tigers’ final regular-season challenge awaits.

“We’ve had a good year,” Swinney said. “But if you wanna have a great year, we got one more. And you’ve gotta find a way to get it done. And that’s the difference between having a good year and a great year. ... It’ll be a fun week of practice and preparation to get ready for it.”

Game recap

This game featured plenty of fan-friendly moments, between the Tigers’ individual runs down the hill pregame for seniors and a number of touching tributes for military appreciation day.

On the field, though, rushing defense was an issue.

The Citadel, using a mix of under-center option and shotgun runs, gashed the Tigers for 95 rushing yards in the first quarter, 196 in the first half, and 297 for the game at 5.6 yards per carry (excluding yardage lost on quarterback sacks).

“This is option football and we didn’t execute very well,” Swinney said. “We’d have nine or 10 guys, and when you play option football you’ve gotta have 11 guys. ... We didn’t do a great job consistently enough and they executed better.”

But The Citadel still didn’t register any points until a rushing touchdown in the third quarter, when the Bulldogs were playing against second-teamers.

Meanwhile, Clemson’s offense took care of business and scored 28 points by itself in the first half after scoring no more than 24 in a game over its past three outings against Louisville, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.

Klubnik connected with standout receiver Antonio Williams for a 30-yard touchdown on the Tigers’ first drive, and freshman burner Bryant Wesco Jr. got behind The Citadel’s defense for a 55-yard score on Clemson’s next possession.

Between those touchdowns, Page – who’s 6-foot-4, 310 pounds – picked off a screen pass and rumbled in for a 57-yard interception return touchdown. It was the longest defensive TD by a Tigers defensive lineman since Jock McKissic in 2006.

The blowout was on after backup running back Jay Haynes ran it down the middle 70 yards for a rushing touchdown (28-0), and cornerback Avieon Terrell made an excellent play to nullify a Bulldogs play on the next possession.

A Citadel running back burst through Clemson’s defense for 50 yards before Terrell chased him down, stripped him from behind and recovered the ball in an impressive sequence that would’ve made former Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins (who did it twice last year) quite proud.

Haynes’ second touchdown run right before the break helped Clemson take a 35-0 lead into halftime, and Klubnik’s day was over after he threw another touchdown pass to Williams on the opening drive of the third quarter (42-0).

The Citadel broke its scoring drought with a third-quarter score, and Clemson kicker Nolan Hauser made a 32-yard field goal as the Tigers started mixing in a lot of backups, including No. 2 quarterback Christopher Vizzina.

The Bulldogs (who set their season high in rushing yards against Clemson) popped a big play with a 66-yard touchdown pass on a flea flicker. Clemson had a field goal and extra point blocked, bringing their season total to eight blocks allowed. And Tigers linebacker Barrett Carter ran (yes, ran) for a short touchdown.

Those were a few highlights during the second half of a long-ago-decided game that got a little messy down the stretch with a lot of backups playing and The Citadel emptying out its playbook in its season finale.

“We’ll utilize every snap in this game to make us better in the offseason, from the offseason into summer workouts, summer workouts into camp, camp into our next season,” Drayton said.

The Tigers will now gear up for the first Palmetto Bowl with both Clemson and USC ranked among the College Football Playoff Top 25 since 2017.

““Goal of its own, season of its own,” Swinney said. “Should be a great week. Man, South Carolina’s had a great year. Should be two ranked teams coming into the game and should be a lotta fun.”

Next Clemson game

Who: No. 18 South Carolina (8-3, 5-3 SEC) at No. 17 Clemson (9-2, 7-1 ACC)

Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson

When: noon, next Saturday, Nov. 30

TV: ESPN

Clemson football 2024 schedule

• Aug. 31: vs. Georgia in Atlanta, L 34-3

• Sept. 7: vs. App State, W 66-20

• Sept. 14: OPEN

• Sept. 21: vs. NC State, W 59-35

• Sept. 28: vs. Stanford, W 40-14

• Oct. 5: at Florida State, W 29-16

• Oct. 12: at Wake Forest, W 49-14

• Oct. 19: vs. Virginia, W 48-31

• Oct. 26: OPEN

• Nov. 2: vs. Louisville, L 31-22

• Nov. 9: at Virginia Tech, W 24-14

• Nov. 16: at Pitt, W 24-20

• Nov. 23: vs. The Citadel, W 51-14

• Nov. 30: vs. South Carolina, noon (ESPN)