The Tigers opened the season against the Troy Trojans with a bang winning 43-19. Sammy Watkins set a freshman record for the earliest score by a true freshman in Clemson history.
The Tigers weren't done setting records as Mike Bellamy sprinted 75 yards for a score with 11 minutes left in the 4th Quarter. That was the longest first carry by a freshman in Clemson history. Chandler Catanzaro was 3-3 on field goal attempts. Each kick was straight down the middle and had distances of 46, 46, and 45 yards. All was not hunky dory for Dabo Swinney's Tigers though. The Tigers opened on fire as Tajh Boyd hooked up with Sammy Watkins for a 33 yd touchdown pass on the first drive. That would be the last time the Tigers looked like they were on the same page for the rest of the first half. They took a lackluster performance into halftime to the chorus of boos raining down in Death Valley losing 16-13 to Troy. The offensive line was horrible as Boyd was pressured on every down. The Tigers wouldn't convert a third down until midway through the third quarter going 0-9. The defense also seemed suspect and out of place for most of the first half. Clemson's offense finally seemed to catch some fire as Boyd hooked up with Dwayne Allen for a 54 yard touchdown pass. On the next drive, Boyd looked good again as he threaded the needle on a short touchdown pass to Jaron Brown. Boyd had a good day overall finishing 20-30 for 264 yards with 3 touchdowns to 1 interception. There is definitely a lot to work on and it will be a good test of this defense next week against the Wofford Terriers. A lot of freshman played today as Stephone Anthony got his first sack in the first half. Tavaris Barnes, DeShawn Williams, and Grady Jarrett all got valuable playing time throughout the game. The secondary got a lot of players involved as well. Robert Smith recorded his first interception late in the 4th quarter. Overall, it was a scare early in the first half, but impressive offensively in the second half. The defense seemed suspect early last year too and picked up steam as they played each game. I was still more impressed overall with this performance than I was a year ago against North Texas. There are playmakers on this team and we will win some games this year because of that fact. Below are some notable stats from today.
| Clemson Passing |
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| | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT |
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| T. Boyd | 20/30 | 264 | 8.8 | 3 | 1 |
| C. Stoudt | 1/1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | 21/31 | 271 | 8.7 | 3 | 1 |
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| Clemson Interceptions |
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| | INT | YDS | TD |
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| R. Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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| Clemson Kicking |
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| | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
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| C. Catanzaro | 3/3 | 100.0 | 46 | 4/5 | 13 |
| Team | 3/3 | 100.0 | 46 | 4/5 | 13 |
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| Clemson Punting |
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| | TOT | YDS | AVG | TB | -20 | LG |
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| D. Zimmerman | 6 | 255 | 42.5 | 0 | 2 | 51 |
| Team | 6 | 255 | 42.5 | 0 | 2 | 51 |
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