NCAAF Game Recap - Citadel at Clemson
Sat Nov 18, 2017 12:20 PM EST

Mer
0
Bama
56
F
UVA
28
MiaFL
44
F
Okla
41
Kans
3
F
Cit
3
Clem
61
F
Mich
10
Wisc
24
F
ULMon
14
Aub
42
F
KY
13
UGA
42
F
Ill
14
OSU
52
F
Navy
17
ND
24
F
K St
45
OkSt
40
F
TCU
27
TxTch
3
F
UCLA
23
USC
28
F
Neb
44
PSU
56
F
UCF
45
Temp
19
F
Utah
30
Wash
33
F
MissSt
28
Ark
21
F
SMU
45
Mem
66
F
Cal
14
Stan
17
F
LSU
30
Tenn
10
F
MD
7
MSU
17
F
Tuls
20
SoFL
27
F
Tex
28
WVU
14
F
NCSt
24
Wake
30
F
C Mi
42
Kent
23
F
Ohio
34
Akr
37
F
WestMI
31
NIU
35
F
E Mi
27
MiaOH
24
F
Toled
66
BGSU
37
F
Buff
40
Ball
24
F
TnSt
6
JacSt
36
F
MidTN
38
W Ky
41
F(2OT)
UNLV
38
NM
35
F
Cin
20
ECU
48
F
Lib
19
ChaSo
20
F
JMU
31
Elon
3
F
MIN
0
NW
39
F
Rut
0
Ind
41
F
DelSt
6
FlaSt
77
F
Pitt
14
VaTec
20
F
Fres
13
Wyo
7
F
HBU
33
SamHu
53
F
Rice
21
OD
24
F
IASt
23
Bayl
13
F
Hawaii
0
UtSt
38
F
TxSt
12
ArkSt
30
F
SoAl
0
GaSo
52
F
AzSt
40
OreSt
24
F
LT
42
UTEP
21
F
UMass
16
BYU
10
F
UNCC
21
SMiss
66
F
WCU
10
UNC
65
F
SJSU
14
ColSt
42
F
Purd
24
Iowa
15
F
Syr
10
Lou
56
F
GATec
20
Duke
43
F
Hou
17
Tul
20
F
Wof
10
SCar
31
F
UAB
7
Fla
36
F
CoCar
13
Idaho
7
F
NMS
34
ULLaf
47
F
Army
49
NorTx
52
F
Ariz
28
Oreg
48
F
Marsh
7
UTSA
9
F
TxAM
31
Miss
24
F
FLInt
24
FlAtl
52
F
BC
39
UConn
16
F
MIZ
45
Vand
17
F
AF
19
Boise
44
F
NEV
23
SDSU
42
F
BGSU
31
E Mi
34
F
MiaOH
28
Ball
7
F
Kent
14
Akr
24
F

Clemson 61, Citadel 3

Nov 18, 2017, 12:20 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Citadel (5-6)

0

0

0

3

3

(4) Clemson (10-1)

21

17

20

3

61

No. 4 Clemson stays in playoff hunt with 61-3 Citadel win
Sat Nov 18, 2017 5:23 PM

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) First and foremost for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, Saturday's 61-3 win over lower division Citadel counts as a victory.

But it also gave him a chance to rest key starters and see just about every player on his roster on the field as the No. 4 Tigers prepare for their bitter in-state rival, a conference title game and with two wins, another playoff bid.

"It's all right there. We wanted to start today by playing our best football," Swinney said.

And Clemson (10-1, No. 2 College Football Playoff) pretty much did, scoring on 10 of its 13 drives and gaining 662 yards. Kelly Bryant was 17-of-22 for 230 yards and three touchdowns and was out of the game before halftime.

Fifteen different players caught a pass and nine Tigers carried the ball at least once.

"It's great for your morale and chemistry," said Swinney, who estimated he played at least 90 different people. "There's no better teacher than getting experience."

The lower-division Bulldogs were out of this one quickly. After Bryant's 14-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Chase on the offense's 26th play, Clemson led 28-0.

Freshman receiver Tee Higgins caught six passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns and fellow freshman Travis Etienne ran eight times for 62 yards and two TDs.

Now it's on to South Carolina. Clemson has won three straight after losing five in a row, but a loss would not only mean eating its state pride, but also would likely knock them out of the playoffs.

"Growing up in South Carolina, I've always looked forward to it," said junior receiver Hunter Renfrow, who is from Myrtle Beach. "They had our number back when I was in high school."

Clemson honored its seniors at its last home game. But for a playoff contender, it was quite a low-key celebration. The Tigers have just six seniors on scholarship and only three of them are starters. Two juniors who will graduate were also honored. One of those, defensive lineman Christian Wilkins, lifted his leg high by his foot, a homage to the splits he did in the confetti after last season's national title.

And Clemson also had another national title game winning reprisal as Renfro, who leads the team with 46 catches, finally caught his first TD since that 2-yard national championship winning reception last January against Alabama

The Citadel (5-6) ran for 155 yards. Jordan Black completed one pass for the Bulldogs for 61 yards to Raleigh Webb in the fourth quarter setting up a 30-yard field goal for the Bulldogs only score. The Citadel also had two interceptions.

"It's a little bit tough," Citadel coach Brent Thompson said about ending his season with the fourth-ranked team in the country. "But we love the opportunity of playing in this environment."

TAKEAWAY

Citadel: The Bulldogs were paid $300,000 for Saturday's game ... Eleven Citadel seniors played the final game of their careers. This year's class won the Southern Conference and made the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs twice and won 29 games - second only to the 1990-93 class' 30 victories.

Clemson: The Tigers have now won at least 10 games for seven years in a row. The only longer active streak is Alabama at 10 seasons. Swinney has half of all of Clemson's 10-win seasons in its 121 years of football ... ... Swinney's son Will had a 15-yard catch ... Clemson is now 32-0 against FCS teams ... Clemson's 61 points were the most it has scored since a 73- 7 win over FCS South Carolina State in September 2014.

QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL

After Bryant's day was over, Swinney split time between freshmen Zerrick Cooper and Hunter Johnson. Each had a touchdown pass and threw for more than 100 yards.

"I don't think that's ever been done before," co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said of having three QBs with at least 100 yards in the air.

MILITARY APPRECIATION

Clemson held its Military Appreciation Day quite appropriately against South Carolina's only military college.

Clemson invited any military veteran to the field at halftime and had them parade around as the Tigers band played the fight songs for each military branch. There was a jet flyover and the school had Lee Greenwood sing "God Bless the U.S.A."

UP NEXT

Citadel: The Bulldogs start studying for winter exams as their season ended Saturday.

Clemson: The Tigers travel to rival South Carolina next Saturday, the last hurdle before what could essentially be a playoff quarterfinal against Miami on Dec. 2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.

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More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-Top25

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Follow Jeffrey Collins at http://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP . See his work at https://apnews.com/search/jeffrey%20collins

Passing

Cit Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
J. Black 4 1 25.0 0 61 61 1 39.6
D. Allen 4 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0.0
Clem Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
K. Bryant 22 17 77.3 3 230 53 0 149.6
H. Johnson 8 7 87.5 1 144 78 0 158.3

Rushing

Cit Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
G. Drakeford 7 46 6.6 27 0
L. Ward 14 40 2.9 5 0
Clem Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
T. Feaster 4 69 17.3 61 1
T. Etienne 8 62 7.8 20 2

Receiving

Cit Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
R. Webb 1 61 61.0 61 0
Clem Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
T. Higgins 6 178 29.7 78 2
D. Cain 5 140 28.0 53 1

Fumbles

Cit F FL
J. Lampkin 1 0
J. Black 1 0
Clem F FL
Z. Cooper 1 0
R. McCloud 1 0

Returning

Cit KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
Q. Washington 1 27.0 0 27 0 0 0
Clem KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
A. Rodgers 1 36.0 0 36 1 8.0 0 8
R. McCloud 0 0 0 2 -2.0 0 0

Punting

Cit Punt Yds Avg LgPu
G. Russell 8 323 40.4 46
Clem Punt Yds Avg LgPu
C. King 1 32 32.0 32
W. Spiers 1 46 46.0 46

Takeaways

Clem Int Yds InTD
S. Smith 1 6 0
T. Mullen 1 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

Cit Clem
Points For 3 61
Total Yards 216 662
Rushing Yards 155 183
Passing Yards 61 479
Passing Completions / Attempts 1/8 31/41
Turnovers 2 0
Interceptions Thrown 2 0
Fumbles - Lost 2/0 2/0
First Downs 10 27
Penalties - Yards 5/41 4/30
Time Of Possession 29:29 31:31
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 4/17 7/12
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 0/2 1/1
Punts - Average Yards 8/40 2/39

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Cit Clem
Clem 06:47 TD Deon Cain 53 yd pass from Kelly Bryant (Alex Spence kick) 0 7
Clem 09:22 TD Travis Etienne 6 yd run (Alex Spence kick) 0 14
Clem 14:09 TD Hunter Renfrow 12 yd pass from Kelly Bryant (Alex Spence kick) 0 21
2nd Quarter Cit Clem
Clem 03:01 TD T.J. Chase 13 yd pass from Kelly Bryant (Alex Spence kick) 0 28
Clem 08:28 FG Alex Spence 26 yd FG 0 31
Clem 14:55 TD Tee Higgins 32 yd pass from Zerrick Cooper (Christian Groomes kick) 0 38
3rd Quarter Cit Clem
Clem 00:22 TD Tavien Feaster 61 yd run (Christian Groomes kick) 0 45
Clem 05:49 TD Travis Etienne 7 yd run (Drew Costa kick) 0 52
Clem 11:10 TD Tee Higgins 78 yd pass from Hunter Johnson (missed kick) 0 58
4th Quarter Cit Clem
Clem 08:51 FG Christian Groomes 38 yd FG 0 61
Cit 12:10 FG Jacob Godek 30 yd FG 3 61

Game Information

Stadium: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, South Carolina
Attendance: 80,618
Game Time:
Weather: