Clemson vs. NC State: Tigers beat the Wolfpack 59-35.

NC State came to Death Valley today to face Clemson in the annual Textile Bowl matchup, which has been pretty competitive in recent years. However, that wasn't the case today. The Clemson offense fired up like it did last week and shut down the Wolfpack pretty quickly, eventually racking up over 500 yards of offense. The score ended 59-35, but three of the Wolfpack touchdowns came late in the game against the Tiger defense. A score of 52-7 was more indicative of how the game actually went. The Tigers should climb significantly up in the polls.

State won the coin toss and punted. A couple of short passes and a run by Phil Mafah got the Tigers near the halfway line. Cade Klubnik then faked a jet sweep and blocked a 55-yard run up the middle to score. After so many years of subpar performances from the O-line, it was refreshing to see the big guys shove people around with impunity. After a minute and a half, Clemson led 7-0. The Wolfpack started well on its first drive, penetrating Tiger territory. The defense then decided it had seen enough and stopped State. After the punt, Clemson took over at their 9.

Mafah followed up with another great block and ripped off a 34-yard run. Soon after, Klubnik hit Jake Briningstool for 18 yards. Mafah went down after a short pass catch and everyone in Death Valley held their breath. He went to the injury tent and Klubnik answered with a 31-yard pass to Antonio Williams for a touchdown after struggling to evade pressure. With just under 8 minutes left in the quarter, the Tigers led 14-0. The offense was in top form. The defense decided it wanted some attention and forced a fumble on a TJ Parker sack. They recovered it at the State 18.

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Troy Stellato caught a pass up to the 4. Jay Haynes was on for Mafah and gained a few yards. Then Klubnik found Williams all alone in the back of the end zone. At 5:07, the Tigers led 21-0. The Tiger defense allowed a 15-yard pass on a very nice pass from State QB CJ Bailey, but then stopped the Wolfpack when Avieon Terrell stripped the ball and Clemson recovered it at the Wolfpack 38-yard line.

Mafah came back into the game in dramatic fashion, making it 38 yards into the end zone, again thanks to a great block. With just over 2 minutes left, Clemson led 28-0. On State's next possession, the defense seemed to let up a bit, and the Wolfpack marched into Tigers territory after some nice throws from Bailey. But they had enough again, forcing a FG attempt on fourth down. The ball sailed wide left, keeping the score at 28-0.

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On the Tigers' next possession, State's defense decided to show up and stopped Clemson. The Wolfpack intercepted the punt at their 29. They moved to midfield and were quite successful with their crossing routes over the middle. A facemask penalty for the Tigers was costly and the Wolfpack moved into the red zone. A sloppy tackle by the Tigers on the admittedly slippery Bailey allowed State to advance to the 5. Bailey then hit Jordan Waters for a touchdown to cut the Clemson lead to 28-7 with 7:25 left in the half.

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Klubnik and Williams almost connected on a long throw, but he couldn't make the catch because he had a defender behind him. On the next play, however, Klubnik threw to TJ Moore 40 yards to the Wolfpack 35. Three plays later, Cole Turner took the pitch in reverse and scampered into the end zone, with the other receivers blocking well. At 5:53, Clemson led 35-7. State's offense started with some good plays, but the Tiger defense was too strong for them and forced a punt.

The Tigers started at their 11 and Stellato caught a short pass for 25 yards. Haynes had some good runs and an 8-yard catch as the Tiger offense moved inside the State 30. Haynes took the handoff on a draw and reached the end zone 19 yards later. Clemson led 42-7 with just over a minute left until halftime. Dabo called timeouts and I cheered. If any team deserves to be beaten relentlessly, it's Dave Doeren's team. It paid off when Williams returned a punt to the Wolfpack 27. Briningstool caught a short pass for a 1st down. A flare pass to Mafah then moved him to the 7. Mafah followed with a run for the 3. A couple incomplete passes later, the Tigers kicked a FG and went into halftime with a 45-7 lead.

State got the ball early in the 2nd half and penetrated Clemson territory, but the Tiger defense forced a 4th & 2. The Wolfpack couldn't convert it and Clemson took over at the 45. A run by Mafah and a catch by Adam Randall put the Tigers in the red zone. A few plays later, Klubnik hit Randall for a point, putting the Tigers up 52-7 with 9:07 left in the 3rd quarter.

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State made some good plays on its next possession, helped in part by pass interference penalties on Tiger backups, and advanced into Clemson territory. Another pass interference penalty gave State the ball at the 6 and they pummeled it from there. With 6:38 left in the 3rd quarter, Clemson led 52-14. Christopher Vizzina came in as QB for Clemson and put the Tigers in Wolfpack territory. But the drive stalled and Clemson punted. State was called for running into the kicker, but Dabo refused, moving State to the 6.

Clemson's backups on defense didn't let State do anything on their next attack. After the punt, the Tigers took over at their 47. Vizzina escaped the rush and appeared to run for a 1st down, but it was called back for a hold. State took over at their 32, but immediately threw a pick six to freshman CB Ashton Hampton. With 32 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, Clemson led 59-14.

Clemson had a lot of reserves on defense and State marched down the field and got the win with 12:07 left. Clemson led 59-21. State continued to harass Clemson's reserves and scored again with 8:21 left to make it 59-28. They scored again with 5 seconds left and the game ended 59-35. It was annoying to watch them score touchdowns in overtime, but it will pay off later as it will give the reserves valuable game experience.

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For the second straight game, the Tiger offense got off to a fast start and decided the game early. Regular readers will remember my complaints over the years that the Tiger offense wasn't doing its job, but the hiring of Matt Luke as line coach has clearly paid off. The line is pushing people around and even the wide receivers have caught on to blocking down deep. That bodes well for the Tiger offense moving forward. What did you think of today's game? Let us know in the comments section below. And check back in the next few days for analysis of today's game and previews of next week's game against new ACC member Stanford. Thanks for visiting!