Chris Johnson Jr. rushed for a pair of first-half touchdowns, Nolan Hauser connected on three long field goals and Clemson shut out Charleston Southern 37-0 on Saturday afternoon in Clemson, S.C.
Quarterback Tait Reynolds completed 17 of 26 passes for 127 yards for the Tigers (4-2). Trent Pearman was 8-for-13 for 80 yards with two interceptions.
Gideon Davidson rushed 13 times for 59 yards and a touchdown as Clemson piled up 231 yards on the ground. Christian Bentancur had four receptions for 74 yards.
The Tigers held a 438-76 advantage in total yards and held their FCS foe to six first downs.
Jared Echols went 7-for-12 for 50 yards passing, Hakeen Watters had 46 yards on 13 carries, and Mylan Bowen and Kason Hooks recorded interceptions for the Buccaneers (3-4), who were coming off a 49-39 upset last week of ranked in-state opponent South Carolina State.
Johnson gave Clemson good field position immediately as he returned the opening kickoff 43 yards to the Tigers 47-yard line. Hauser capped the drive by kicking a 41-yard field goal to put the home side up 3-0 with 12:51 to play in the quarter.
Johnson made it 10-0 with 5:17 to go in the first when he punched it in from 6 yards.
The Tigers padded their lead to 17-0 on Davidson’s 7-yard scoring run with 13:30 to play in the second quarter. The Buccaneers turned in their biggest play of the game when Quay Kindell returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards, but Clemson ultimately held them inside the red zone for a turnover on downs.
The Tigers followed with their best drive of the day, a nine-play, 70-yard scoring march that took 4:06 off the clock. Johnson finished it with a 2-yard TD run that pushed Clemson’s lead to 24-0.
Kindell fumbled after a hard hit by C.J. Kubah-Taylor on the ensuing kickoff, Kylon Griffin scooped up the ball and raced 17 yards to paydirt for a 31-0 advantage.
Hauser gave Clemson a 34-0 halftime lead by hammering a 59-yard field goal into the breeze with 47 seconds remaining in the second. It was the second-longest kick in school history, 2 yards shy of Spencer Benton’s 61-yarder against Ball State in 2012.
Charleston Southern’s defense held Clemson at the Bucs 2-yard line for a turnover on downs in the third quarter. Hauser completed the scoring 17 seconds into the fourth with his third field goal, a 44-yarder.
The Tigers are 2-0 all-time against Charleston Southern. They won the first meeting 66-17 in 2023.
–Field Level Media
