Clemson Defeats NC State, 59-35, Wins 800th Game
CLEMSON, S.C. - An explosive offense and opportunistic defense helped Clemson become the 14th FBS program and first in the ACC to win 800 games with a 59-35 victory over NC State (2-2, 0-1 ACC) in a sold-out Memorial Stadium in the 92nd installment of the Textile Bowl. Junior quarterback Cade Klubnik continued his strong play, leading the Tigers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) to touchdowns on seven of his nine drives, accounting for four of them in helping Clemson finish with 254 passing yards and 269 yards on the ground.
The Tiger defense forced two first-quarter turnovers and the offense was able to capitalize, jumping out to a 28-0 lead after the first quarter and a 45-7 halftime lead.
Klubnik finished 16-for-24 for 209 yards and three scores through the air and ran for 70 yards on four carries, including a career-long 55-yard touchdown. Klubnik has led Clemson to touchdowns on 15 of his past 17 drives and accounted for 11 touchdowns (eight passing, three rushing) in that span.
Running back Phil Mafah rushed for 107 yards on seven carries, including a 38-yard touchdown run. On the touchdown run, Mafah (2,056) became the 22nd player in school history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards.
Defensively, the Tigers forced two first-quarter fumbles deep in NC State territory and cornerback Ashton Hampton added a 53-yard interception for a touchdown late in the third quarter. The Tigers finished with eight tackles for loss, including four from freshman linebacker Sammy Brown and two from sophomore defensive end T.J. Parker, who also forced a fumble on his sack in the first quarter. Brown’s 4.0 tackles for loss were the most by a Tiger since Jake Venables also had 4.0 against Wofford in 2019.
Klubnik opened the scoring with a career-long 55-yard touchdown run on the fourth play from scrimmage, opting to keep the ball and bursting up the middle untouched. It marked the longest run by a Clemson quarterback since Trevor Lawrence’s 67-yard touchdown run against Ohio State in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.
Following a scoreless drive by the Wolfpack and pinned back on the 9-yard line, Mafah got the drive moving with a 34-yard rush. Three plays later, Klubnik completed a 31-yard pass to Antonio Williams while on the run for a touchdown. The scoring drive covered 91 yards in only 1:34 in elapsed game time, giving Clemson a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Cade Denhoff recovered a fumble forced by Parker on the NC State 18-yard line during the Wolfpack’s ensuing drive. Set up in the red zone, the Klubnik and Williams duo connected again, scoring another two-yard passing touchdown which made the score 21-0, marking Williams' second multi-touchdown game of his career.
The Tiger defense continued to pressure the Wolfpack as Avieon Terrell forced and recovered another NC State fumble. On the next play, Mafah scored Clemson’s fourth touchdown of the day on its fourth offensive drive with a 38-yard run, extending the Tigers’ lead to 28-0 with 2:08 left in the first quarter.
After Clemson’s first scoreless drive of the game, the Wolfpack earned their first points of the game when Jordan Waters ran for a five-yard touchdown. Clemson responded as wide receiver Cole Turner scored his first career touchdown of any kind on an 18-yard run to make the score 35-7. The touchdown run by Turner was the first rushing score by a Clemson receiver since Will Swinney scored on a fake field goal against UConn in 2021.
Jay Haynes later capped a nine-play, 89-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown run, his first of the season. As time ran out in the first half, Nolan Hauser made a 20-yard field goal for the Tigers, giving Clemson a 45-7 lead headed into the break.
Rolling into the second half, Klubnik connected with Adam Randall for a four-yard touchdown reception on Clemson’s first possession out of halftime, his third touchdown pass of the game. NC State responded on the next drive with a 10-yard rushing touchdown by Kendrick Raphael.
Both Clemson and NC State went on to punt on the next three possessions. The 6:07-long scoring drought was snapped when Hampton intercepted a C.J. Bailey pass and sprinted 53 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown, extending the lead to 59-14.
NC State scored back-to-back touchdowns to start the fourth quarter and added another with five seconds left in the game to pull the final margin to 24 points.
Clemson will play the third leg of its current three-game homestand on Saturday, Sept. 28 when the Tigers face Stanford on Homecoming. That game is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.