FINAL: Clemson 48, Furman 7
To say Kelly Bryant sputtered at the start of Clemson's matchup with Furman might be an understatement. With 80,048 fans looking on Bryant's first pass crashed well short of an open wideout. On his second snap, he fumbled the football but regained control for a short gain. Before the first possession was over, Bryant faced a 4th and 5 and failed to deliver on a deep ball giving Furman the football near midfield.
It was that type of start for Bryant, but by the end of the day, Clemson's fans saw a glimpse of the future in the Tigers' 48-7 win over Furman.
Fortunately, the Tiger defense would give Bryant a second chance three players later and Bryant took advantage hitting Amari Rodgers on a 40-yard pump and go giving Clemson a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Rodgers sparked the Tigers to three more points with a 62-yard punt return placing Clemson in scoring position. Greg Huegel, returning from an ACL tear, knocked through his first field goal of the season from 35 yards out.
Clemson's defense continued to control things at the line-of-scrimmage, forcing the Paladins to either punt or turn the ball over on downs throughout the first half.
With 13:04 left in the second quarter, Trevor Lawrence took his first career snap and handed the ball off to Travie Etienne before leading Clemson on a 9 play 30-yard scoring drive capped by a 49-yard Huegel field goal increasing the lead to 13-0.
Starting deep in their own territory, it appeared Lawrence's second drive would come to an end on a three-and-out, but after review, officials deemed that Trevion Thompson had control inbounds. That judgment call gave the Tigers an 18-yard completion keeping the drive alive. Five plays later Lawrence hit on a deep ball to Cornell Powell, rolling the pocket, for a 42-yard gain.
Lawrence would soon toss his first career touchdown pass to Diondre Overton, before leading his third scoring drive, capped off by Travis Etienne's 8-yard scamper to the end zone just before the half giving Clemson a comfortable 27-0 lead in the September heat.
The biggest question at the half was what would the second half quarterback rotation look like?
It was Bryant who got the nod, but again sputtered. However, on his next attempt, he got a chance to showcase his strength with a 25-yard touchdown run.
The next series belonged to Clemson's freshman as Lyn-J Dixon broke out on a 50-yard rush, shaking and baking, down to the 15-yard line before Lawrence hit Justyn Ross giving the freshman wideout his first career touchdown expanded the lead to 41-0.
After forcing a fumble deep in Furman territory, two plays later, Lawrence tossed his third touchdown of the day to freshman tight end Braden Galloway.
With a 48-0 lead, Clemson was content to chew some clock utilizing the backups throughout the final quarter.
Furman final put seven points on the board with a late touchdown pass from Darren Grainger to Ryan DeLuca for a 16-yard score leaving the final margin at 48-7.
Clemson moves on to face Texas A&M (1-0, 0-0) and Jimbo Fisher in College Station next Saturday.
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