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No. 7 Clemson overwhelms Citadel

Nov 24, 2013 - 1:13 AM Clemson, SC (SportsNetwork.com) - Tajh Boyd was 21-of-28 passing with 288 yards and five touchdowns, powering the seventh-ranked Clemson Tigers to a 52-6 rout of the Citadel Bulldogs.

Martavis Bryant, Mike Williams, Sammy Watkins, Stanton Seckinger, Daniel Rodriguez and Roderick McDowell each caught a touchdown pass for Clemson (10-1), which has won four straight.

"This game was exactly like you would want to script it. We had an almost flawless first half, and I'm happy to see our seniors on the field," said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney.

Ben Dupree carried the ball 23 times for 69 yards and Darien Robinson had 17 carries for 45 yards for the Bulldogs (5-7), who had a three-game win streak snapped.

"I was disappointed. I believe we could have played better. From an offensive standpoint I wish we could have had some more first downs, and could have held on to the ball. Their defensive scheme is the best we have gone against in our four years running the triple option. The talent they have is something we have not seen in a long time," said Citadel coach Kevin Higgins.

Boyd started the Tigers' second drive with three straight passes to Watkins and found Seckinger for a 24-yard touchdown pass two plays later.

Clemson continued to drive down field with ease as its next possession began on its own 5-yard line. Boyd took the offense 95 yards in eight plays and hit Williams for a 30-yard touchdown reception.

Watkins hauled in an 8-yard score to cap the Tigers' next possession and Quandon Christian returned a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-0.

Boyd found Bryant for a 19-yard touchdown and flipped a 9-yard score to Roderick McDowell to put Clemson up, 42-0, heading into the break.

Thomas Warren's 42-yard field goal got the Bulldogs on the board midway through the third before Chandler Catanzaro knocked through a 32-yard field goal on Clemson's ensuing sequence.

Cole Stoudt took over for Boyd late in the third and hit Daniel Rodriguez for a 2-yard score on a 4th-and-goal.

Citadel then took 12:16 off the clock on a 21-play, 63-yard drive, but settled for a Warren 29-yard field goal with 1:54 left.

Game Notes

Stoudt finished the game 3-for-4 with 62 yards and a touchdown ... Boyd's third of his five touchdown passes became his 100th of his collegiate career ... The Bulldogs are now 0-17 all-time against nationally-ranked FBS teams and have never beaten an ACC opponent when that team was a member of the conference ... The Bulldogs and Tigers have met 37 times with Clemson holding the 31-5-1 advantage ... The Citadel has lost its last 16 meetings against Clemson and is winless in 28 games against schools that were playing as a member of the ACC ... Watkins caught seven passes for 58 yards and Martavis Bryant caught four passes for 84 yards for Clemson.