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Clemson looks to ride wave from upset of Florida State

Sep 8, 2007 - 10:28 AM UL Monroe (0-1) at No. 25 Clemson (1-0) 1:00 pm EDT

CLEMSON, South Carolina (Ticker) -- Cullen Harper and Clemson pulled off a mild upset of Florida State in their season opener. They figure to have an easier time in their second game.

After holding off the Seminoles, 25th-ranked Clemson steps out of the Atlantic Coast Conference to host Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday in the first of two straight non-conference games.

The Tigers host Furman next week before returning to ACC play on September 22 at North Carolina State.

Harper threw a pair of touchdown passes as Clemson escaped with a 24-18 victory over Florida State in Bowden Bowl IX after nearly squandering a 21-point lead midway through the third quarter.

While his statistics were modest - 14-of-24 for 160 yards - Harper became the first Clemson quarterback to beat a ranked team in his first career start.

A junior, Harper tossed TD passes of 11 yards to freshman Brian Linthicum and 41 yards to Aaron Kelly as the Tigers opened a 21-0 lead less than 17 minutes into the game.

James Davis rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries for the Tigers, who figure to have breathers the next two weeks before beginning the meat of their ACC schedule.

Louisiana-Monroe is coming off a 35-17 season-opening loss to Tulsa in which it squandered a 17-14 halftime lead. The Warhawks surrendered 523 total yards, including 307 passing.

Senior tailback Calvin Dawson rushed for 150 yards on 24 carries, his ninth career 100-yard rushing game. Dawson went over 2,000 yards for his career in the first quarter.

However, the Warhawks struggled through the air as Kinsmon Lancaster completed only 7-of-21 passes for 66 yards.

Louisiana-Monroe is in its fifth season under coach Charlie Weatherbie, who guided the Warhawks to the 2005 Sun Belt Conference championship.