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Clemson blasts South Carolina State

Sep 7, 2014 - 7:12 AM Clemson, SC (SportsNetwork.com) - Cole Stoudt threw for 302 yards with a touchdown and Deshaun Watson added three scoring passes, as 23rd-ranked Clemson rolled to a 73-7 victory over South Carolina State Saturday at Death Valley.

Stoudt completed 22-of-31 passes and Watson was 8-of-9 for 154 yards, as both quarterbacks had their way with the overmatched Bulldogs of the FCS. Artavis Scott hauled in six passes for 164 yards with two touchdowns for Clemson (1-1), which bounced back from last Saturday's 45-21 loss at Georgia and has next week off before visiting defending national champion Florida State in its ACC opener on Sept. 20.

"This was a great win and I'm proud of our team today," said Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. "We had to respond after last week and I think we did."

The Tigers rolled up 735 yards of total offense, amassing 467 through the air and 268 on the ground. Wayne Gallman ran for 77 yards on 10 carries and Adam Choice added 74 yards with a touchdown on 12 attempts.

Dominique Mitchell returned a fumble 35 yards in the fourth quarter for South Carolina State's lone touchdown. The Bulldogs (1-1), coming off a 63-0 win over Division II Benedict College last week, managed just 44 yards of total offense on Saturday.

Clemson quickly took a 7-0 lead, as Stoudt's 34-yard pass to Mike Williams keyed a 68-yard drive that ended in a 2-yard touchdown run by Adam Humphries less than 2 1/2 minutes into the game.

A fourth-down conversion early on the next Clemson series and a 15-yard run by Choice on 3rd-and-1 led to a 22-yard field goal from Ammon Lakip for a 10-0 edge.

Watson got the nod at quarterback for Clemson's fourth possession and led a 79-yard touchdown drive, throwing a 7-yard scoring strike to Charone Peake on the first play of the second quarter for a 17-0 cushion.

Stoudt was back under center for the next offensive set and threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Scott. He then led Clemson to a 38-yard Lakip field goal for a 27-0 margin midway through the second.

Watson returned the next time Clemson had the ball and completed passes of 16 and 37 yards during a 6-play set that ended with C.J. Davidson's 6-yard TD run.

Clemson's initial series of the third quarter featured four Stoudt completions to set up 1st-and-goal from the six. After a pair of misfires, D.J. Howard scored on a 6-yard run to make it 41-0.

The rout continued with a 24-yard Lakip field goal and a 34-yard TD pass from Watson to Jay Jay McCullough, before Jadar Johnson returned an interception 60 yards for a score to make it 58-0 late in the third.

Watson threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Scott early in the fourth and the Tigers tacked on a safety soon after when a South Carolina punt snap went out of the end zone. Choice's 4-yard TD run with 8:36 remaining capped Clemson's barrage.

The Tigers' scoring output was their largest since an 82-24 win over Wake Forest in 1981.

Game Notes

Clemson improved to 29-0 all-time against FCS competition since the division was formed in 1978 ... The Tigers did not punt ... Clemson has won all three meetings against South Carolina State, posting a 54-0 win in 2008 and a 52-13 triumph last year ... South Carolina State had just seven yards rushing and 37 yards passing with five first downs.