Clemson scored touchdowns on each of its first four offensive drives to build an insurmountable lead by the end of the first quarter, and the Tigers cruised from there to beat UNC 38-10 at Kenan Stadium Saturday afternoon. It’s Carolina’s second straight loss.

“Disappointing outcome for us today,” said head coach Bill Belichick after the game. “I thought we had a good week. I think we were ready to go. Unfortunately, we gave up some big plays early in the game that tilted the game, and were just never able to recover.”

Tiger quarterback Cade Klubnik torched the Tar Heel defense in the opening half, entering the locker room with 21 completions in 23 attempts for 251 yards and four touchdowns. But it wasn’t Klubnik who threw Clemson’s first touchdown pass; receiver Antonio Williams found teammate T.J. Moore for a 75-yard score on a trick play on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage. It gave Clemson a 7-0 lead after just 11 seconds.

The Tigers were only just getting started. Clemson’s next three drives lasted three, five and seven plays and all resulted in touchdowns of 35, 45 and 23 yards. The fourth touchdown came with one second remaining in the first quarter to increase the Clemson advantage to 28-3. After 15 minutes, the Tigers were on pace for more than 1,000 yards of total offense.

The UNC offense was no match for the onslaught, as quarterback Max Johnson – starting in place of the injured Gio Lopez – managed only 66 passing yards in the first half. UNC only had 78 total yards as a team in the half, with a Rece Verhoff field goal on the opening drive serving as its only points.

“I thought we had some good drives,” said Johnson, who finished 26-42 for 213 yards. “Didn’t finish in a touchdown or a field goal… [Clemson is] a good team. Their record doesn’t speak for itself. They’ve got really good players. So do we. But we’ve gotta come together and get ready to work.”

The Tigers finished with 488 total yards of offense, compared to only 270 for Carolina. Clemson’s 38 points scored were also its most in a game all season; the Tigers came into the afternoon as the only ACC team averaging fewer than 20 points per game.

“Coaches tell us fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals,” said Jordan Shipp, who finished as UNC’s leading receiver with five catches for 41 yards while wearing Tylee Craft’s No. 13 jersey. “That’s on us to go out there to do it. That’s on me as a captain to make sure that my guys are doing what Coach wants us to do. That’s something I’ll take blame in.”

The win is Clemson’s seventh in a row against the Tar Heels and increases its overall lead in the series to 41-19-1. UNC hasn’t beaten the Tigers since 2010. It’s also UNC’s third straight loss to an FBS team at Kenan Stadium.

UNC is now 2-3 on the season. The Tar Heels will have their second open date of the year next weekend before returning to action at Cal Friday, October 17 at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward

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