Clemson hammers S.C. State

CLEMSON - Against an overmatched opponent, Clemson's James Davis brought "Thunder" back to Death Valley.

The senior tailback, the power part of Clemson's "Thunder and Lightning" backfield, rushed for three touchdowns to lead the 23rdranked Tigers (3-1) past South Carolina State 54-0 on Saturday.

Former Gaffney High quarterback Malcolm Long had a rough outing for South Carolina State, completing 15 of 32 passes for 162 yards. He was picked off three times. Another former Gaffney High star, Julius Wilkerson, had an interception for South Carolina State.

Davis ran for 1,000 yards or more each of the past two seasons. He declared for the NFL draft in January before deciding to return to try for Clemson's first Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1991.

But it had been a slow start for the powerful back. He had just one touchdown and had averaged less than 52 yards a game coming in. Davis knew he needed to do more.

"The coaches have been telling me all week I've got to be the one to set the tempo for this team," Davis said. "That's kind of what I tried to do."

There was little the Bulldogs (2-2) could do to stop him.

Davis had runs of 23 and 25 yards on Clemson's first series, which ended with his 1-yard TD burst.

He added scoring runs of 5 and 1 yard as the Tigers opened a 30-0 lead by halftime.

After Davis' opening surge, "I tried to light my guys up, try to do everything I can to bring excitement out of my team," he said.

It worked. Clemson cruised to its first shutout in two years and improved to 22-0 against Championship Subdivision opponents.

This one, though, figured to be tighter than most.

Clemson had either signed or looked hard at several of the Bulldogs standouts like runner Will Ford and receiver Phillip Morris. Clemson coach Tommy Bowden warned his players all week long they'd rarely see a FCS team like this one.

Plus there was the spice of brotherly competition: Tigers safety Michael Hamlin facing brothers Markee and Marquais of South Carolina State, and Clemson linebacker coach David Blackwell scheming against his brother, Joe, the Bulldogs' run game coordinator.