Field Level Media
Sep 21, 2019
Top-ranked and undefeated Clemson got touchdowns from seven different players Saturday night in a 52-10 victory against visiting Charlotte.
Sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes in less than a quarter of playing time as the Tigers moved to 4-0.
The victory was the 19th in a row for Clemson (4-0), extending the nation's longest active winning streak. The streak is the longest in school history and the second-longest in Atlantic Coast Conference history.
The game also was the 150th as a head coach for Clemson's Dabo Swinney, joining the late Frank Howard, who coached 295 games from 1940 to 1969, as the only head coaches to lead the Tigers in 150 career games.
Swinney's record is 120-30, which translates to a winning percentage of .800 -- the 17th-best success rate of any coach in major college football history with at least 10 years of experience.
Against Charlotte (2-2) of Conference USA, it took all of two plays for Clemson to score, with Lawrence lofting a 58-yard bomb to a streaking Tee Higgins for the touchdown.
On Charlotte's ensuing possession, Clemson safety K'Von Wallace intercepted a Chris Reynolds pass and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown and 14-0 lead.
B.T. Potter added a 22-yard field goal, Lawrence a two-yard pass to Cornell Powell and Travis Etienne and Lyn-J Dixon each added short touchdown runs as the Tigers built their lead to 38-3 by halftime.
In the second half, backup quarterback Chase Brice threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Joseph Ngata -- the first scoring catch of Ngata's Clemson career -- to put the Tigers ahead 45-3.
Freshman running back Michel Dukes added a 24-yard touchdown run with 6:12 remaining.
Charlotte scored its lone touchdown following a Clemson miscue. Will Swinney fumbled as he was hit while fielding a punt with 9:51 left in the third quarter, and the 49ers scored three plays later on an eight-yard run by Reynolds.
Running back Benny LeMay, who had rushed for at least 100 yards in each of the 49ers' first three games, had 81 yards on 18 attempts -- the highest total ever by a Charlotte running back against a Power 5 opponent.
--Field Level Media