CLEMSON, SC—Senior Tyler McDonald recorded his second straight 100-yard game receiving with four catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough as fourth-ranked Clemson defeated SC State, 52-13, on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

South Carolina State drops to 0-2 on the season, while the Tigers improved to 2-0 for a fourth straight season, also a schools first.

"I was really disappointed that we turned the ball over and gave them a chance to score a few times," said SC State head coach Buddy Pough. ""We didn't do a good job blocking up front."

Clemson jumped out to an early 17-0 lead off a 32-yard field goal by senior Chandler Catanzaro (6-3,200) at the 11:20 mark in the first quarter. Senior quarterback Tajh Boyd (6-1,225) put the Tigers ahead 10-0 on a 1-yard punch with 3:37 remaining.

The Tiger's defense, showed its big-play ability with a pair of interception return for touchdowns—53 yards by junior defensive back Martin Jenkins (5-9, 185) and 35-yards by senior corner back Darius Robinson (5-10, 175)—for the first time in program history. Boyd then connected on a 3-yard toss to junior Charone Peake (6-2, 205) to put the Tigers ahead, 31-7 with 5:16 remaining before the half.

South Carolina State finally broke its scoreless streak at Clemson with senior quarterback Richard Cue's 63-yard scoring toss to McDonald. McDonald also added a 51-yard TD pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback TeDarrius Wiley.

Clemson put the game out of reach on a pair of touchdown passes of 17-yards and 26 to freshman Gerome Hopper (6-0, 180) from junior backup quarterback Cole Stoudt (6-4, 210) late in the contest.
Pough stated, "Clemson is as good as we've played. But we have a long way to go to get better. The key is battling back to get to .500."

McDonald at the start of his final season needed only 28 catches to become the school's All-Time Receiving Leader—he has eight so far with 242 yards and three touchdowns in two games.

"It was exciting to have a good game personally, but I would rather have come away with a win or that we had played a more competitive game," said McDonald. "I don't really focus on the record we are just trying to work hard and get better and make a run for the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic) Championship."

Senior defensive back Kimario McFadden spearheaded the defense with a career-high 15 tackles (11 solo) and 1 TFL, while linebacker Joe Thomas finished with 10 in the loss.

South Carolina State will return to action on Saturday (Sept. 14) when they host SWAC foe Alabama A&M in a pivotal non-conference matchup at O.C. Dawson Stadium. Kick-off is 6 p.m.