Bryant leaves early with injury, Clemson cruises by Georgia Southern

CLEMSON, S.C. (WOLO) – Despite Hurricane Florence’s impact in the Carolinas, Clemson was able to play their week three game against Georgia Southern under mostly blue skies, defeating the Eagles Saturday 38-7.

The Tigers were the lone division one school in South Carolina, North Carolina, or Virginia to play in the wake of the storm, as 79,844 fans filled Memorial Stadium for a kickoff that was moved up three and a half hours to noon earlier in the week.

Kelly Bryant left the game early after suffering an injury in the second quarter, landing awkwardly with his chest on the football while tackled on a run play. The fifth-year senior would return later in the quarter, but leave early for the locker room before halftime. Head coach Dabo Swinney told the ESPN broadcast that Bryant was breathing heavy.

Kelly returned to the sidelines without a helmet in the second half, but did not play again.

Offensively, Clemson was sparked by Travis Etienne, who ran for 162 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns, and Trevor Lawrence, who was 12-19 for 194 yards and a score. Justyn Ross also topped the 100-yard mark, totaling 103 yards and adding a touchdown on three catches. Defensively, the Tigers held Georgia Southern scoreless through three quarters, limiting the Eagle offense to just 30 yards in the entire first half. Tre Lamar led the team with 11 total tackles, Clelin Ferrell contributed a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, and Austin Bryant matched Ferrell’s two sacks.

The teams were still in a scoreless tie after the first quarter, as the Clemson defense kept the Eagles off the board despite two Tiger turnovers during the first 15 minutes of action. Clemson broke the ice with just under nine minutes left in the first half when Etienne pushed into the endzone for a one-yard score on fourth down, putting the Tigers up 7-0. The Tigers doubled their lead three minutes later when Lawrence connected with a wide-open Ross for a 57-yard touchdown pass. Tavien Feaster punched into the endzone for a second Clemson one-yard rushing score with under a minute left in the first half to give the Tigers a 21-0 advantage, which they took into the break.

A 37-yard Greg Huegel field goal opened the second half scoring, giving Clemson a 24-0 lead with just under five minutes gone in the third quarter, and that proved to be the only scoring of that quarter.

Georgia Southern got on the board early in the fourth quarter, when Shai Werts capped off a drive started by an Eagle interception of a Lawrence pass with a six-yard rushing score. But Clemson upped its lead back to 24 points with six minutes left in the game when Etienne broke away for a 40-yard scoring run, good for his second touchdown of the day. The Tigers found the endzone one more time four minutes later on an Adam Choice 10-yard run, bringing the final score to 38-7.

Clemson goes back on the road to face Georgia Tech next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.

Clemson Athletics contributed to this article.