CLEMSON, S.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College football team was defeated 59-14 by Clemson at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers scored touchdowns on their first three drives of the game on the way to the victory.
 
Wofford is 5-3 overall and Clemson, ranked third in the nation, is 9-0 on the season. The Terriers were led by Ryan Lovelace with 46 rushing yards and a touchdown, while D'mauriae VanCleave had a 79-yard touchdown catch. Travis Etienne led the Tigers with 212 rushing yards and two touchdowns, with Trevor Lawrence throwing for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
 
"We played a lot better in the second half and executed better than in the first half," said Wofford head coach Josh Conklin. "The timing of this game was less than ideal. Right now we are a little beat up after a real physical game after a top five team in the nation. We will have to respond and get back to work in the Southern Conference next Saturday."  
 
The Tigers had the ball first and scored in five plays, taking a 7-0 lead on a 35-yard pass to Amari Rodgers from Trevor Lawrence at the 13:00 mark of the first quarter. Wofford then went three-and-out and punted. Clemson then used another five-play drive that was capped by a 19-yard touchdown run by Lyn-J Dixon for a 14-0 advantage with 9:18 on the clock. Joe Newman had a first down for the Terriers on the ensuing drive before having to punt.
 
In just two plays, Travis Etienne had a 34-yard run and a 47-yard touchdown run to give Clemson a 21-0 lead at 5:53 in the first quarter. Ryan Lovelace had a first down for Wofford, but the drive stalled and Wofford punted. Clemson then had one first down before punting back to the Terriers. On the opening play of the second quarter, Travis Etienne went 86-yards for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead for the Tigers. Wofford a first down run by Jacquez Allen before a punt by Luke Carter. Clemson took six plays to score on their next drive, capped by a 22-yard pass from Trevor Lawrence to Tee Higgins for a 35-0 advantage with 8:02 left in the first half. On the next drive, Joe Newman was intercepted by Isaiah Simmons and he returned it to the 12-yard line. Lawrence scored a two-yard touchdown to make it a 42-0 game with 4:47 on the clock. After a first down run by Joe Newman, the Terriers had to punt. The Tigers had one first down before the half ended.
 
On the opening drive of the second half, Wofford went three-and-out and punted. The Tigers were able to put together a six-play drive that covered 84 yards and was capped by a 34-yard touchdown pass to Justyn Ross from Trevor Lawrence. Clemson held a 49-0 lead with 10:48 on the clock in the third quarter.  The Terriers had a first down reception by Jacquez Allen and then he caught a 22-yard pass to move inside the 30-yard line. A 20-yard touchdown run by Ryan Lovelace with 6:36 left in the quarter made it a 49-7 game.  
 
The Tigers answered the touchdown with a three-yard touchdown run by Darien Rencher for a 56-7 at the 3:10 mark of the third quarter. Wofford answered with a 79-yard touchdown pass from Joe Newman to D'mauriae VanCleave to make it a 56-14 game with 2:09 left in the quarter. The Terrier defense then forced the Tigers to punt after gaining one first down. Wofford went three-and-out and punted. Clemson had two first downs, but then missed a 35-yard field goal with 9:20 remaining in the game. Wofford had a first down by Jacquez Allen, but a fumble by Miller Mosley was recovered by Clemson at the 20-yard line. The Tigers then converted a 35-yard field goal for a 59-14 score with 5:07 remaining. Wofford had one first down before punting again and Clemson gained one first down to run out the clock.  
 
Wofford had 256 total yards, with 139 rushing yards. Clemson had 702 total yards, 419 of which were rushing. Wofford had 10 first downs, while Clemson had 28. Wofford was 5-of-15 on third down and Clemson was 4-of-8 on third down. Wofford was called for two penalties to six for the Tigers. Wofford had a 34:27 to 25:33 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Clemson Post-Game Notes
Clemson has a 13-3 lead in the series that dates to 1896 and have won the last six meetings.
 
The 79-yard touchdown reception by D'mauriae VanCleave was the longest play from scrimmage by Wofford this season. He also has an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown.
 
The 14 points scored by Wofford against the Tigers are more than Texas A&M (10), Syracuse (6), Charlotte (10), Louisville (10) and Boston College (7) were able to score. Only North Carolina (20) has scored more than Wofford.
 
Keyvaun Cobb, Ryan Titus and Mason Alstatt tied for the team high with six tackles.
 
Game captains were Joe Newman, Justus Basinger, Mason Alstatt, Jireh Wilson and Blake Morgan.    
 
Attendance was 81,500 at Memorial Stadium, the largest crowd ever to see Wofford play.
 
The Terriers will travel to face Mercer on November 9 in Macon, Ga., before returning home on November 16 against Furman.