CLEMSON, S.C. _ Dabo Swinney wanted to see his team play well in all three phases of the game for 60 minutes Saturday against South Carolina State.
Clemson's first 30 minutes were so good the Tigers didn't have to.
Clemson (3-0) set a record with 31 first-quarter points on its way to a 59-0 win over the Bulldogs (0-3) at Death Valley. The Tigers led 45-0 at the half prompting Swinney and S.C. State coach Buddy Pough to agree to shorten the quarters in the second half to 12 minutes.
"The refs came to me right before the half and said would I be OK with some type of shortening of the game if South Carolina State was. I said, 'That would be fine with me,' " Swinney said. "I don't think I've ever been involved in that."
Three Clemson quarterbacks threw touchdown passes, and seven Tigers found the end zone. Clemson outgained the Bulldogs 555-102 yards.
The Tigers put points on the board on nine of their first 10 drives, failing to score only when Greg Huegel's second-quarter field-goal attempt was blocked.
"They were dialed in, and I knew they were going to play well," Swinney said of his offense. "It's been a very good week. They had an edge about them all week."
Clemson played three quarterbacks in the first quarter and 65 players in the first half, dominating in every way.
S.C. State didn't help itself by giving Clemson a touchdown. The Tigers led 14-0 with 5:20 remaining in the first quarter, Huegel kicked off to Ahmaad Harris in the end zone. Harris caught the ball and tossed it toward an official instead of taking a knee. The ball landed in the end zone and Clemson's Denzel Johnson recovered it for a touchdown.
In addition to Johnson, freshmen Diondre Overton and Tavien Feaster and sophomore Trevion Thompson scored their first career touchdowns.
"I was excited to see those guys play and get some experience and see them cut it loose," Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson said. "We want to dominate each and every opponent. We want to make sure that we play to a standard. We can't play to our opponent's standard. We have to play to Clemson's standard and dominate."
Watson finished 12-for-15 for 152 yards with three touchdowns. Backup Nick Schuessler was 7-for-11 for 118 yards and a score and Kelly Bryant also threw a touchdown.
Ray-Ray McCloud was Clemson's leading receiver with four catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Williams caught four balls for 47 yards. Deon Cain added a touchdown catch.
Feaster led the Tigers with 12 carries for 83 yards and the score.
Bulldogs quarterback Caleb York completed 8 of 22 passes for 54 yards with an interception. Lynard Jamison led S.C. State in receiving with three catches for 33 yards, while Labron Morris rushed for 41 yards.
