Clemson vs. Florida Atlantic Owls Game Notes |
• The Clemson Tigers played 52 players in the first quarter and 73 for the game.
• Head Coach Tommy Bowden played 20 true or red-shirt freshmen in Clemson's season opening win over Florida Atlantic. Eight of those players were first-year freshmen. • True freshman Jacoby Ford (#6) returned a punt 92 yards after field, fumbling, then scooping up the 42-yard punt to score the first touchdown of his Clemson career. That return also ranks as the longest punt return in Tiger history, as Richie Luzzi's 108-yard return in 1968 was actually a missed field goal return. • Thomas Hunter's (#89) 28-yard catch in the second quarter was a career-best for the senior from Marion, SC. • Sophomore Michael Hamlin's (#25) 74-yard Interception return was the longest by a Clemson player since Rex Verne 94-yard return at NC State in 1978. • James Davis (#1) led the Tigers in rushing yardage in today's win over the Owls. The sophomore from Atlanta, GA, rushed for 94 yards on 14 carries, marking the fifth time in his career that he has carried for at least 94 yards. • In his second career start senior quarterback Will Proctor (#14) completed 13 of 20 pass attempts for 166 yards and three touchdowns. For his career, Proctor is 31-54 for 447 yards with six touchdowns for a 57.4 completion percentage. • The last time a Clemson quarterback threw three touchdowns in the season opener was in 2000 when Woodrow Dantzler tossed three touchdown passes in a 38-0 win over the Citadel. The only other quarterback to accomplish the feat was in 1995, when Nealon Greene scored three touchdown passes in a 55-9 win over Western Carolina. • The Tigers' 54 points are the most points scored in a Clemson season opener since 1995 when Clemson scared 55 points in its win over Western Carolina. • Clemson has had a punt return for a touchdown in its last three season openers. In 2004, Justin Miller returned a punt for 69 yards, while Chansi Stuckey returned a 40-yard punt for a touchdown in 2005. • Today's game against the Owls marks the fourth time since 1980 and the first time in a season opener In which the Tigers were not forced to punt. In 1988, Clemson had back-to-back games without a punt (North Carolina, Maryland), and in 1981 the Tigers did not punt in their win over Wake Forest. • Sergio Gilliam's fumble return for a touchdown is the first for Tiger since J.J. Howard's 17-yard return against Furman in 2003. It was the first time a Clemson player has returned a fumble for a touchdown in a season-opening game since 1996 when Chris Jones scored a touchdown after a fumble in the Tigers' 33-0 win over Furman. • Senior placeklcker Jad Dean has scored 161 points during his career with the Tigers. He is only one point away from moving into a tie for 13th on Clemson’s all-time scoring list. • Graduate wide receiver Chansi Stuckey increased his streak of consecutive games with a catch to 22 with five receptions for 66 yards. For his career, Stuckey has 96 receptions for 1126 yards to average 13.2 yards per reception.
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