Andre's big day not enough for Bulldogs

CLEMSON — For a guy offered scholarships only by Coastal Carolina and The Citadel, Andre Roberts looked right at home at Death Valley on Saturday afternoon.

Roberts, the Bulldogs' FCS All-American receiver, showed that he might win a few awards on Clemson's FBS level, as well.

The 5-11, 175-pound junior from Columbia put together a highlight reel against the Tigers' vaunted secondary, catching nine passes for 153 yards and a touchdown. He also returned a punt 33 yards.

It wasn't enough to prevent a 45-17 loss to the Tigers, but it left an impression on Clemson coach Tommy Bowden and the 76,000 fans at Memorial Stadium.

"Good, he's real good," Bowden said. "There are a lot of NFL players from I-AA (the FCS), and he might be one of them."

Roberts got deep for a 41-yard TD pass from quarterback Bart Blanchard late in the first half, and caught a 42-yarder from Blanchard earlier in the game.

"They've got some of the best players in the country here at Clemson," Citadel coach Kevin Higgins said, "and Andre looked like he belonged in the pack. He got deep behind the secondary a couple of times, caught the football and accelerated after the catch. I thought he had some real impressive runs."

Roberts' TD catch came with the Bulldogs down 21-0 late in the first half. On second-and-12 from the Tigers' 41, Blanchard rolled to his right and kept his eye on Clemson's backside cornerback, who followed wide receiver Scott Flanagan to that side.

"When that corner went with Scott, I knew I'd have Andre open," Blanchard said. "But then I saw out of the corner of my eye a guy coming at me, so I said, 'I've got to get rid of this.' I threw it as far as I could, and luckily Andre got to it."

Said Roberts, "Bart told me that he got hit and just threw it up, that he didn't see me. But I saw the ball in the air and knew I had to go get it."

Making his fifth college start, Blanchard was 22 of 35 for 279 yards, but threw three interceptions. One came on the final play of the first half, when he was hit by defensive end Kourtnei Brown as he threw for running back Rickey Anderson, Clemson safety Michael Hamlin making the first of his three interceptions.

Blanchard's second pick was a bad throw, high and behind Flanagan and straight to Hamlin. On the third, Hamlin made a nice break on a ball over the middle.

"Very, very good first half for Bart," said Higgins after Blanchard was 14 of 21 for 229 yards in the first 30 minutes. "In the third quarter, it caught up to him a little bit. He had a little pressure and probably would like those two balls back, one for sure that he forced and overthrew across the middle."

The Bulldogs' production — 338 passing yards and 427 total — left Roberts and crew encouraged.

"Definitely," Roberts said. "Overall, our team play was real good at times. But we just can't turn it over as many times as we did."

Notes

--Nose guard Terrence Reese, who missed the opener with ankle and knee injuries, did not play against Clemson. He'll have an open date now before the Sept. 20 game with Princeton ... Ryan Jones earned the start at one cornerback, in place of Shaquill Smith ... Running back Cody Wilson, the contact-lens issue that cost him a start against Webber International apparently solved, started the game, with Rickey Anderson and Asheton Jordan also seeing action. But QB Blanchard led the rushing with 27 yards on nine carries.

--Penalties hurt the Bulldogs in the first half, as they totaled six flags for 45 yards. One was a mysterious clipping call on freshman WR Luke Caldwell on the play after a 42-yard Blanchard-to-Roberts pass in the first quarter. That turned a first down at the Clemson 33 into first-and-25 at the 48, and the Bulldogs ended up missing a 48-yard field goal. Three plays later, Clemson's James Davis scored from 38 yards out for the Tigers' first TD.

"Our guys said it was a good block the whole way," Higgins said. "I'm not sure where that came from."

Clemson's second TD drive was helped along by three offsides penalties against the Bulldogs' defense, including one by lineman Erik Clanton on third-and-1. Higgins said Clemson QB Cullen Harper did a good job selling a hard count on those plays.

--Higgins' concerns about the Bulldogs' kicking game were borne out in the first half, as low snaps from longsnapper Bobby Jarvis hampered field-goal tries of 48 and 39 yards by Sam Keeler. Both kicks missed, but Keeler did make a 27-yarder in the fourth quarter ... Freshman LB Jeremy Buncum led the Bulldogs with seven tackles, one for loss ... Rod Harland and Jon Vest recovered fumbles, and Buncum and Harland each had a tackle for loss ... Freshmen who played included Harland, Jordan, Demontrelle Smith, DeAndre Smith, Chris Hammett, Ryan Williams and Caldwell, who caught a 50-yard TD from backup QB Cam Turner.