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CLEMSON -- With a make-believe Clemson team standing at the top of the hill as halftime began, ACC Network sideline reporter Katie George had a question for Dabo Swinney:
How jealous are you that you can't be a part of the movie "Safety," which chronicles Ray Ray McElrathbey's 2006 decision to take custody of his 11-year-old brother?
For once, Swinney was at a loss for words. He waited several seconds before giving his answer.
"Well," he said. "It's pretty cool."
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Maybe he should've told her he's the director of a real-life movie, one that no one would've conceived 13 years ago when Swinney was a receivers coach for a program that couldn't get out of its own way.
The filming of the Ray Ray movie was one reason fans packed Death Valley for a game against a massive underdog.
But the main reason was the desire to see a blockbuster hit that takes place on Saturdays during the fall.
With Justyn Ross out nursing a sore hip and Trevor Lawrence playing just three possessions, Clemson dusted Charlotte 52-10.
Swinney went to great lengths to talk up Charlotte earlier in the week, saying the 49ers were capable of embarrassing the No. 1 team in the country.
No one took those words very seriously, except for maybe his players.
Clemson dominated from beginning to end to improve to 4-0 while extending its winning streak to 19 games.
"I think we played 110 guys, which was a blast," Swinney said. "I think the record was 94, so we shattered that."
After its two victories thus far under first-year coach Will Healy, Charlotte turned its locker room into a "Lit Room" by turning off the lights and converting it into a strobe-filled dance club as the team put the fun in the winning.
Death Valley turned on the lights, and the 49ers' party was over.
Swinney and Healy share a friendship and kinship; Healy considers Swinney's culture the model for what he wants to build, and the two spent almost 10 minutes chatting before the game as their wives met and conversed.
Maybe that mutual appreciation is why Swinney decided to call off the dogs early.
After throwing to Cornell Powell for a 2-yard touchdown strike to put Clemson up 24-0 with four seconds gone in the second quarter, Lawrence was done for the evening.
Later in the second quarter, Swinney didn't bother to use any timeouts to try to get the ball back after Charlotte took over at its 2-yard line with 1:23 left and Clemson up 35.
"We want to beat the opponent but we don’t want to embarrass anybody," Swinney said. "We could’ve scored 100 points if we left Trevor out there."
Lawrence completed 7 of 9 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns, including a 58-yard laser to Tee Higgins for a touchdown just 1:25 into the game. Lawrence now has seven touchdown passes and five interceptions on the season.
Travis Etienne had 11 carries for 61 yards and Lyn-J Dixon rushed for 58 yards on eight carries as the Tigers emphasized the run early.
With Ross out shaking off a hip-flexor injury, Joseph Ngata led the Tigers in receiving with three catches for 62 yards -- including a 37-yard touchdown toss from Chase Brice.
Clemson was up 14-0 after just two offensive plays, thanks to K'Von Wallace's 66-yard interception return for a touchdown with 10:24 left.
Charlotte got its touchdown after Will Swinney fumbled a punt to set up the 49ers at Clemson's 12-yard line.
Other than that, the only concerning development was Charlotte's ability to run the ball fairly consistently. After allowing 52 yards on the ground to Texas A&M and 15 to Syracuse, Clemson yielded 153 rushing yards to the 49ers.
Benny LeMay ran for 81 yards on 18 carries, and Aaron McAllister totaled 36 yards on eight attempts.
Clemson was 5-of-9 on third downs after converting 8 of 23 against Syracuse and Texas A&M. The 49ers were 4-of-14 on third downs, and Clemson collected seven tackles for loss.
Charlotte also had 11 penalties for 106 yards.
"The biggest thing for us is we got better," Swinney said. "Our goal was to show some maturity. ... I think we got better as a team."
The seven-minute movie filming at halftime was probably more interesting than anything that happened otherwise.
Which is a good thing in this almost too-good-to-be-true movie they call Clemson football under Dabo.
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