CLEMSON -- Halfway through the third quarter, Beaux Collins took in a pass from Cade Klubnik and provided a sight for sore Clemson eyes:
A guy in an orange helmet running free behind a defense -- ball in his hands and everything.
And then as he neared the goal line, Collins was apparently unaware a Charleston Southern defensive back was nearby and closing in.
Collins slowed down to a jog and was lucky the ball wasn't poked free as he fell into the end zone to secure a 69-yard touchdown catch-and-run.
The sequence kind of typified how things have gone thus far for this Clemson team.
They can't even get the celebrations totally right.
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Five days after an ugly three-touchdown loss at Duke, Clemson crushed it on the statistics sheet and ultimately blasted the lowly visitors on the scoreboard.
But the detail things are still quite the chore for this team.
Mainly the offense.
And mainly the quarterback.
At the 2:30 mark of the first quarter, fans looked at the stats on the video board and saw a surreal and sadistic sight.
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Clemson led in total yards, 196-7. The Tigers had 12 first downs to Charleston Southern's zero.
And the Tigers found themselves down 14-7 before Phil Mafah plowed in from a yard out to tie the score.
That's what happens when your starting center sends a snap left and your quarterback isn't able to corral it before it hits your running back and then is recovered by the other team and taken back 25 yards to the 1-yard line (CSU was in the end zone on the next play).
That's what happens when your quarterback, facing pressure, tries to throw the ball away but doesn't see a defender standing exactly where he's throwing it (the defender, Leon Thomas, took it back 67 yards for a touchdown).
Klubnik had some rough moments in his first start at Memorial Stadium, just as he had some rough moments in his previous two starts at Duke and in the Orange Bowl against Tennessee.
A one-score game at halftime against a 59-point underdog brought double- and triple-takes across the nation.
And across the stadium.
Clemson finally pulled away with four touchdowns in the third quarter, including a 35-yard pick-6 by Wade Woodaz, on the way to a 66-17 win over the FCS foe from the Lowcountry.
The Tigers had a 679-73 advantage in total yards and a 37-4 "edge" in first downs.
Yet most fans probably walked away fretting about the visit from Florida State due in two weeks.
Klubnik threw for 315 yards on a 28-of-37 clip with four touchdowns, the pick-6 and an intentional-grounding penalty on another attempted throwaway under pressure.
The former 5-star is showing he's still a work in progress in some similar ways to DJ Uiagalelei over the past two years.
"He's a young player," Dabo Swinney said. "He's just got to play."
Collins ended up with seven catches for 137 yards on nine targets. Antonio Williams had 64 yards and two touchdowns on five grabs.
With Cole Turner out mending an injury, Troy Stellato took advantage and had 51 yards on five catches in his 2023 debut.
Clemson ran for 274 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per rush. Will Shipley led the way with 73 yards on the ground on nine carries, followed by Mafah's 59 yards on nine attempts.
The defense closed the deal on 11 of 14 third-down conversions and totaled 10 tackles for loss. Charleston Southern had just 47 offensive plays compared to 87 for Clemson.
Now comes a visit from a team from the Sunshine State, Florida Atlantic.
Clemson supporters will probably spend the week thinking more about the team from Tallahassee.
Until this team can start mastering the details, angst about that showdown is only the appropriate emotion.
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