Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Clemson Tigers

·Oct 17, 2026·11:00 AM CT·ACC Network·Clemson, SC

By JR·2 min read

Charleston Southern(3-3)

Clemson(3-2)

11:00 AM

TLDR: Two weeks after Miami beat Clemson 41-13 in Death Valley, the Tigers get Charleston Southern at home. This one is about patching holes and finding out who is playing quarterback.

SAT 10/17, SAT OCT 17, 11:00 AM CT · Week 7 ACC Network

Charleston Southern

(3-3)

WLWWL

Clemson

(3-2)

LWWWL

Kickoff 67°

Clemson (3-2, unranked) hosts FCS Charleston Southern (2-3) two weeks after a 41-13 home loss to Miami that included a pick-six and a lost fumble from Tait Reynolds. The Tigers are thin at running back, with 2 backs out for the season and Haynes also out, and Vizzina has been questionable with an elbow injury. The Buccaneers' offense is coming off 178 yards and 0 third-down conversions against Gardner-Webb. The question is how cleanly Clemson's patched-up offense handles a mismatch that should be lopsided on paper. No odds are posted yet.

Charleston Southern Buccaneers

Held Gardner-Webb to 12 points
Won a road game at The Citadel, 26-20
178 yards, 0-for-12 on third down vs Gardner-Webb
Shut out 31-0 by Georgia Southern
Gave up 5 sacks last time out

Clemson Tigers

Beat common opponent Georgia Southern 22-7
Neither team plays before this one, so Clemson has 2 weeks to heal
QB unsettled: Vizzina elbow, Reynolds turnovers vs Miami
3 running backs out, 2 for the season
Outscored 92-23 by LSU and Miami

Start with what happened on October 3, because that is what Clemson has to fix. Miami pulled away in the second half, and by the end Tait Reynolds was the Clemson quarterback throwing into coverage. JJ Dunigan read one of his throws to the outside and took it back for a pick-six, and Reynolds also lost a fumble on a late scramble. Christopher Vizzina was listed questionable with an elbow injury going into that game, so the first question for Saturday, October 17 is simple: whose offense is this when Charleston Southern comes to Memorial Stadium?

The Clemson injury report hurts most at running back. J. Haynes was out against Miami. D. Eziomume and P. Streko are both done for the season. Wide receivers K. McGriff and C. Turner have also been listed out. Neither team has another game on the schedule before this one, so Clemson gets 2 full weeks to heal and sort out the depth chart. Against an FCS opponent, the most useful thing this game can do is get some real reps to whoever is next in line in the backfield.

Charleston Southern comes in with an offense that has stalled. In a 12-10 home loss to Gardner-Webb, the Buccaneers finished with 178 total yards and 38 passing yards. They went 0-for-12 on third down, gave up 5 sacks, and didn't score in the 4th quarter. It was their 5th straight loss to Gardner-Webb. Charleston Southern is now 2-3 and 0-2 in the OVC, and that is the offense heading into a Power 4 stadium.

The two teams do have 1 common opponent. Charleston Southern lost 31-0 at Georgia Southern, and Clemson beat the Eagles 22-7 at home. That is a 37-point gap, but it doesn't make Clemson's season look great. The Tigers lost 51-10 at LSU and 41-13 to Miami, and the wins over Georgia Southern, North Carolina and Cal were by 15 points or fewer. They're 3-2 and unranked because the offense hasn't kept up with Clemson's usual standard.

Charleston Southern's best case is to keep it ugly. The Bucs held Gardner-Webb to 12 points, and they won 26-20 at The Citadel, so this defense can make a game grind. The problem is that holding Clemson down requires the offense to pick up a third down now and then, and two weeks ago it couldn't pick up 1. For Clemson, the goal is a clean game. That means a quarterback who protects the ball and a backfield that stays healthy into the second half, so the Tigers can treat this as a reset before ACC play resumes.

Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Clemson Tigers

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