Clemson, S.C. – The Citadel closed out its 2013 campaign with a 52-6 defeat at the hands of seventh-ranked Clemson on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Sixteen seniors closed out their Bulldog careers in front of a sold-out crowd of 81,554.
The crowd was the fourth largest that the Bulldogs have faced in team history and only the fifth time that The Citadel has played in front of over 80,000 fans. Florida in 1998 and 2008, along with LSU in 2002, were the only larger-attended contests.
The Citadel finished with a 5-7 record while Clemson improves to 10-1 overall and is slated to conclude its regular season next Saturday in its annual finale against South Carolina.
Senior Ben Dupree eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career late in the fourth quarter and moved into sixth place on The Citadel's all-time rushing list with 2,679 yards in his four seasons. Dupree rushed for 69 yards on 23 carries against the Tigers to become just the 14th Bulldog in school history to surpass the 1,000 plateau in a season.
Dupree also jumped two spots on the school's rushing attempts list, passing Nehemiah Broughton and Andrew Johnson for fifth place with 598. Darien Robinson moved into eighth in the same category with 488.
Robinson rushed for 45 yards on 17 carries to close out his career in fourth place in career rushing with 2,935. The senior B-back fell just 34 yards shy of 1,000 on the season.
Thomas Warren accounted for The Citadel's six points on second half field goals of 42 and 29 yards, giving the senior kicker 137 points in his career, which is good for fifth place in school history in career points by kicking. The 42-yarder is a season high for the Mt. Pleasant, S.C., native.
Warren, who took over the kicking duties in 2011, finished out his career a perfect 83-of-83 on extra point attempts and 18-of-28 on field goal attempts.
The Citadel defense stopped the prolific Clemson offense on the game's opening drive, but the Tigers scored on their next five offensive series and added a defensive touchdown on a Dupree fumble which linebacker Quandon Christian returned 22 yards for the score to give Clemson a 42-0 lead at the half.
Clemson scored all five first half offensive touchdowns through the air as Tajh Boyd went 21-for-28 with 288 yards before exiting the game late in the third quarter for backup quarterback Cole Stoudt.
After an Eric Goins punt gave the ball back to the Tigers at the start of the second half, senior defensive back Brandon McCladdie forced a fumble on Clemson running back Zac Brooks. McCladdie was able to fall on the fumble and give the ball back to the Bulldogs at the Clemson 34.
A 15-yard facemask call against the Tigers, followed by a game-high 22-yard run by Jake Stenson, gave the Bulldogs a 1st-and 10 at the Clemson 29. Three Tiger stops shy of the first down marker forced The Citadel field goal unit on the field, and the Bulldogs were on the board with three points off the leg of Warren.
A 32-yard field goal by Clemson kicker Chandler Catanzaro, followed by a Citadel three-and-out, put the ball back in Clemson's hands heading into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers drove nine plays and 75 yards in 2:29 and notched their final touchdown of the game on a two-yard shovel pass from Stoudt to Daniel Rodriguez. Rodriguez, a Purple Heart recipient, scored his first career touchdown on the play.
The Citadel followed up the Tiger touchdown with a season-high 21-play and 12:10 drive, which included Dupree's seven-yard run on third down to move the chains. Three defensive stops in the red zone by Clemson brought Warren on for his second successful attempt.
Defensively, Nick Willis led the Bulldogs with 11 tackles and one tackle for loss, while senior Sadath Jean-Pierre and freshman Tevin Floyd each recorded eight stops.
Jean-Pierre also posted a tackle for loss and pass breakup to close out his career as a Bulldog. Junior Justin Oxendine added another sack and finished out his junior season with 4.5 sacks and a team-leading 11.5 tackles for loss.
