The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2017 season / Reign #298 · Game 1,516 of 1,643
September 2, 2017 Week 1 · Regular Season Belt defended

Clemson defends the belt, 56–3, at home over Kent State.

Home · Defending Holder
ClemsonAP No. 5 56
AT
Away · Challenger
Kent State 3

AP poll, week 1: Kent State unranked at Clemson No. 5 · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Clemson came in 236 days into reign #298, which began with a win over Alabama, with no defenses yet; this was its first defense. Clemson went on to defend it 5 more times before Syracuse took it on October 13, 2017, 277 days after the reign began.

For Kent State this was its first shot at the belt; it had never held the belt. It still hasn’t: 2 attempts in all, every one of them a loss or a tie.

This is the only time Clemson and Kent State have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Clemson's defense suffocated Kent State from the opening kickoff, forcing the Golden Flashes into a one-dimensional offensive attack that managed just 120 total yards and a single field goal. The Tigers' offense was devastating in response, with Kelly Bryant orchestrating a relentless assault that included touchdown passes to Milan Richard and Deon Cain in the first quarter alone, followed by a 47-yard scoring run in the second quarter. Kent State's only bright spot came when Shane Hynes connected on a 37-yard field goal in the second quarter, but Clemson's offense never relented, with C.J. Fuller, Tavien Feaster, and Travis Etienne all punching in rushing touchdowns as the Tigers systematically dominated the line of scrimmage. The final 56-3 scoreline fully reflected Clemson's complete control of both sides of the ball throughout the contest.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 ClemsonKent State
Total yards665120
Rushing yards353119
Passing yards3121
First downs345
3rd down conv.5/104/16
Turnovers10
Penalties–yards4–4511–79
Time of possession26:5533:05

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 13:45Clemson+26 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Milan Richard for 26 yds to the KntSt 26 for a 1ST down
Q1 13:42Clemson+26 ydC.J. Fuller run for 26 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q1 10:37Clemson+61 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Deon Cain for 61 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q1 3:18Clemson+3 ydAdam Choice run for 3 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q2 12:14Kent State+37 ydShane Hynes 37 yd FG GOOD
Q1 1:06Kent State+24 ydMike Carrigan run for 9 yds to the Clem 46 for a 1ST down CLEMSON Penalty, Personal Foul (Tanner Muse) to the Clem 39 for a 1ST down
Q2 12:14Kent State+22 ydGrant Urenovitch kickoff for 63 yds , Cornell Powell return for 22 yds to the Clem 24
Q2 7:53Clemson+47 ydKelly Bryant run for 47 yds to the KntSt 9 for a 1ST down
Q2 1:13Clemson+8 ydKelly Bryant run for 8 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q3 10:44Clemson+2 ydC.J. Fuller run for 2 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q3 12:19Clemson+44 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Milan Richard for 44 yds to the KntSt 32 for a 1ST down
Q3 7:35Clemson+47 ydTavien Feaster run for 47 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q3 7:35Clemson+20 ydChristian Groomes kickoff for 63 yds , Kavious Price return for 20 yds to the KntSt 22
Q3 0:33Clemson+14 ydZerrick Cooper pass complete to Cornell Powell for 14 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q3 0:33Clemson+20 ydAlex Spence kickoff for 65 yds , Zaquon Tyson return for 20 yds to the KntSt 20
Q4 11:01Clemson+4 ydTravis Etienne run for 4 yds for a TD, (Alex Spence KICK)
Q4 13:25Clemson+54 ydTravis Etienne run for 54 yds to the KntSt 35 for a 1ST down
Q4 0:45Clemson+21 ydDarien Rencher run for 21 yds to the KntSt 32 for a 1ST down

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Clemson

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Kelly Bryant16/2223610.71195.7
Hunter Johnson5/6396.50088.4
Zerrick Cooper4/6376.21097.5
Team0/100.0000.0

Kent State

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Nick Holley1/410.30021.6
George Bollas0/100.0002.1

Rushing

Clemson

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Travis Etienne88110.1154
Kelly Bryant77711.0147
Tavien Feaster66911.5147
C.J. Fuller7517.3226
Ty Thomason4328.0011
Darien Rencher4276.8021
Adam Choice4205.0110
Zerrick Cooper11111.0011
Ryan Mac Lain1-2-2.000
Team1-13-13.000

Kent State

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Nick Holley10535.3019
Kesean Gamble5214.2010
Justin Rankin7111.606
Myles Washington9101.105
Mike Carrigan199.009
Will Matthews681.303
George Bollas273.505
Keon Singleton252.504
Raekwon James1-1-1.000
Miles Hibbler1-4-4.000

Receiving

Clemson

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Deon Cain27035.0161
Milan Richard27035.0044
Ray-Ray McCloud3248.009
J.C. Chalk2199.5018
Amari Rodgers3196.309
Tee Higgins2189.0012
Hunter Renfrow2168.008
Cornell Powell11414.0114
Trevion Thompson11414.0014
C.J. Fuller2136.508
Adam Choice188.008
Shadell Bell188.008
Diondre Overton188.008
Carter Groomes177.007
Jayson Hopper144.004

Kent State

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Justin Rankin111.001
Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

Clemson

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Tanner Muse6300000
Kendall Joseph6201000
Chad Smith6100.5000
Austin Bryant5400000
Jalen Williams5301000
Isaiah Simmons5300000
J.D. Davis5200000
Clelin Ferrell5000000
Dorian O'Daniel4000000
Sterling Johnson4001000
Dexter Lawrence4000000
Judah Davis3100000
Albert Huggins3000.5010
Nyles Pinckney3000.5000
Trayvon Mullen2000000
Tre Lamar2000000
Logan Rudolph2000.5000
Mitch Hyatt1100000
Christian Wilkins1100000
Marcus Edmond1000000
Shaq Smith1000000
K'Von Wallace1000000
Nolan Turner1000000
James Skalski1000000
A.J. Terrell1000000
Justin Foster1000000
Ryan Carter0000100

Kent State

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Matt Bahr9601000
Cepeda Phillips7200000
Jamal Parker6400200
Manny Lawrence-Burke6200.5000
Jon Cunningham6000000
Nick Faulkner5301100
Miles Daniel4300000
Jerrell Foster4200000
Jim Jones4200000
Jordan Robinson4100.5000
Quan Robinson Jr.3200000
James Alexander3100000
Sam Thomas3000.5000
Demetrius Monday2100100
Jontey Byrd2100000
Erik Simpson2100000
Carlos Pickett2100000
Theo Eboigbe2100000
Akeam Peters2100000
Kesean Gamble2100000
Matt Bell2000000
Alex Hoag1100000
Dominic Hill1100000
Joey Palumbo1100000
Elvis Hines1100100
Devante Lee1000000
John Henry Bronczek1000.5000
Danny Johnson1000000
KJ Sherald1000000
Anthony McKay1000000

Interceptions

Clemson

No recorded stats in this category.

Kent State

PlayerINTYDSTD
Quan Robinson Jr.1100

Kick Returns

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Cornell Powell12222.0220

Kent State

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Kavious Price23919.5200
Zaquon Tyson23316.5200

Kicking

Clemson

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Greg Huegel0/00.007/77
Alex Spence0/00.001/11

Kent State

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Shane Hynes1/1100.0370/03

Punt Returns

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Ray-Ray McCloud2147.090
Amari Rodgers177.070
Amir Trapp155.050

Kent State

No recorded stats in this category.

Punting

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Will Spiers14949.00049
Carson King14949.00049

Kent State

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Derek Adams1151146.50066

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 400937447) · This game in the downloadable dataset