The No. 9 Terriers, behind their strong running attack, struck first with an early 27-yard touchdown run by Mitch Allen, who ran for 89 yards, going up 7-0 at the 10 minute, 12 second mark in the first quarter.
Later in the first quarter, the game would see a flurry of three touchdowns in less than a minute, highlighted by two big Clemson touchdowns on plays of 42 and 72 yards, respectively. Wofford got a long-distance play of its own with a 66-yard pass to put the Terriers up 14-13 after one quarter.
The two teams exchanged scores late in the second and this time, Clemson was able to convert on a two-point conversion to tie the contest at 21 apiece at the half.
Wofford converted two field goal attempts in the third but a Clemson touchdown would put the Tigers up for good as they would add another score in the fourth to win, 35-27.
Wofford (1-1) almost earned a victory against a prominent Football Bowl Subdivision school but Clemson (2-0) had just enough in the end.
The Terriers will kick off their conference schedule against Samford (1-1) this Saturday.
Champions still winless
The defending Football Championship Subdivision champion Eastern Washington has started off the season winless at 0-2.
The No. 10 Eagles have faced stiff competition, including their season-opening thriller against FBS opponent Washington in which the Eagles came up short, 30-27. Eastern Washington lost again this past weekend to another ranked FCS opponent in No. 24 South Dakota, 30-17.
The Eagles defense let them down in the first half, allowing two touchdowns to put their offense in a hole early. South Dakota was able to run the ball consistently the entire game behind the two-headed attack of Chris Ganious and Dante Warren who ran for 85 and 59 yards, respectively.
Eastern Washington quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell had a monster day through the air, tallying 369 yards on 60 attempts. He made a costly error, however, in the second quarter on an interception that was returned for a touchdown, putting South Dakota up 21-0.
The Eagles were able to get a touchdown with 14 seconds left in the second quarter but the momentum would not continue into the second half.
The second half saw four converted field goals, including three for South Dakota and one touchdown through the air for the Eagles.
Eastern Washington will try to right the ship against No. 12 Montana in its conference opener on Saturday.
Richmond ranked No. 6
Richmond has started off the season strong with a 2-0 record and stands at No. 6 in the polls.
The Spiders started off the season with a statement victory against FBS opponent Duke, 23-21. The win leapfrogged Richmond in the polls and it responded with a victory against Wagner, 21-6.
The Spiders used up their balanced attack on the ground and passing game with quarterback Aaron Corp notching 236 yards and two touchdowns. The duo of running backs Kendall Gaskins and Garrett Turner ran for 98 and 75 yards, respectively.
Richmond started off strong with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Corp to receiver Ben Edwards for the early 7-0 lead.
The only other first-half score came on a 38-yard field goal from Wagner kicker David Lopez, making the score 7-3 at the half.
The Seahawks would only tally another field goal in the second half from Lopez from 45 yards, while the Spiders scored a pair of touchdowns, one through the air and one on the ground on a 1-yard run by Gaskins.
The Spiders have one more non-conference bout against Virginia Military Institute this Saturday and then open CAA play, which is represented by six teams in the Top 25.
Cameron McDonough can be reached at [email protected].
