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FOOTBALL: Clemson's 32-point second quarter fuels rout over Ball State

Running back Banks scores twice in Ball State's 52-27 loss

CLEMSON, S.C. -- In the news conference following Ball State's 52-27 loss to No. 12 Clemson Saturday afternoon, three players sat at the table as their coach reflected on the game.

Quarterback Keith Wenning sat staring at the table in front of him with a dejected look on his face. Pete Lembo sat to the right of Wenning and cornerback Jason Pinkston sat on the other side of Lembo with a blank stare. Running back Horactio Banks sat at the other end of the table, looking down and only glancing up to scan the group of reporters in front of him. 

For a few minutes, only Lembo had the answers for the blow out loss.

"We need to get a lot better," he said. "I think we went up against really good skill players today. Time will tell if we are any better or we're not. We need to get better, I need to coach them better."

The game ended in a blow out, but for about 17 minutes of game time it was competitive.

Right before the end of the first quarter, Banks took a hand off up the middle, got past the line and ran down the seam untouched for a 54-yard touchdown run. After the PAT, Clemson only led 13-7.

It never got any closer.

In the second quarter, Clemson poured on four touchdowns and 32 points. Three of the touchdowns came from the combination of quarterback Tajh Boyd and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

After setting the Clemson record for receptions in a game in Week 1 against Auburn, Hopkins tied the school record for touchdown receptions in a game. It was just a sample of how the Clemson offense attacked the Ball State secondary all game long.

"We wanted to change it up, but we have to be a lot tighter in our coverage," Pinkston said. "It starts with the corners and everything. We have to protect our leverage."

Pinkston admitted he could have played better Saturday afternoon. But with how Hopkins has played in the past two games, it'd be unfair to blame him for Hopkins' three scores. In two games, he has 19 receptions for 224 yards and four touchdowns.

And he's the No. 2 wide receiver on Clemson's depth chart. 

The second quarter came to a perfect ending for the Tigers when kicker Spencer Benton drilled a 61-yard field goal as time expired.

Ball State outscored Clemson in the second half, but couldn't get within three scores after the 45-point output the Tigers had in the first half. Wenning said there was pressure to keep pace with Clemson after they scored on its first two possessions of the game.

"You definitely know you're going to have to put up points and match them," Wenning said. "You just have to go out there and go do what you do on offense."

The lone bright spot for Ball State in the loss was the play of Banks, who ran for 120 yards on seven carries and two touchdowns.

Transfer running back Toney Williams also made his debut for Ball State and finished with 44 yards on nine rushes.

"They basically just pinched down and it opened up," Banks said. "They were in the flex so I just ran through the hole."

Lembo did praise Banks' performance in the game, especially since his first touchdown run came against Clemson's first-string defense.

"It's not easy to pull off a long touchdown run against anybody," he said. "It was encouraging to get that touchdown early and get some momentum."

But Ball State will have to put the loss behind them and focus its attention to Big Ten opponent Indiana on Sept. 15. The Cardinals currently have a two-game winning streak against the Hoosiers, but Lembo knows there's work to do if his team is to win in Bloomington.

"We have to cover better, we have to tackle better, we've got to prepare our guys better, Lembo said. "Time will tell if we've improved or not."


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