Thursday night college football: Clemson passes its first road test

Officials ejected Clemson left tackle Isaiah Battle late in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s win over NC State for punching Wolfpack defensive back Jarvis Byrd. With the Tigers trying to milk the clock, Battle got caught near a pair of NC State defenders after a play, and something caused him to uppercut the opposing safety.

The punch knocked Byrd onto his back and led to a skirmish. Battle was immediately pulled from the game by Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and ejected for throwing a punch soon after. There’s no word of additional penalties for the apparent sucker punch at this point.

A strong early showing from NC State’s defense kept the Wolfpack close vs. No. 3 Clemson on Thursday night, but the Tigers rode a favorable second-half call from the refs and an improved offense to a 26-14 win at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.

Clemson later put the game out of reach with a 15-yard pass touchdown pass from Boyd to Bryant with 11:27 remaining in the game.

NC State was in prime position to continue the upset watch it placed No. 3 Clemson on through two-plus quarters Thursday night, but an iffy call against the Wolfpack could render that moot.

The play was never reviewed, and ESPN’s Rece Davis shortly thereafter provided the official rule explanation that out-of-bounds calls outside the five-yard line can’t be reviewed.

Much of that credit should go to the Wolfpack pass rush, which has limited Clemson’s big-play ability. Boyd’s averaging just 5.8 yards per pass, while the Tigers have collectively gained just 2.2 yards per carry on the ground.

NC State, meanwhile, hasn’t fared any better on offense. Quarterback Pete Thomas is just 2-of-4 for 10 yards, while the running game has produced just 24 yards on four carries.

Clemson has laid no claim to the state of North Carolina, with head coach Dabo Swinney in fact once ceding the name“Carolina” to a school outside the state of South Carolina. The Wolfpack will have none of it, and the billboards will continue.

In the second week, things looked markedly different for these two squads. The Tigers strolled to a 52-13 win over South Carolina State, while the Wolfpack needed a last-minute field goal to beat Richmond 23-21.

Either way -- it’s showtime for these two programs, who will look to join Florida State and Boston College as Atlantic teams undefeated in conference play.