Harper Shines As Clemson Beats Furman

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) _ Cullen Harper went 16-for-19 for 266 yards and three touchdowns as No. 20 Clemson beat Furman 38-10 on Saturday. <br/><br/>In just his third start, Harper continued to show his mastery

Saturday, September 15th 2007, 3:41 pm

By: News On 6

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) _ Cullen Harper went 16-for-19 for 266 yards and three touchdowns as No. 20 Clemson beat Furman 38-10 on Saturday.

In just his third start, Harper continued to show his mastery of the Tigers offense. He has 10 touchdown passes, no interceptions and has completed 72.5 percent of his passes.

Even so, one of the biggest cheers of the day for Clemson (3-0) came when highly touted freshman Willy Korn got in the game early in the fourth quarter. On just his third play, Korn threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to La'Donte Harris for the first TD of his career and a 38-3 Tigers lead.

The Tigers (3-0) made few mistakes and their defense made stops when it needed to. The Paladins (1-2) gained 384 yards, but failed to score more than 10 points for the 10th time in their last 11 games with Clemson.

Running back James Davis ran nine times for 58 yards and a touchdown and Aaron Kelly caught six passes for 79 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers, who have never lost in 20 games against Football Championship Subdivision teams since the group formerly known as Division I-AA split off in 1978.

Michael Hamlin had an interception and a fumble recovery for Clemson.

Even with the easy win, there were still some things to worry Clemson fans. C.J. Spiller _ the lightning in Clemson's ``Thunder and Lightning'' backfield, struggled. He carried the ball nine times for minus-1 yard.

The Tigers allowed five sacks and lost two onside kicks _ one to open the second half and one midway through the fourth quarter after Furman's touchdown.

Paladins coach Bobby Lamb said his team had to play nearly perfect to win, and they didn't. Furman outgained Clemson 384-377, but left at least 14 points on the field because of mistakes and bad breaks.

Jerome Felton's 46-yard to the end zone on fourth-and-1 in the first quarter was nullified when the Paladins called a time-out seconds before the snap, and Mike Brown's 97-yard kickoff return for a TD in the second quarter got called back on a block in the back penalty.

Felton ran for 74 yards on 20 carries. Starting quarterback Renaldo Gray was 10-for-15 for 70 yards, while backup Justin Sorrells went 18-for-28 for 172 yards.

Clemson has now won 29 in a row over Furman. The Paladins last win came in November 1936 _ 12-0 in the only home game the Tigers have ever played in the snow.

Furman has lost 15 of its last 16 games against Football Bowl Subdivision teams. The lone win was 28-3 over North Carolina in 1999.