Sept. 30, 2006

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) -James Davis ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns to lead three Clemson rushers with over 100 yards as the 18th-ranked Tigers beat Louisiana Tech 51-0 victory Saturday.

Clemson (4-1) posted its first shutout in six seasons and is off to its best start in five years. Davis and the running game are certainly big reasons why.

The sophomore got things going early with a 64-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, bouncing out to the left sideline and high-kicking into the end zone.

It was Clemson's longest run by a tailback since Raymond Priester had a 65-yarder against South Carolina in 1996.

Two series later, Davis was at it again. He gained 52 yards on seven carries, ending things with a 4-yard TD run that increased the lead to 17-0 over Louisiana Tech (1-3). Davis, who ran in four touchdowns in last week's 52-7 win over North Carolina, has 11 TDs on the season, only six off the school record set by Lester Brown in 1978.

Davis wasn't alone on the Tigers with a big performance. His backup, freshman C.J. Spiller, finished with 127 yards and a touchdown.

Demerick Chancellor, a third-stringer who had only 13 carries in his career, added 113 yards. It was the first time since 1982 in at 48-0 win at Virginia that the Tigers had three runners go over the century mark.

On top of everything, receiver Chansi Stuckey had four catches for 100 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown grab.

Clemson ended with 393 yards rushing. They had 324 yards against North Carolina a week ago, marking the first time since 2000 the Tigers had back-to-back games of 300-plus yards on the ground.

Clemson's defense did its part, too, holding an opponent scoreless for the first time since a 38-0 win over the Citadel to start the 2000 season.

Louisiana Tech was overmatched from the start. It had minus-24 yards rushing in the opening half. The Bulldogs best chance to score came at the end of the first half when they had a first-and-goal at the Clemson 6.

Despite lopsided losses at Nebraska (49-10) and Texas A&M (45-14), Tech coach Jack Bicknell thought his team was coming together and hoped for a stronger performance at Death Valley.

Instead, he'll have problems to fix in all areas after this one.

With his team ahead 31-0, Clemson's Jacoby Ford opened the second half with a 94-yard kickoff return TD. The freshman became the first in school history with scores by kickoff and punt returns of more than 90 yards. Ford had a school record 92-yard punt return touchdown in a 54-6 win over Florida Atlantic on Sept. 2.

The Bulldogs threw four interceptions in the second half, three by starter Zac Champion.

Clemson linebacker Nick Watkins returned Champion's first interception 26 yards for a touchdown.