BERKELEY, Calif. -- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney came into the season unsure what to make of his team's toughness.
On Friday night, some of those questions began to get answered in a 24-10 win at California.
The Tigers ran for 255 and held the Bears without an offensive touchdown, bullying Cal's star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele into the worst performance of his college career.
"We were a tough football team and that's probably my biggest objective coming into this season," Swinney said. "I felt like we needed to be a tougher team, especially when it comes to running the football."
Running back Gideon Davidson rushed for 159 yards on 22 carries, with a pair of touchdowns -- including a 75-yarder to ice the game with two minutes, 58 seconds left. Davidson's second straight 100-yard game offset another uneven performance from freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds, who completed 13 of 21 passes for 108 yards with an interception and lost fumble.
But the story for Clemson was more about the dominant play of its defense.
"Defensively, it's about points," Swinney said. "Three points, that's all we gave up."
The Tigers limited Cal to 231 yards of total offense -- 145 passing, 86 rushing -- but will have a much stiffer test next week when they host No. 6 Miami.
"It may be the best team in the country," Swinney said. "I've seen enough of them, but we've seen that quarterback. He's a freak show. They got some dudes."
With both teams undefeated in conference play, Swinney framed the matchup as an early opportunity to measure how far Clemson has come.
"At the end of the day, hey, you're both undefeated in the league and all you can ask for is opportunity," Swinney said. "We'll have to play by far our best game to have a chance to beat those guys."
For Cal, the performance was an especially frustrating one. Sagapolutele came into the season with high expectations following his brilliant freshman season, but his play has regressed under new offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville. The Bears have scored just five offensive touchdowns in three games against FBS opponents with Sagapolutele looking uncomfortable and often under pressure.
First-year Cal coach Tosh Lupoi acknowledged the Bears are still searching for what works offensively.
"Finding what we can do best," Lupoi said. "That's a good defense we just played against and we have to take advantage of those moments and put our players in the best possible position."
Lupoi expressed confidence in Somerville, saying the two would go back through every unsuccessful play in an effort to determine where the offense can improve.
"That's what I love about Jordan Somerville," Lupoi said. "I have full faith that he's going to be right there with me dissecting every play that occurred that we didn't win. ... We've got the players to do it and we've got a great staff, so really searching for where we'll put our players in the best possible situation for success."
