RALEIGH, N.C. — There was no one happier to have Deshaun Watson on his side of the field than Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables.

While the defense had a rare night off, Watson and the Clemson offense had their backs, as the third-ranked Tigers outscored NC State, 56-41, at Carter-Finely Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.

“That was awesome! Superman and the crew,” Venables said. “The offense was terrific. It felt like my first year, where every time they touched the ball they were scoring. It was not a matter if they were going to score, but when.”

Clemson (8-0, 5-0) nearly did score every time it touched the ball. The Tigers scored on 10 of their 15 possessions tonight, while totaling 623 yards. It marked the first time this season Clemson went over 600 yards in a game.

Watson, a.k.a. Superman, was responsible for 437 of those yards, including 383 through the air. He totaled six touchdowns altogether, including touchdown passes of 57, 42, 40, 35 and 36 yards. He also had a 24-yard touchdown on the ground.

All five touchdowns were to five different players – Hunter Renfrow, Charone Peake, Deon Cain, Zac Brooks and Ray Ray McCloud.

“A lot of people are going to talk about the system, but it’s the players,” co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said. “If you have the right players in the system and they’re executing at a high level, and they believe in the execution. They just don’t live and die by the big play. They take pride in those 10, 11 and 12-play drives.”

There is no player who executes the system better than Watson. Every time NC State took the lead or made a momentum type play on Saturday, Watson came out on the field as if nothing had happened at all.

Jacoby Brissett and the Wolfpack (5-3, 1-3) opened the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the game, but Watson came out in front of a sellout crowd of 57,600 and led the Tigers right down the field to answer Brissett’s touchdown.

The sophomore capped the four-play, 57-yard scoring drive with a 24-yard touchdown run. After NC State’s Nyheim Hines returned the ensuing kick 100 yards to put the ‘Pack back in front, Watson responded 25 seconds later with his 57-yard touchdown pass to Renfrow.

“He has ice water in his veins,” Elliott said. “It helps me out too. It helps me stay calm, and I think it helps out all the coaches and everyone on offense. He just has a ton of confidence. He understands there is some ebb and flow in a game. Things are not always going to go your way, but he is always one play away from changing the entire game.”

That one play on Saturday came just before halftime. With the Tigers trialing, 20-19, following a missed NC State field goal, Watson hit Artavis Scott with a 31-yard pass down the near sideline to put the ball at the NC State 42.

On the next play, he let it fly again as he hit Peake in stride for a 42-yard score with 40 seconds left in the first half. Clemson never trailed again.

“It is just something I have,” Watson said. “I just grew up calm. I don’t let anything rattle me. I just go out there and do what I have to do. I’m confident in myself, confident in my team. There is no reason to be out there, be rattled or feel pressure. I know the plan. I know my skill set and I know what I can do.”

What Watson did in the second half was hit Deon Cain for a 40-yard touchdown, Zac Brooks for a 35-yard score and Ray Ray McCloud for a 36-yard touchdown pass.

“He’s a winner and brings a presence to the field and calmness to his teammates,” Swinney said. “He made a lot of different plays tonight to score points, and that was a gutsy performance by him today.”

It was almost like Superman.