PITTSBURGH – The Clemson football team fell on the road at No. 23 Pittsburgh, 27-17, on Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field. Clemson dropped to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in league play on the season, while the Panthers improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in ACC play.
The Tiger defense held Pitt 21 points below their season average, led by James Skalski, who finished with 16 tackles on the day.
In the first quarter, the Tigers started quickly with Phil Mafah plunging in from a yard out to get on the board, capping an 8-play 80-yard drive. Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett would connect with Jordan Addison on a 23-yard touchdown and Taysir Mack on a 39-yard touchdown pass to take a 14-7 lead at the half.
The Panthers added to the lead early in the second half when SirVocea Dennis picked off a DJ Uiagalelei shovel pass and took it back 50 yards to put the Panthers ahead, 21-7.
In the third quarter, B.T. Potter would add three points for Clemson on a 42-yard field goal to cut the Panthers’ lead to 21-10. Pitt would add field goals of 44 and 34-yards to extend the lead to 27-10.
DJ Uiagalelei recorded his third rushing touchdown of the season on a six-yard run that capped a five-play, 72-yard drive to set the final margin at 27-17.
The Tigers compiled 315-yards of total offense averaging 5.1 yards per play and 10.1 yards per completion.
Clemson will be home after the last two games on the road when the Tigers welcome Florida State to Death Valley on Saturday, Oct. 30. The kickoff for that game is set for 3:30 p.m. on either ABC or ESPN.
GAME NOTES
- Clemson faced Pitt on the road for the first time in school history. Clemson’s four previous meetings with the Panthers took place in Clemson (2016 and 2020), Jacksonville (1977 Gator Bowl) and Charlotte (2018 ACC Championship Game).
- Clemson and Pitt faced one another in back-to-back years for the first time in history.
- With back-to-back games at Syracuse and at Pitt, Clemson played consecutive games north of the Mason-Dixon Line for only the second time in school history (1952 at Boston College and at Fordham).
- The defeat marked the first time Clemson lost by more than seven points in regular season play since 2014. Clemson played 78 regular season games between its two most recent regular season losses of 10 points or more.
- Clemson dropped to 4-3 this season. The three teams that defeated Clemson are all currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and are a combined 18-2 this season (Note: At the time of this release, NC State is currently in the first half of its game at Miami).
- Clemson is now 72-6 in regular season play since 2015.
- Clemson rushed for 164 yards on 30 carries, an average of 5.47 yards per carry. It marked Clemson’s third game this season averaging at least 5.0 yards per carry.
- Running back Phil Mafah opened the game’s scoring on a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. It was the first touchdown of Mafah’s career. Six of Clemson’s 12 rushing touchdowns this season have been scored by true freshmen.
- The game was only Clemson’s fourth loss since 2015 when scoring first. Clemson is now 62-4 when scoring first in that span.
- Wide receiver Justyn Ross played in Pittsburgh, the city in which he had the spinal surgery for which he missed the entire 2020 season.
- Ross recorded a team-high-tying five receptions for a team-high 59 receiving yards.
- With the five receptions, Ross pushed his career receptions total to 145, passing Chansi Stuckey (141), Kevin Youngblood (142) and Jacoby Ford (143) to move into 12th in Clemson history in career receptions.
- On a 10-yard reception in the first quarter, Ross extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 34.
- Wide receiver Beaux Collins made his first career start and recorded 23 receiving yards on a career-high and team-high-tying five catches.
- Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei rushed for his third touchdown of the season — the seventh of his career — on a six-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.
- Uiagalelei’s interception in the first quarter ended a streak of 80 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, the second-longest streak of his career (128 from 2020-21). His most recent interception prior to Saturday came on his final pass attempt of the first half at NC State on Sept. 25.
- Clemson recorded the game’s first takeaway when safety Nolan Turner forced a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Etinosa Reuben, the first of the season in each category for both players.
- The fumble recovery was Reuben’s first of his career.
- The forced fumble was the second of Turner’s career and his first since the second game of the 2019 season against Texas A&M.
- Clemson has now recorded a takeaway in eight consecutive games, dating to last season, for the first time since a nine-game streak in 2019.
- Linebacker Trenton Simpson recorded his first full sack of the season on a third down on Pitt’s opening drive.
- Linebacker Baylon Spector added his first full sack of the season as well on a third down in the second quarter.
- Punter Will Spiers started his 63rd game to add to his school record for career starts. Wide receiver/holder Will Swinney’s career total as Clemson’s primary holder parallels Spiers’ run as starting punter.
- Spiers, Swinney and linebacker James Skalski each played in their 63rd career games to extend their school record for most career games played.
- Running back Will Shipley returned to action and recorded a 32-yard kickoff return in the second quarter, Clemson’s longest of the season.
- Shipley also rushed for a team-high 52 yards on 10 carries.
- Kicker B.T. Potter hit a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter. Potter has converted each of his last six field goal attempts and is 7-for-8 on the year, with his lone miss coming from 58 yards.
- On his second PAT of the game, Potter (164 career PATs) tied Aaron Hunt (164 from 2000-03) for third in Clemson history in career PATs.
- Captains for the contest were offensive lineman Matt Bockhorst, offensive tackle Jordan McFadden, linebacker James Skalski and safety Nolan Turner.
- Clemson, which is No. 23 in the Coaches Poll but unranked in the AP Poll, played its first game against an AP-ranked opponent as an AP-unranked team since Sept. 17, 2011, when unranked Clemson defeated the defending national champions, No. 21 Auburn, by a 38-24 score at Death Valley.
- Clemson played its 18th game in an NFL stadium since 2015.
- Clemson played true road games in back-to-back weeks for the first time since 2015, when Clemson defeated Miami (Fla.) and NC State on the road in consecutive weeks.
