The Clemson Tigers took care of business last night, disposing on a pesky Georgia Tech team, 41-10. This was a tale of two halves. There was a lot of good, a little bad, and very little ugly.
We normally discuss these parts of the Clemson team that fit these categories, but Georgia Tech lays claim to the ugly tag from two different areas of the field. For the first time since 2007. What made it worse is that Clemson did not call the “block punt” scheme on either punt, but the return scheme. Outstanding plays by Carson Donnelly and freshman Wade Woodaz led to two Clemson touchdowns and helped seal a season-opening win for the Tigers. It’s hard enough to block one punt in a game, but two is pretty ugly.
One would think in a 41-10 lopsided victory that “bad” wasn’t so bad, and it wasn’t considering the outcome. The offense struggled for 2 1⁄2 quarters, still trying to find its way. The wide receiver group is healthier this year, but dropped passes continue to plague the Tigers. However, the turning point in the game came at the 9:36 mark of the 3rd quarter. Georgia Tech had just scored a touchdown to bring them within four points, 14-10. On the next possession, the Tigers were facing a 3rd and 10 and the Jackets looked to be gaining momentum. A 15 yard pass interference penalty gave Clemson a first down and it was all downhill from there for the Jackets. BT Potter kicked a field goal to end that drive putting the Tigers up by 7, and it was all Clemson from this point of the game. Penalties were not GT’s friend this night, picking up 10 penalties for 86 yards.
With a 41-10 win, obviously, the good really does outweigh the bad and ugly, and this game is no exception. The question is where to begin.
Junior Aidan Swanson has waited for a couple of years now for 10-year punter Will Spiers to leave the team, and he took full advantage of his opportunity. Swanson was called on to punt six times, averaging 42. 5 yards a punt, including two inside the 20. He had a 28 yard punt, pinning the Yellow Jackets inside the 10. On his other five punts, he averaged 45.6 yards.
Freshman wide receiver Antonio Williams led the Tigers in receptions, grabbing four passes for 37 yards in his first Clemson game. He made several crucial receptions in the 2nd that helped spark the Tiger offense.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei might have quieted down his skeptics with a solid performance under center. He completed 19 of 32 passes for 209 yards with one touchdown pass, and added a rushing TD in the 3rd quarter.
Not enough can be said about this Clemson defense. DE Xavier Thomas was not available to play and the other starting DE got a little nicked up and spent most of the night on the sidelines. Led by KJ Henry, Bryan Bresee, Barrett Carter, and Trinton Simpson, the Tigers held the Jackets to 237 total yards and allowed 2 of 16 3rd down conversions.
The Tigers did not play their best game offensively. 386 yards of total offense is not a huge number. Take into consideration that two blocked punts gave the Tigers a short field and two of the touchdown drives started inside the GT 15 yard line.
RB Will Shipley did not have a particularly productive game with regards to total yards, but he did score two touchdowns, and had 56 yards of total offense on 11 touches.
Last but not least, the moment everyone has been waiting for, freshman Cade Klubnik made his debut under center in the 4th quarter to a standing ovation. He did not disappoint, completing 4-6 passes for 49 yards and a TD pass to Will Taylor. “ We weren’t trying to run the score up. I needed him to play,” said Coach Dabo Swinney after the game.
The next game will be at Death Valley, September 10th, where they will be hosting the Furman Paladins. Furman is coming off a 52-0 win over North Greenville, but they will be against a different animal. The Tigers lead the series 43-10-4 and are currently on a 31 game winning streak.
