Clemson Football: 5 Things to look for as Tigers tackle Deacs

Clemson football is 3-0 and 1-0 in the ACC as the Tigers head into the meat of their ACC schedule, particularly over the next two Saturdays as Clemson makes a trip to Winston-Salem this Saturday and then hosts the North Carolina State Wolfpack next week.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though and focus on Wake Forest, were the Tigers are 7.5 point favorites in the first really big game of the season.

As we do each game week, we’re going to take a look at five things we’ll be keeping an eye on during Saturday’s games, keys that we think could determine the outcome or perhaps areas that intrigue us and could be a factor in future games.

First, Can the offensive line give D.J. Uiagalelei a clean pocket?

According to Pro Football Focus, Uiagalelei completes 68.9% of his passes when he has a clean pocket and only 40% when he’s under pressure.  It’s not rocket science, but it shows how important a clean pocket is and while it’s nice to just not have be sacked, clean is better and gives D.J. and the Tigers the best chance at being successful on offense.

It’s about more than sacks.

Will Putnam had his best game of the season against Louisiana Tech and the right side of Blake Miller and Walker Parks were much improved.

Can they sustain that against Wake Forest or was it just a CUSA opponent thing?