Clemson Football: Wake recap and N.C. State thoughts
For the first time in what feels like forever, Clemson football won a game thanks to the offense. Clemson defeated Wake Forest Saturday afternoon in a 51-45 double OT thriller. DJ Uiagalelei was outstanding all day, going 26-41 for 371 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also gained 52 yards on the ground. He was accurate and made smart plays throughout the game.
Running back Will Shipley carried the ball 20 times for 102 yards on the ground. The wide receivers had their best game of the year as a group. You also could say it was the best game from this group since 2020.
The defense was a different story. To be fair, the Tigers had some veterans in the secondary out due to injuries. But this was no excuse. The secondary got smoked all game. Clemson’s corner back group is talented but has struggled all year, and Wake Forest took full advantage. It looked like the defense did not make adjustments until the last few drives.
It was good to see Nate Wiggins make the final play to seal it for the Tigers after he had a rough game.
At the end of day, Clemson went on the road and came home with a victory against a ranked team.
This week Clemson has maybe the biggest home game since Louisville in 2016 as N.C. State comes into town ranked 10th in the country.
The Wolfpack beat Clemson last year for the first time in 10 years, and this game could decide who goes to Charlotte in December to represent the Atlantic division in the ACC Championship.
These two teams do not like each other much. And there are not a lot of Clemson fans who don’t like State’s head coach, Dave Doeren.
Add to the mix ESPN bringing College Gameday to Tiger Town and you have the makings of a classic college football contest.
N.C. State has a very good defense, and they will give the Tigers’ offense their biggest test of the year. The good news is that N.C. State’s passing attack does not have the firepower Wake Forest had.
Clemson football came out on top in Winston-Salem in what turned out to be a barn burner and now it’s on to a top 10 matchup made for Game Day
Wolfpack quarterback Devin Leary is plenty good enough to expose the Tigers’ secondary, but he Tigers should be getting back Sheridan Jones, Andrew Mukuba, and Malcolm Greene, adding much more experience in the secondary than we saw this week against Wake.
Tight ends play a huge role in win at Wake. dark. Next
It is going to be an electric atmosphere. That’s for sure. We will see if the Tigers can come out on top.