Instant Analysis: Tigers prevail in Top Ten matchup

Sold out, crowd. Big plays. Drama. It was a game of will and Clemson won.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Sat Oct 01 23:38:23 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Saturday night was everything a top-ten matchup should be.

Sold out, crowd. Big plays. Drama. It was a game of will and Clemson won.

Fifth-ranked Clemson revenged last season’s loss to NC State with a 30-20 win over the Wolfpack Saturday night in Death Valley.

Clemson improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC, while NC State fell to 4-1 and 0-1 in conference.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME:Clemson’s offense will go as far as DJ Uiagalelei can take it. The junior quarterback continues to improve every game and has become a leader on this football team.

Uiagalelei completed 21-of-30 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown. He also found a little bit of success in the running game and carried the ball 14 times for 73 yards and two scores.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME:Clemson’s defensive line was finally who we thought they were. Time after time, KJ Henry, Myles Murphy, Ruke Orhorhoro, and Tyler Davis affected the game during every defensive drive. Once they decided to take the game over in the second half, they made life tough on NC State’s offense. There were several times in the fourth quarter when Wolfpack offensive linemen had handfuls of Henry’s jersey.

The linebackers played well, and the young defensive backs showed that they learned from many of their mistakes last week. They weren’t perfect, but they’re growing up.

STAT OF THE GAME:Clemson truly made NC State one-dimensional. The Wolfpack rushed for a total of 30 yards on 20 attempts.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED:

*Wolfpack take the lead – After trading punts, NC State struck for the game’s first touchdown after Clemson was flagged for a couple of costly penalties. Andrew Mukuba – who started at corner after missing time due to a shoulder injury – was called for targeting in a review that was initiated by the booth. A few plays later, RJ Mickens was flagged for pass interference on a ball that he swatted away from the receiver. Just two plays later, Devin Leary found Cedd Seabrough for a two-yard touchdown pass and a 10-6 lead with 1:51 to play.

*Uiagalelei answers – After NC State scored the first touchdown of the game with under two minutes to play, Uiagalelei and Clemson responded with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of its own. A 14-yard pass to Beaux Collins and an 11-yard run by Will Shipley kept Clemson’s drive alive. On first down on the NC State 27, Uiagalelei bought time and found Shipley down the sideline for a 26-yard gain. Uiagalelei did the rest with a one-yard plunge into the endzone to give Clemson a 13-10 lead at halftime.

*Defense steps up in second half – Clemson’s defense answered the bell to start the second half with sacks by Barrett Carter and Myles Murphy bookended around an incomplete pass to force a three-and-out.

Later in the third quarter, Toriano Pride, Jr. picked off a Devin Leary pass to shut down NC State’s drive. Seven plays later, BT Potter hit his third field goal of the game – a 44-yarder – to give Clemson a 23-13 lead with 14:16 to play.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Clemson’s defense made the big stop again and forced NC State into a 4th-and-13 situation. Leary never got ahold of the snap and the Tigers took over with 7:39 remaining in the game.

UP NEXT:Clemson travels to Boston College with a kickoff that will either be set for 7:30 pm or 8 pm (ABC or ACC Network) at Alumni Stadium. The channel and time will be announced later tonight. The Eagles are 2-3 and defeated Louisville 34-33 Saturday afternoon.

NC State hosts No. 23 Florida State who lost to Wake Forest earlier in the day.