Goodwin values 'unbelievable opportunity' to win ACC in coordinator debut

Wes Goodwin's defense finished the regular season strong by containing a prolific UNC offense to 10 points.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Wed Dec 07 13:04:03 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON - The whole team played their best game of the season in the ACC Championship. Defensively, this was the third game where they have held their opponent to only 10 points (with the other two games being the season-opener against Georgia Tech and hosting Miami). Overall, defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin is incredibly proud of how his unit played.

“Holding that offense to only 10 points, that was a special night. Those guys fought and it’s been a huge challenge and week obviously. Lots of disappointment from (the South Carolina game). But our guys, they came to work every day this week, they put that behind them,” Goodwin said. “A lot of attention to details, discipline, and cool to see them go out and execute the game plan.”

The defense came in with a solid plan and stuck to it, only allowing freshman quarterback and ACC player of the year Drake Maye to throw for 268 yards. In fact, the ACC Championship marked Maye’s third game in a row being held under 300 passing yards. However, the Tigers did more than limit their passing game. In the running game, they only allowed 3.1 yards per rush and the longest run of the night by the Tar Heels was 12 yards.

“Coming in, we knew that if we could limit big passes and challenge them to go to the run game a little more than they wanted -- we knew if we could just make them keep snapping it, they got more of a chance to screw it up," Goodwin said.

One particular star for the Tiger defense was sophomore cornerback Nate Wiggins. Wiggins recorded his first interception, along with his first touchdown on a 98-yard return. He also blocked a field goal attempt by the Tar Heels.

“He’s had some opportunities to have some pick-sixes,” Goodwin said. “Kind of after the Wake Forest game, I think he’s really gotten better week-in and week-out, just handling the motions and next-play mentality. But, he’s been playing some really solid football.”

When speaking after the game, Goodwin also acknowledged how hard it is to make it to a championship game, particularly in your first year as a coordinator at this level.

“It’s an unbelievable opportunity. Championships are special,” Goodwin said. “You never know when the next time that you’re going to get back here and have this opportunity and it’s really unbelievable to win one my first year as a coordinator.”

Goodwin and the Tigers will need another impressive performance out of their defense playing the Tennessee Volunteers in the Orange Bowl (Dec. 30/8 p.m./ESPN). Not only are they a good rushing offense, ranked No. 20 in the country, but they are also ranked No. 3 in passing yards. Even down star quarterback Hendon Hooker (torn ACL), the Volunteers are an explosive team, but Goodwin and the rest of the staff have time to study them and come up with a game plan to finish with an Orange Bowl win. Clemson has won its last two Orange Bowl matchups and every non-Playoff bowl since the 2011 season's Orange Bowl loss to West Virginia.