Earlier in the week, we asked the question. If Wake couldn’t beat Clemson this year, when exactly could they? The answer apparently is still not yet, as Clemson gets by Wake Forest 51-45 in double overtime at a sold-out Truist Field in Winston-Salem. Clemson’s winning streak over Wake Forest, going back to 2009, lives for another year.
D.J. Uiagalelei threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Davis Allen in the middle of the end zone in the second overtime to secure the win for Clemson. Wake Forest had its possession in the second overtime but Sam Hartman’s pass to A.T. Perry in the end zone on fourth and six was broken up.
Closer But Still Not Enough
Clemson dominated most of the stats throughout the game. The Tigers finished with 559 total yards of offense to 447 for Wake Forest. The Tigers had more passing yards, more rushing yards, and just as importantly penalties/penalty yards. They also maintained a huge advantage throughout most of the game in offensive plays run, ending with an 86-68 advantage. Uiagalelei would finish the game 26 of 41 for 371yards and five touchdowns. He added another 52 yards on the ground.
At the end of the day, while Wake has one of the most experienced teams in the country and returned most of its production from last year, Clemson remains a major obstacle to a future conference championship.
Clemson jumped out to an early 14-0 first-quarter lead. Uiagalelei completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jake Briningstool for the first touchdown of the game. On the Tigers’ next drive he connected with Brannon Spector on a 41-yard completion for the 14-0 lead.
Wake Slow Out Of The Starting Gate
Wake’s offense was slow to start, so reminiscent of 2021 when the Demon Deacons managed only one first down in the first quarter. But Clemson started piling up the penalties. They committed 10 on the day for 120 yards. Most of them were by the defensive secondary which was already missing Andrew Mukuba and Sheridan Jones before the game even started. Toriano Pride and Fred Davis both called on the next Wake drive, although Davis’ probably saved a touchdown catch by Perry.
Eventually, Hartman connected with Jahmal Banks for 36 yards at the front of the end zone to ut Wake on the board at 14-7.
Clemson settled for two B.T. Potter field goals in the second quarter. Hartman completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Banks to put the score at 20-14 for Clemson at the half.
While the statistical domination by Clemson was even more glaring in the first half than was the final box score, Wake had not played well, but was in the game. The defense of the Demon Deacons became very disruptive to Clemson’s offense.
A Different Second Half
After holding the Tigers on their first drive of the second half, Wake got a 68-yard touchdown drive. Hartman threw a pass over the outstretched arms of the defender to connect with Donavon Green for his first touchdown of the season and an improbable 21-20 lead.
Wake extended the lead to 28-20 in the same quarter with Hartman throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Blake Whiteheart to cap a 70-yard drive.
Uiagalelei found another gear for Clemson’s offense picking up 23 yards on a quarterback draw, followed by a third-down completion to Beaux Collins. He finished the 75-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Allen in the back of the end zone. On the two-point conversion, the Wake Forest defense had its hands all over Uiagalelei, but could not pull him down. He completed the pass to Collins for the two-point conversion and the tie game at 28-28.
It became a problem for Wake Forest through much of the second half. They got close to Uiagalelei without completing the sack. The second-year starter from California made the Demon Deacons pay by keeping plays alive in the backfield.
Back And Forth
Hartman closed out the scoring in the third quarter, putting Wake back up by a touchdown, completing a 75-yard touchdown drive with a 25-yard pass to Greene.
In a game where neither team could take or hold a commanding lead, Clemson returned with its own 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a one-yard run by Will Shipley to tie it at 35-35 in the fourth quarter.
Wake added a 29-yard field goal by Matthew Dennis to go up 38-35. Potter added a 52-yarder for Clemson to tie at 38 and eventually send the two teams to overtime.
Overtime
Wake Forest scored first in OT. Clemson came with an all-out blitz on third and three, but Wake running back Justice Ellison picked up the linebacker, giving Hartman time to connect with A.T. Perry for the eight-yard touchdown and the 45-38 lead.
Again, Clemson had an answer. Uiagalelei threw a perfect fade route pass to Collins for a 21-yard touchdown to tie it at 45-45 and send the two teams to a second overtime.
Clemson had the ball first in the second overtime. Again, it was Uiagalelei to Collins for 21 yards. The mandatory two-point conversion failed when Uiagalelei’s pass was swatted away by Kobie Turner.
Wake Forest needed a touchdown and two-point conversion for the win. But this is Wake Forest versus Clemson. You know the history. On fourth and six and the Clemson 21-yard line, Hartman went to the end zone for Perry but the pass was batted down, securing the 14th straight win in the series for Clemson.
Picking Up The Pieces
After last week’s stunningly close win over Liberty, Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said he needed some time Sunday to pick up the morale of his team. The task this week will be so much harder, given Wake’s best chance in the last few years to end the drought was not enough.
“The locker room right now is hurting,” he said after the game. “It’s a football team that has invested a lot, and they care a lot and expected to win this game.” Part of picking the team in order to move on mentally and emotionally to Florida State next week, he said is reminding the team, “You’re not going to win the league with one game and you’re not going to lose it with one game.”
Hartman broke his own school record with six touchdown passes. He finished 20 of 29 for 337 yards. But if he was in no mood to celebrate last week’s win when he gave himself a “D” grade, it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out his mood after the tough loss. When asked to grade himself after this game he said, “We lost, so it’s a failure.” When asked about the team’s mood in the locker room, he responded with, “You can take a good guess.”
Feeling The Pain
It was more apparent with some. Center Michael Jurgens was emotional when talking to the media, oftentimes holding back tears as he had a hard time summing up his thoughts. “Every single rep, every single practice; we put a lot into it.” He described himself and many of his teammates as, “Mentally and physically exhausted.”
He also took a heartfelt moment at the end of the press conference to pass along his thoughts to Clemson’s Bryan Bresee, who lost his younger sister to cancer two weeks ago. Jurgens and Bresee were high school teammates in Maryland. He said the process for moving on will be the same as it is every week. They will spend 24 hours dealing with the loss and the details, before getting ready for Florida State. And while it sounds easy, the expressions and the comments emanating from the players in the press conference say Clawson is going to have a herculean effort. Linebacker Chase Jones said of the loss, “It definitely stings.”
Clemson is now 4-0 with a 2-0 ACC record already. The Tigers host NC State next weekend. Wake Forest is now 3-1 with the one conference loss as they are scheduled to go to Florida State next weekend.
On top of watching game film and trying to move on, they will also be watching the weather maps. Tropical Storm Ian is picking up steam in the Caribbean. It is expected to be a full-force hurricane before it hits Florida by the end of next week. Tallahassee is in the path of getting the outer bands of the storm under the current model.
