Clemson Does it Again: Tigers win Top-10 Matchup Against NC State

No. 5 Clemson improved to 12-6 against top-10 opponents in the College Football Playoff era and moved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC with a 30-20 win over No. 10 NC State.

Jason Priester/All Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson answered the bell in a top-10 matchup once again. 

The fifth-ranked Tigers got a bounce-back effort from its defense and moved the ball efficiently to knock off 10th-ranked NC State 30-20 in an atmosphere at Memorial Stadium to match the rankings on Saturday night. 

Clemson avenged last year's loss at NC State, improved to 12-6 against top-10 opponents in the College Football Playoff era and moved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC. The Tigers also won in Death Valley for the 37th consecutive time, tying Florida State for the longest home winning streak in ACC history. 

Clemson took control of the Atlantic Division with back-to-back wins over the Wolfpack (4-1, 0-1) and Wake Forest behind another strong performance from quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who followed up his five-touchdown performance last week with two rushing scores and one passing TD. He led the team in rushing with 73 yards.

Uiagalelei threw for 209 yards on 21-of-30 passing for a Tiger offense that outgained NC State 358-279. Clemson's defense struggled against Wake but it suffocated Wolfpack QB Devin Leary much of the night, holding the ACC preseason player of the year to 4.8 yards per passing attempt. 

The stop unit forced two turnovers and gave up just three plays of 20 yards or more. 

The Tigers and Wolfpack both got on the board with field goals early in the first quarter, and after a couple of key penalties on the Tigers during a second-quarter drive led to the first touchdown of the game, a 2-yard pass from Leary to Cedd Seaborough that put NC State up 10-6. 

The Tigers answered right before halftime with a 1-yard TD run by Uiagalelei to put Clemson up 13-10 heading into the locker room. 

Clemson came out in the second half and got a quick stop on a sack by Myles Murphy and then scored on a 4-play, 58-yard drive capped by a 7-yard TD pass from Uiagalelei to Jake Briningstool to put the Tigers up 20-10 with 11:36 left in the third quarter. 

NC State came back with a 49-yard field goal by Christopher Dunn on the next drive, and after B.T. Potter missed a 46-yard attempt, the Wolfpack couldn't capitalize and Toriano Pride Jr. intercepted a tipped Leary pass late in the third quarter. 

That led to a 45-yard field by Potter to put the Tigers up 23-13 with 14:16 left in the game, and Uiagaelei iced the game in the fourth quarter with his second TD run of the night. 

Player of the game: On a night when physicality was the theme, Shipley brought it and set a tone for the Tigers. He finished with 60 yards rushing on 14 carries and 37 yards receiving on three catches.

Key play: Right before Uiagalelei scored Clemson's only touchdown of the first half, he dropped back to pass, had plenty of time in the pocket and eventually found Shipley streaking down the sideline. Shipley made the catch and got the Tigers down to the 1-yard line to set up the key score. 

Freshman Impact: Pride picked off the first pass of his Clemson career and added five tackles.

Stat of the game: NC State came into the game averaging 5.7 yards per play on offense, but the Clemson defense held the Wolfpack to 4.0 yards per play.

Injury report: Clemson safety R.J. Mickens left the game in the third quarter with an injury. The Tigers were already down several defenders in the secondary, including Andrew Mukuba, a safety who was playing cornerback before getting ejected for targeting in the first half. Offensive guard Walker Parks left the game with an injury in the second half but returned, and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. got banged up twice in the game.

Next Up: Clemson hits the road next Saturday night for a trip to Boston College. The Eagles upset Louisville 34-33 at home in Week 5 for their first ACC win of the season. 

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