D.J. Uiagalelei Says Clemson Offense 'Very Close' as Tigers Head to Syracuse

Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei says the Clemson offense is very close to breaking out as the 3-2 Tigers get set to go on the road and face the 3-3 Syracuse Orange in a Friday night ACC matchup.

With the offense struggling five games into the season, the bye week came at an opportune time for Clemson. 

The Tigers' offense currently ranks dead last in the ACC, averaging just 324 yards per game. However, against Boston College, Clemson had its most productive game to date against FBS competition, generating 438 yards of total offense and first-year starting quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei thinks the team is on the verge of breaking out.

"I think we're very close," Uiagalelei said. "Very close to exploding. We're right there. Just a little stuff that can just take us to the next level where we want to we see ourselves playing as an offense. We're just right there. The more we keep practicing, the more we keep playing, we're just getting closer and closer and closer to it each and every time."

In the 19-13 win over Boston College, Uiagalelei threw for 207 yards but completed less than 50-percent of his passes. Some of those misses were due to drops by his receivers, but some were due to accuracy issues that have plagued the quarterback all season. After the victory, Uiagalelei was spotted back on the field, well after midnight, working on some of those missed throws

"I just kind of wanted to get it out of my system," Uiagalelei said. "I know there were throws that I missed. I kind of wanted to just go out there and correct it, didn't want to wait to the next day. Just wanted to get out there and just fix it right then and there when it is fresh in my mind."

"Say you have a throw in practice and you missed the throw, you do it right after practice. The same thing with a game. I have a throw that I missed or something I want to really work on, just get it right and get it done right after the game. I feel like it's super fresh and you're able to fix it right then and there."

Coming off the bye week, the Tigers will now travel to Syracuse for a Friday night matchup with the Orange. Uiagalelei said one of the biggest things for the Tigers heading forward is being able to finish off drives, something they could not do against Boston College, and something they have spent the past two weeks working on. 

"I think the main thing was just finishing," Uiagalelei said. "Because we got field goals.  B.T. (Potter) is a great kicker, but we want to be able to just turn those field goals into touchdowns, especially when we get into the red zone. Just be able to finish drives, and just be able to come up with touchdowns instead of field goals. So that was the main thing, just be able to finish. Finish periods, finish practice periods and be able to finish at practice. Finishing practice strong just focusing on just finishing."

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