Rapid Reaction: Clemson wins an ugly one against Wake Forest

Clemson improved to 4-2 on the year with a 17-12 win over Wake Forest.

Whatever progress Clemson had made offensively over the past couple of weeks was nowhere to be found on Saturday as the Tigers turned the ball over and failed to find any consistency or explosion. Luckily, the Clemson defense turned in one of their more elite performances of this season.

Clemson fumbled the ball twice in the first half, including once inside of their own five, but the defense kept Wake off of the scoreboard on both subsequent drives. In fact, Wake had four drives start in Clemson's territory in the first half and were only able to pick up three points.

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Both of Wake Forest's scoring drives in the second half came after personal foul penalties. A field goal drive was extended after Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was called for a very questionable roughing the passer call. Wake's lone touchdown came two plays after a facemask gave Wake Forest's drive new life.

Like much of the past two seasons, Clemson was saved by Will Shipley. After receiving just four touches in the first half, Shipley carried the ball 15 times in the second half, finishing with 97 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Dabo Swinney tied legendary Clemson coach Frank Howard with 165 career wins, but it was ugly. The bye week couldn't come at a better time. The Tigers have a lot to figure out. There's some sort of misfire with the offense. Clemson has the talent, but it's not being put in a position to succeed. Cade Klubnik averaged under 8 yards per throw, finishing the game at 18-28 for 131 yards. That's not good enough. There was no creativity or aggression. There were no shots or game-breaking plays. Clemson slogged their way to a win that left more questions than answers.

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With his 165th career win, Dabo Swinney has tied College Football Hall of Famer Frank Howard for the most wins by a head coach in Clemson Football history. pic.twitter.com/INNWYGBhf7

— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) October 7, 2023