This Time Pulling Uiagalelei Backfired on Clemson

Despite being pulled, Clemson QB came back and finished the game.

Kevin Vandervort / All Clemson

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — When Dabo Swinny decided to pull DJ Uiagalelei from the Syracuse game back on Oct. 22, it worked out for fourth-ranked Clemson.

When the veteran head coach did it again on Saturday, it aided in the Tigers’ 35-14 loss to Notre Dame.

Backup quarterback Cade Klubnik was intercepted by Benjamin Morrison at the Clemson 14, setting up a short touchdown three plays later, which opened up the game and signaled the end of Clemson’s 14-game winning streak.

What made it seem worse for the Tigers (8-1) was the fact Uiagalelei appeared to get in rhythm before being pulled from the game. Though Clemson did not score, he drove the Tigers from their own 3-yard line to their 48 before things bogged down.

It appeared Clemson finally had a little mojo on offense, as did Uiagalelei. Then he was pulled from the game and the Tigers never recovered.

“We just wanted to try and get a spark going,” Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. “I told both of them to just be ready and I told DJ to keep his head in it because you never know what can happen, so he stayed positive and obviously we had to come back to him.”

Down 21-0, Uiagalelei came back in the game on the Tigers’ next possession. He drove them down to the Notre Dame 19-yard line, where on second-and-10 he tried to hit Joseph Ngata down the near sideline. Instead, Morrison recorded his second interception of the night and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown.

After being pulled from the game, and then throwing a pick-six, it would have been easy to assume Uiagalelei would quit. He did not.

Instead, he came back out and led Clemson on an 11-play, 75-yard drive, which included his 21-yard run up the middle on third-and-nine, moving the football to the Notre Dame one. Shipley scored on the next play.

“My biggest thing is I am a team player. I want to do whatever is best for the team,” Uiagalelei said. “I want to be the best person. So, if that means I have to go out and go block kicks or go give water to anybody, then I will give drinks to everybody.

“For me, my mindset is to be able to be the best person on the team and be the best leader I can be for anyone on the team. Whatever I need to do, that is all I do.”

Uiagalelei led Clemson on a second scoring drive at the end of the game. Another 10-play, 75-yard drive which he capped with a four-yard touchdown pass to Ngata.

“It did not surprise me one bit to see him come back and play with confidence. He is a team guy all the way. He is a guy that is going to battle until the end,” Streeter said.

Uiagalelei, who completed 27-of-39 passes for 191 yards, said he respected Swinney’s decision to pull him.

“That is Coach Swinney’s decision right there. I respect everything that he does,” the Clemson quarterback said. “I was right there trying to support Cade and give Cade as much confidence as possible.”

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