Ups and Downs: Defense Looks Sluggish In Tigers 35-12 Win Over Furman

No. 5 Clemson improves to 2-0 on the young season with a 35-12 win over Furman.

Jason Priester All Clemson

CLEMSON, S.C.- At times, the Tigers looked like a team that played just four short days ago.

No. 5 Clemson knocked off FCS foe Furman 35-12 on Saturday in the Tigers' home-opener, but it was probably a little closer than most expected.

Ups

DJ Uiagalelei: This was a very strong showing from Uiagalelei, as the junior built off a solid second half last Monday night in the win over Georgia Tech. Uiagalelei completed 21 of 27 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He did have the one interception, but it's hard to fault the quarterback for that one as it deflected off Brannon Spector's hands into that of a defender. Uiagalelei was accurate and quick with the decision-making, something that was not seen a season ago.

Wide Receivers: After not giving Uiagalelei much help on Monday night, the Clemson wideouts had a bounce-back performance on Saturday. Beaux Collins, Brannon Spector, E.J. Williams and Antonio Williams all had at least three catches on the day. It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but it was a step in the right direction.

Downs

Defense: What happened to the Clemson defense against Furman? Maybe this unit was affected by the quick turnaround. The Paladins racked up 384 yards of total offense, had 19 first downs and possessed the ball for more than 34 minutes. More worrisome is that more than 250 of those yards came through the air. Was this an anomaly or a sign of deeper issues that must be addressed?

Running Game: For the second straight game, Clemson failed to really establish the running game against an inferior opponent. After averaging just 3.0 YPC against Georgia Tech, the Clemson ground game did manage to go over 5.0 YPC against Furman, but it was a struggle to get there, as the running backs just don't have a lot of room to operate at the moment.

Muffed Punt: After such a strong showing on special teams in the season-opener, Will Taylor muffed his only punt return of the game, setting up the Paladins on a short field.

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