What We Learned from Clemson's Thrilling Win at Wake Forest

Coming out of Clemson's Week 4 win at Wake Forest, where the road through ACC Atlantic runs is clear, how good DJ Uiagalelei is playing is very clear and why the Tigers' defensive backs struggled is crystal clear.

Winning is hard. 

That's not something anybody should've forgotten but it was put on full display in No. 5 Clemson's 51-45 double-overtime victory at No. 21 Wake Forest on Saturday. The Tigers improved to 33-7 in one-score games since 2011. 

Call it culture, like head coach Dabo Swinney said after the game, or luck or having better players or whatever you want. It doesn't matter. It's an indisputable fact and pretty impressive. 

"We have an unshakable belief in our DNA," Swinney said.

Despite giving up 337 passing yards, being penalized 10 times for 120 yards and needed the offense to bail out the defense for one of the few instances over the last couple of years, Swinney feels like this game will make his team stronger. 

"You hate games like that, but sometimes you need a game like that to really solidify your confidence and your belief, especially coming off of last year where we couldn't hardly score 21 points," Swinney said.

The Tigers seemingly grew up and won a key game on the road, but let's take a look at what else we learned coming out of a win that put Clemson at 4-0 overall and 2-0 in ACC play:

DJ's rolling

Clemson junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei silenced some critics, turned off any heat surrounding his starting position and proved that the 2020 game at Notre Dame wasn't going to be the only great statistical performance of his career. 

Uiagalelei threw for 371 yards, the most since that road game two years ago, and five touchdown passes at Wake Forest on Saturday. He blistered the Demon Deacons' defense on third downs, going 9-of-14 passing for 211 yards in those situations and completed seven pass plays of 20 yards or more. He added 52 key rushing yards and twice converted a third down with his legs. 

It's easy to see now why Swinney and the rest of the team backed Uiagalelei so much during the offseason and early part of the fall. The health issues (some of his own) and inconsistencies plagued the offense last year, and he wasn't good enough in big situations. This year, Uiagalelei is in a much better place mentally, and he's found a groove with his receivers that was missing in 2021. 

The leash didn't get longer. It got thrown in the trash can. 

"Through four games, if you don't recognize this kid's special ability then you're blind and you just want something else to write about," Swinney said. "This kid's special. After tonight, I just don't think you can question this kid."

Tigers take control in the Atlantic 

Clemson defensive end KJ Henry said last week that the road to an ACC Atlantic Division championship went through Winston-Salem, his hometown and home of the team that won it last year. With the Tigers now ahead of Wake Forest in the standings and head-to-head, it appears this side of the conference will have to go through Death Valley. 

No. 12 NC State comes to town for a huge matchup on Oct. 1 at Memorial Stadium. All eyes will be on this 7:30 p.m., prime-time showdown. Had Clemson lost that game at Wake, there's no ESPN "College GameDay" and likely no night atmosphere. There's already a ton of awareness on this game considering the Wolfpack upset the Tigers last year in dramatic fashion. 

While NC State hasn't played a conference game yet and Clemson will be on its third, it looks like the winner of this game will be in the driver's seat. Florida State is off to a 2-0 start in league play, and the Seminoles visit NC State on Oct. 8 and host Clemson on Oct. 15. Syracuse (2-0) visits Death Valley on Oct. 22. Next month's round-robin will likely determine who represents the division in Charlotte in December. 

"We didn't win the division or anything like that but we stayed in control and it doesn't get any easier next week," Swinney said. "It'll be another tough battle as they all will be." 

Coverage issues

Wake Forest is really good on offense. Between the mesh run style and the speedy, athletic receivers, combined with an experienced quarterback who isn't afraid to put the ball in the air, the Demon Deacons are a handful.

But they haven't been anywhere near as successful against Clemson's vaunted defense the last few years until this matchup. What changed? Obviously, the personnel is different. So is the guy making Clemson's play calls and creating the schemes. 

It seems, though, that throughout the game, Clemson cornerbacks constantly struggled to push Wake's receivers off their routes. In either press man or Cover 2 schemes, it's incredibly necessary to keep the receiver from getting off to a good start. It helped lead to five pass interference penalties that led to 75 extra yards for Wake Forest, who also picked up six first downs via yellow flags on the Tigers.

Clemson doesn't have the experience yet. It's probably too early to question talent. But with Sheridan Jones and Andrew Mukuba out, it left younger corners like Nate Wiggins, Toriano Pride Jr. and Jeadyn Lukus having to fight experienced receivers and Sam Hartman, who recognized the mismatch immediately. 

Plus, the safeties either drifted from the play in Cover 2 or were assigned to guard against the run in man coverage. It was a recipe for disaster against Hartman, who had just enough time against the Tigers' pass rush to throw some darts. 

The good news is, Wiggins made the final play in the end zone to secure the win. Clemson will get more bodies back soon and the ones that took the beating Saturday should get better from it. Regardless, defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin has some work to do and questions to answer.

"We gave up six touchdown passes," Swinney said. "We didn't give up seven. That's the only good thing I can say."

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