Clemson football

2022 - 9 - 6

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Image courtesy of "Greenville News"

Dabo Swinney trusts his judgment. Season opener was a perfect ... (Greenville News)

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney keeps his trust in people and it paid off with a 41-10 win against Georgia Tech.

He will play in the fourth quarter. He had two bad plays in the first two possessions, a bobbled snap on the opening drive after a turnover to ruin that chance and then a lost fumble in the red zone to ruin that chance. He found strength in what Swinney did, or, more importantly, didn't do. Clemson, which somehow won 10 games last season despite arguably not deserving that level of success, has a couple of layup games coming up against Furman and Louisiana Tech. Swinney didn't turn to the backup, freshman Cade Klubnik, the highest-ranked quarterback recruit in the country and a guy who has been on campus since January, preparing for an opportunity, because Uiagalelei had finished his expected breakout sophomore season with 10 interceptions and nine touchdowns passes. Uiagalelei, as people under the tutelage of Swinney tend to do, got better. Swinney did it with a quarterback who, quite frankly, was awful last season, a Heisman Trophy favorite and NIL darling who threw 10 interceptions and nine touchdowns in 13 games. Swinney could have hired almost anybody for this season to replace offensive coordinator Tony Elliott (now coach at Virginia) and defensive coordinator Brent Venables (now coach at Oklahoma). It's evident in the way he builds his team, which relies more on faith than fact. [Xavier Thomas remains sidelined as Clemson football opens season vs. Come here and get better, even if if means you will be better somewhere else. "I trust my judgment of people," Swinney said.

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Image courtesy of "Clemson Maven"

Position Grades: Clemson at Georgia Tech (Clemson Maven)

The Tigers have now won each of their last eight conference openers since 2015, the longest conference-opener winning streak in school history.

However, the offensive line was not a highlight of the Tigers game, in fact, it may have been one of the low points. The receivers did not help Uiagalelei out. Uiagalelei did not get a ton of help from his receivers or offensive line. Blake Miller, who the coaches have raved about through camp, looked overmatched and unprepared. Henry looked like he was auditioning to play on Monday nights for the Falcons. As is the case after every Clemson football game, we give you our unfiltered grades for the game.

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Clemson football: 3 takeaways from Tigers' win over Georgia Tech (ClutchPoints)

Carson Connelly blocked a kick early in the second quarter, resulting in the Tigers' first score of the game, and freshman Wade Woodaz blocked another midway ...

While it was far from ideal, it was a step in the right direction for Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei botched a snap from center on third down, destroying the Tigers’ first offensive opportunity and fumbling away their second. Of course, he was aided by possibly the finest defense in the country. Clemson football held the Yellow Jackets to 237 total yards and only 3.6 yards per play. He was, however, just good enough until the finish, preserving the opening win of the Tigers’ 2022 season. Henry was the boss. Aside from a few successful screens, the Tigers mainly held the Yellow Jackets at bay. The Tigers got plenty from their defense and just enough from their offense to beat Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on Monday night. Barrett Carter was all over the field making plays. Carson Connelly blocked a kick early in the second quarter, resulting in the Tigers’ first score of the game, and freshman Wade Woodaz blocked another midway through the fourth, setting up Clemson deep in Georgia Tech territory. Will Shipley scored from three yards out four plays later to put the Tigers ahead 34-10. 4 Clemson kicked off their 2022 college football season by defeating the Yellow Jackets, 41-10, at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

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5 things we learned in Clemson football's dominant win over ... (The State)

Did Clemson win? DJ Uiagalelei, Cade Klubnik and Tigers defeated Ga Tech Yellow Jackets in 2022 college game played in Atlanta. Here's the final score.

Indeed, running back Will Shipley punched in the game’s opening score on a fourth and goal a few plays later to put Clemson up 7-0. Swanson, a junior starting his first career game, averaged 42.7 yards per punt and landed three inside the 20-yard line. His four catches were the most by a Clemson true freshman in a season opener since Ray-Ray McCloud had eight against Wofford in 2015. 2 slot man behind Brannon Spector but ended up being one of the team’s most productive wide receivers against Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Sims dropped back, felt immediate pressure from defensive end KJ Henry and uncorked a deep ball that was intercepted by safety Andrew Mukuba. Klubnik’s sole turn at helm, albeit under far different circumstances, stood in sharp contrast to earlier drives.

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Image courtesy of "Greenville News"

Clemson football's opener was far from perfect. Coach Dabo ... (Greenville News)

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney saw good and bad in the Tigers' opener. Most important to him was how they handled the bad.

“When it was 14-10, you could feel a little tension,” Swinney said. “It was a good start for us, but good teams keep getting better. “That’s what I was doing. “I thought for the most part, outside of a few spots here or there, we played pretty clean for the opener,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Saw a lot of special teams stuff and sloppy play. Perhaps quarterback DJ Uiagalelei just needed a little pressure cooking to get warmed up; he responded with a solid second half, and the offense posted 27 points.

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Image courtesy of "Clemson Wire"

Five takeaways from Clemson's win over Georgia Tech (Clemson Wire)

Clemson overcame a rough start offensively to defeat Georgia Tech 41-10 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta Monday night.

The freshman quarterback looked exactly as advertised coming out of high school. The Tigers did, however, manage to score three touchdowns on the ground. The defense allowed just 164 passing yards and 73 rushing yards the entire game. He finished the game completing 19-32 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown while also adding a rushing touchdown. This Tigers’ defense looked very dominant against the Yellow Jackets. The defense headlined with impressive performances Bryan Bresee, Trenton Simpson, and Andrew Mukuba handled their business against the Yellow Jacket’s offense.

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Clemson football: Dabo Swinney discusses D.J. Uiagalelei, Cade ... (247Sports)

Clemson's offense struggled early and led 14-3 at halftime thanks to several big-time stops by the Tigers' elite defense before the other side of the football ...

A lot of new coaches. A lot of new personnel. They had a lot of new people.

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No. 4 Clemson Football Makes Adjustments Early to Dominate ... (BCSNN - Best College Sports News Network)

Clemson's defense registered seven tackles for loss and allowed just 237 yards as the Tigers won their season-opener, 41-10, over Georgia Tech at ...

The Tigers capitalized as Shipley earned another rushing touchdown with a 3-yard run, making the score 34-10. Potter extends Clemson’s lead to 27-10 with a 31-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. Following a short turnaround, Clemson’s next game action will come on Saturday, Sept. After the defense forced another punt, Uiagalelei kept a drive alive on 3rd and 2, avoiding a sack and finding Shipley in the backfield, who took it ten yards for a first down. Georgia Tech struck back on their first possession in the third quarter, drawing to within four on a 13-yard touchdown pass by Sims to EJ Jenkins. Clemson’s defense made an impact on the game’s first play from scrimmage, as pressure from defensive end K.J.

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Image courtesy of "Clemson Maven"

What We Learned From Clemson's Season-Opening Victory (Clemson Maven)

A look at what went right, what didn't for the Clemson offense plus how the defensive speed was evident in the Tigers' 41-10 victory over Georgia Tech on ...

After all, the Yellow Jackets aren't exactly known as a high-octane offense, but Clemson's ability to chase down ball carriers from both behind and in front of the line of scrimmage was impressive. Uiagalelei made a heads-up play to get the ball to Shipley while he was being sacked, but keep in mind how much of an effort play that was from Shipley, who fell down trying to block. Want to join in on the discussion? He popped back up, ended up with the ball suddenly in his hands and then took off for a first down to keep the drive alive. Swinney noted that the team had too many short fields to establish a successful run game, but Shipley is one of the most reliable players on the team. He had a 6-yard TD reception in which he broke off his route and got open for Uiagalelei to find him in the end zone. But Collins also misplayed a good pass on a fade route in the end zone. Davis Allen made one really nice grab along the sideline, but he also dropped a pass that could've been a score. The offensive line struggled to create much in the run game. Uiagalelei settled in and started successfully making the kind of throws he struggled with last year. The true freshman signal-caller got one drive, and it took advantage of his strengths. The [Tigers](https://www.si.com/college/clemson/football) started out looking like a spitting image of last year's struggling offense, but the final three quarters weren't that bad.

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Image courtesy of "Trojans Wire"

USC is better than Clemson and Dabo Swinney right now (Trojans Wire)

USC, warts and all, is better than the Clemson Tigers and Dabo Swinney. We can back it up.

The Clemson Empire is no more. Clemson is weak precisely in the areas where a team needs to be strong against USC. However, we are referring to the present moment, not Week 5 or Week 8. If Georgia Tech hadn’t made some special teams mistakes, the gap between these teams would have been even smaller. Clemson has been a dynastic program since 2015, making the College Football Playoff — and the national title game — with great regularity. The USC Trojans have a lot of flaws on defense.

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DJ Uiagalelei Still Clemson Starting QB Despite Cade Klubnik's Play ... (Bleacher Report)

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney isn't going to make a change at quarterback right now. Swinney told reporters that DJ Uiagalelei is the starter but freshman ...

He was a 5-star prospect and the No. He was a 5-star prospect and No. He accounted for 65 of the team's 67 yards and capped it off with a six-yard touchdown pass to Beaux Collins.

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USC is better than Clemson and Dabo Swinney right now (Yahoo Sports)

The Trojans are a better team than Dabo Swinney's Clemson Tigers. Controversial? Sure. Clemson has been a dynastic program since 2015, making the College ...

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Clemson Football: I did try to warn you (Rubbing The Rock)

There were some soft areas in pass defense but nothing crippling. Jeff Sims deserves a lot of the credit for that. We knew he was a good athlete, and now his ...

It hit DJ in the hands, so he needed to catch it, but it was high and hard. DJ was pressured the way he was last year. Putnam did a decent job at center, but he had a few snaps that were difficult for DJ to reel in. The second scoring drive saw a few great plays by DJ, including the touchdown pass that required DJ to move out of the pocket and improvise, finding Beaux Collins in the back of the end zone. It didn’t change the fact that most of the time he wasn’t much different than what we saw last season. He was the best quarterback on the field Monday night.

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Freshman QB Cade Klubnik shines, and creates a lot of buzz, in ... (Charlotte Observer)

Freshman quarterback throws touchdown against Georgia Tech in Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Will he beat out DJ Uiagalelei as Dabo Swinney's starter?

“A very good decision-maker,” Swinney said of Klubnik. ](https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/acc/clemson-university/article265361101.html)“We just needed him to play. It’s a good situation for us for sure. “You can tell he’s out there playing with a lot of confidence … I needed him to have to play … “They’re both very humble. I needed him to go out there and hand the ball off. Klubnik rolled to his right and hit wide receiver Will Taylor for a 20-yard third-down conversion on his first career completion. They’re both great leaders. They’re both really, really talented. [Uiagalelei has been steadfast in his support of Klubnik](https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/acc/clemson-university/article264610581.html) even as the freshman challenges him for Clemson’s starting quarterback spot, and Swinney said the respect goes both ways. 6 recruit in the class of 2022 ](https://247sports.com/Player/Cade-Klubnik-46056879/high-school-219672/)delivered an 18-yard laser down the middle to Swinney on a screen-and-go — his best throw of the night — before rolling right and hitting Taylor for a three-yard touchdown on an out route.

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Clemson Football: Defense, Special Teams Make Big Plays Early ... (AthlonSports.com)

Three key takeaways from Clemson's win on Monday night in Week 1 of the 2022 college football season against Georgia Tech.

But most of the night, he had Tigers in his face. Georgia Tech has some talent on their front, but Clemson will face teams with bigger, badder defensive lines during the course of the season. And considering how impressive true freshman Cade Klubnik looked in his stint at the end of the contest, Uiagalelei's progression better continue as the season goes on. The Tigers can improve in many areas, and Dabo Swinney and his staff will analyze everything to make sure the team is better in Week 2. When given time, Tech quarterback Jeff Sims could make plays by finding the occasional opening in the Clemson secondary. Henry, Bryan Bresee, and company dominating the line of scrimmage or Carson Donnelly and Billy Wiles blocking punts, the Yellow Jackets had major problems handling the Tigers.

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Image courtesy of "The State"

Freshman QB Cade Klubnik shines, and creates a lot of buzz, in ... (The State)

Freshman quarterback throws touchdown against Georgia Tech in Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Will he beat out DJ Uiagalelei as Dabo Swinney's starter?

](https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/acc/clemson-university/article265361101.html)“We just needed him to play. “A very good decision-maker,” Swinney said of Klubnik. It’s a good situation for us for sure. “They’re both very humble. “You can tell he’s out there playing with a lot of confidence … I needed him to have to play … Klubnik rolled to his right and hit wide receiver Will Taylor for a 20-yard third-down conversion on his first career completion. They’re both great leaders. They’re both really, really talented. I needed him to go out there and hand the ball off. [Uiagalelei has been steadfast in his support of Klubnik](https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/acc/clemson-university/article264610581.html) even as the freshman challenges him for Clemson’s starting quarterback spot, and Swinney said the respect goes both ways. ](https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/acc/clemson-university)

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