3 Instant Takeaways From Clemson's Win Over North Carolina

Clemson football came back down two touchdowns to win its first ACC game of the 2026 season, taking down North Carolina 21-20 at home.

Despite a two-hour lightning delay stopping the contest with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Tigers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) score two touchdowns after the stoppage to overcome adversity on Saturday afternoon.

Here are three takeaways from the extended period we had at Memorial Stadium in Week 3’s contest.

Clemson Has Elite Pieces in its Secondary

Clemson struggled to defend the run, but when it forced North Carolina quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. to throw, the secondary delivered effectively.

The Tigers forced Edwards to complete only 13 of his 31 passes for 135 yards, with a touchdown coming from cornerback Elliot Washington II slipping on a flat route. Otherwise, the cornerbacks and safeties were shutdown for the remainder of the contest.

Washington even got the last laugh, picking off Edwards on North Carolina’s final offensive play of the game to seal the contest.

Junior Ashton Hampton was sticky on Tar Heel receivers, constantly slowing down drives with incompletions on Edwards’ part. On a North Carolina fourth down to keep a drive alive, safety Jerome Carter III stayed with tight end Jelani Thurman to force a turnover on downs.

Clemson’s secondary kept the game in reach, and closed the door when it took the lead.

Ground Game Sees Success

Saturday’s win had Clemson’s first 100-yard rusher of the season: sophomore Gideon Davidson.

Averaging 6.6 yards per carry, Davidson added 105 yards and the go-ahead touchdown after the delay to continue the momentum going into next week. As a whole, the Tigers averaged 5.2 yards per carry and amassed 186 rushing yards throughout the win.

Despite an early fumble, Jarvis Green was another name who got involved with 22 yards off of five carries, seeing a blend of different backs get the ball throughout the contest.

However, true freshman Tait Reynolds made the smart plays when it came to the option plays, giving Davidson and the rest of the room success. He even added a nine-yard rush to move the chains with only a minute to go to waste the rest of North Carolina’s timeouts.

While there were woes early on in the season, the ground game responded effectively.

Momentum to Take Out West

The win was a tale of two halves, which led to the lopsided score early. However, as the offense got comfortable under Reynolds, the juice became complementary.

Davidson was a name who showed plenty of emotion on big runs, while wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr. added multiple chunk plays to rile up the Clemson crowd. On defense, anytime Hampton forced an incompletion, he was nodding his head and riling up the crowd to be louder on the next play.

It’s a positive sign for the Tigers, especially after looking quiet on both sides of the ball to start off the season. After the 27-yard touchdown to Christian Bentancur, it gave the team momentum to finish the game with a comeback victory over an ACC opponent.

Now, head coach Dabo Swinney will look to take that momentum to the West Coast, facing Cal on Friday with hopes to begin the conference slate with two straight victories.

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