Biggest Winners and Losers from Clemson's Week 2 Win Against Georgia Southern

CLEMSON, S.C. — After suffering a blowout loss to No. 8 LSU in Week 1, the Clemson Tigers bounced back for their home-opener against Georgia Southern.

Similar to the season-opener in Baton Rouge, this weekend’s contest opened up with a two-hour lightning delay before finally kicking off at 9:30 p.m. EDT.

There were just two touchdowns scored all game, with both offenses struggling immensely under different circumstances, but Clemson was still able to pull it out and came out on top with a 22-7 win.

That said, Clemson Tigers on SI curated a list of the three biggest winners and losers from the Week 2 showdown — here they are.

Winners

WR T.J. Moore

After catching the ball four times for just 31 yards in the team’s season-opener, Moore dominated Georgia Southern from start to finish, totaling 7 catches for 103 yards and 1 touchdown.

While the offense struggled as a whole throughout the entirety of the game, the 6-foot-3 wideout was clearly the best player on the field and proved that. In the contest, he also got to build a connection with signal caller Tait Reynolds, as five of Moore’s seven catches came from the true freshman.

EDGE Will Heldt

Heldt had an uber-talented debut season with the Tigers last year, leading the team in tackles for a loss (15.5) and sacks (7.5) alongside NFL-caliber players such as Peter Woods and T.J. Parker.

With that in mind, most fans and media expected the 6-foot-6 senior to step up defensively against LSU in Week 1; however, that didn’t go as planned, with him notching just four tackles on a defensive line that let up over 300 rushing yards and struggled to set the edge.

This weekend, though, we saw the dominant presence Heldt brought in 2025 return, as he logged three tackles for a loss, two sacks and one quarterback hurry. By the end of the night, he led the team in both TFLs and sacks.

QB Tait Reynolds

As many know, there's been a quarterback battle at Clemson for the past few months.

It started in the spring, when Reynolds got his first taste of college football and showed he could compete with redshirt junior Christopher Vizzina. The pair battled for the starting job up to the tail-end of fall camp, when it was announced that Vizzina would begin the season as the starter.

However, after a rough start that included a pick-six against LSU last weekend, Reynolds heard his number called. He played the final drive of the first half and the entire third quarter, but didn’t get to throw the ball all that much, finishing the game with just four completions for 22 yards.

Heading into this week, both were named co-starters, as head coach Dabo Swinney needed to find out who he could trust as the leader on the field.

Vizzina began the Georgia Southern contest as the starter and showed promise, leading the Tigers' lone touchdown drive of the game in the first quarter. On the very next drive, though, he threw an interception on a deep ball and injured himself in the process, which led to Reynolds taking over.

The true freshman still needs more time to grow, but he performed well and made some extremely impressive throws under pressure, finishing the contest going 16-of-27 for 178 passing yards. He added 38 yards on the ground.

K Nolan Hauser (Honorable Mention)

The junior kicker has essentially been Clemson's offense over the past two weeks, contributing 18 of the team's 32 total points in that span. That's how putrid the offense has been.

On Saturday against Georgia Southern, he went a perfect 5-for-5, including field goals from 49 and 50 yards, both coming in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

Losers

QB Christopher Vizzina

As mentioned, Vizzina had a solid second drive against the Eagles, culminating in a 10-yard passing touchdown to Moore. However, the interception, combined with the injury, essentially sealed his night and put Reynolds on full display for Clemson fans to see.

The extent of the injury is still unknown, but both the performance and injury are the last things you want happening while fighting for a starting spot, which is why he made this section of the list.

Offensive Line

Entering 2026, plenty of questions already surrounded the offensive line, and last week's performance in Louisiana only made them louder. The Tigers' offense managed just 145 total yards, a lot of it coming in garbage time, and only 40 rushing yards on 26 carries behind that line.

The position room remains one of the most inexperienced on the roster. Getting fifth-year Collin Sadler back from injury this week against the Eagles didn't change much, either, as the offensive line committed six penalties and consistently lacked physicality at the point of attack. The run game did total 150 yards on 39 carries, but that number just doesn't tell the full story.

The group also makes it much harder to evaluate other talent on the roster because of how poorly they've performed up to this point.

RB Gideon Davidson

While the offensive line certainly isn't helping, Davidson simply hasn't looked like the player many expected coming into this year.

After flashing potential in limited backup duty in 2025 behind now-Baltimore Ravens running back Adam Randall, the sophomore was expected to take a substantial step forward this season. That leap hasn't materialized yet.

Against LSU, he managed just seven touches for 20 yards, leaving senior Jarvis Green as the team's leading rusher that night with four carries for 21 yards. This week's line looks better on the surface: 14 carries for 62 yards (4.4 yards per carry). But the light dims once you factor in a 21-yard garbage-time run that padded his final stats.

Meanwhile, Chris Johnson Jr. excelled against the Eagles, averaging nearly eight yards per carry on his way to 53 total yards. Don't be surprised if the SMU transfer starts seeing a bigger workload once ACC play begins next weekend.

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