Clemson’s Uiagalelei Passes Major Test

Tigers quarterback has put together back-to-back big games against ACC's best.

CLEMSON, S.C. — Heading into Saturday’s top 10 showdown with No. 10 NC State, people wondered if DJ Uiagalelei could put back-to-back winning performances together against a nationally ranked opponent.

Last week, Uiagalelei torched the Wake Forest secondary for 371 yards and a career-high five touchdown passes in leading No. 5 Clemson to a double overtime victory.

But NC State has one of the best defensive units in the country, led by a veteran linebacking crew that is considered the best in college football.

Uiagalelei passed his second test of the season.

The Clemson quarterback completed 21 of 30 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for a career-high 73 yards and scored two more times in leading the Tigers to a 30-20 victory over the Wolfpack.

“I am just really proud of him,” offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. “We talked about a couple of throws he missed, but every quarterback in the world is going to miss throws every game, pretty much. I don’t know if anybody has ever done a perfect game.

“But I am just proud of him continuing to comeback after a missed throw where we had a touchdown, and just keep battling.”

No better example of Uiagalelei’s will to fight then after NC State (4-1, 0-1 ACC) took a 10-6 lead with 1:51 to play before halftime.

He responded by leading Clemson on an 8-play, 75-yard drive, which he capped with a one-yard plunge with 31 seconds left before halftime. Uiagalelei hit Beaux Collins for a 14-yard gain on the drive’s second play and then later he found running back Will Shipley running wide open down the sideline for a 26-yard gain to the NC State one.

“It was a great two-minute drive,” Uiagalelei said. “We work on that in practice, so I was happy to go out there and see it.”

The momentum from that two-minute drive carried over into the second half. Clemson defenders Barrett Carter and Myles Murphy got two sacks on the Wolfpack’s first possession to force a three-and-out, then Uiagalelei and the Clemson offense went right down the field and added another touchdown.

This time Uiagalelei rumbled for a career-long 38 yards, setting up his own touchdown pass to tight end Jake Briningstool which gave the Tigers a 20-10 lead at the time.

“Being in that two-minute drive, our guys have been driving in that two-minute situation,” Streeter said. “Up tempo a little bit, and guys are making plays. Whether it is a scramble situation or just making plays in the run game. We had a couple of big runs in (the two-minute) drive, too.

“They just gained a ton of confidence in that two-minute drive.”