No. 5 Clemson Survives No. 21 Wake Forest in Overtime
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins didn't have the best of days covering Wake Forest's receiving corps, but he saved his best play for last.
Wiggins broke up a Sam Hartman pass in the end zone on fourth down in the second overtime to clinch a 51-45 for the No. 5 Tigers at Truist Field in Winston-Salem on Saturday. DJ Uiagalelei threw a 21-yard TD to Davis Allen on the previous OT possession to give Clemson the lead over the No. 21 Demon Deacons.
Uiagalelei threw five touchdowns and Will Shipley rushed for 107 yards and scored once to help Dabo Swinney avoid his first-ever loss to Wake Forest as head coach.
In the highest-ranked game between these two teams in Truist Field history, it also marked the overtime game between the Tigers and Deacs since 2004. It's the first time since 2011 that the game was decided by single digits.
But it was far from easy for a Tiger team that allows 447 yards, including 337 passing, and needed 559 yards to improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in ACC play. Hartman finished with six touchdown passes for the Deacons.
Clemson jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead on Uiagalelei touchdown passes to Jake Briningstool and Brannon Spector. The Tigers led 17-7 in the second quarter when Wake Forest cut it to three on a 5-yard TD pass from Hartman to Jahmal Banks. The Tigers got a late field goal to go up 20-14 at the half.
But the Deacs forced a punt on Clemson's opening second-half possession, and Hartman threw two third-quarter touchdowns to give Wake Forest a 28-20 lead with 7:47 left.
Clemson answered with a 9-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 5-yard TD catch by Allen, and a two-point conversion pass to Beaxu Collins tied the game at 28-all. Wake would come right back and score on Hartman's 25-yard TD strike to Donovan Greene to go up 35-28 with 1:19 left in the third.
Will Shipley ran in a 1-yard TD to tie the game again with 11:16 to play in the game. Both teams got field goals to make it 38-all with 4:01 to play. Clemson forced a late punt after a big stop and ran out the clock in regulation.
Wake Forest struck on its first overtime possession when Hartman found A.T. Perry wide open in the end zone for an 8-yard score. Uiagalelei followed with a 21-yard TD pass to Collins to tie the game at 45-all.
Player of the game: Uiagalelei had his best game statistically since the Notre Dame game in 2020. The junior quarterback threw for 371 yards on 26-of-41 passes.
Key play: Allen made a leaping grab in the middle of the end zone and pulled down the biggest catch of his career in the second overtime for the Tigers.
Freshman Impact: Antonio Williams finished with 51 receiving yards on three catches.
Coach's decision: Facing a third-and-12 from the Wake 43, Clemson threw an 8-yard pass, setting up a fourth-down decision. There wasn't any wavering as Swinney sent BT Potter onto the field for a 52-yard field goal try for a tie, and the kicker rewarded the decision with a make in the fourth quarter.
Stat of the game: Clemson's defense was penalized five times for pass interference, resulting in a gain of 75 penalty yards for Wake Forest.
Injury report: Clemson had several key defensive players miss the trip to Wake Forest because of health issues. During the game, WR Beaux Collins left the game in the first half and was back on the field in the third quarter. Running back Kobe Pace also went down in the first half but he returned to the game.
Next Up: Clemson faces a huge test next week with No. 12 NC State coming to Memorial Stadium. A start time has yet to be announced.
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