No. 10 Clemson Tigers got off to a rocky start on the road, even though it felt like a home game with 60% of the sellout crowd being their fans. They were trailing the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by 7 points at the end of the first quarter, but went on to control the subsequent frames in dominant fashion to separate themselves from the Demon Deacons and win convincingly 49-14.
“A lot of good things in the game,” Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said. “It was good to see us able to put them away.”
The Tigers are an impressive 5-1 on the season and lead the ACC with a perfect 4-0 record. They have won 5 consecutive games since the season-opening 34-3 loss against Carson Beck and the Georgia Bulldogs, and they have also lit up the scoreboard, putting up at least 40 points in 4 of those 5 victories.
Quarterback Cade Klubnik had a heck of a day, completing 31 of his 41 pass attempts for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running back Phil Mafah did his best Derrick Henry impression, breaking tackles using power and finesse, running for 118 yards and 2 scores. Jake Briningstool caught 7 balls for 104 yards and a touchdown. Clemson was perfect in the red zone, 5 trips, 5 touchdowns, and played mistake-free football, not giving the rock away.
“We got going,” Klubnik said. “Proud of the guys on how we responded and played a great game.”
The Tigers were able to add some trick plays to their arsenal, showing off their creativity, with receiver Antonio Williams throwing 28 yards to tight end Briningstool for a third-quarter touchdown.
“We find different ways to win each week,” Williams said.
Wake Forest opened the scoring on a 31-yard pass from signal caller Hank Bachmeier to Horatio Fields. Clemson’s first two series stalled out, resulting in punts with just 47 yards gained on 14 snaps.
Then the Tigers offense started to hum and come to life. They went down the field and scored on four straight possessions, two of which began with short fields after Wake Forest interceptions. The Tigers scored with back-to-back touchdowns on drives to open the second half to put the game out of reach.
“We’re just resilient in everything we do,” Klubnik said. “Just to finish the way we did was awesome.”
In the second and third quarters, Clemson’s superior talent won out and dominated both sides of the ball, outgaining Wake Forest 364-92. The Demon Deacons averaged a lowly three yards per play and turned it over twice. In the third quarter, the Demon Deacons were sacked twice and did not produce a single yard through the air.
“They’re a really good program, so we know when we play them there’s a small margin of error,” Demon Deacons coach Dave Clawson said. “I trust that our players will press on. We’ve got a lot of football left.”
With the victory, Clemson extended its streak to 16 straight wins over Wake Forest. Coach Swinney has never dropped a game to Wake Forest. It is like a big brother little brother relationship.
The 10th-ranked Tigers host the Virginia Cavaliers at home on Saturday.
Wake Forest travels to Connecticut on Saturday in a non-conference matchup to square off against the Huskies.
