5 things we learned from Clemson football’s high-flying win over Louisiana Tech
Dabo Swinney had an NFL analogy locked and loaded as he described a Clemson football offense that, for a second straight week, flashed its true potential.
“We’re not the Chiefs just yet,” he said. “But we’re getting better.”
Sure, Swinney admitted, “we left some chicken on the bone.” But a handful of technical errors were but a side note to the No. 5 Tigers’ most explosive performance of the 2022 season.
Clemson (3-0, 1-0 ACC) set season highs in points, total yards and rushing yards in Saturday’s 48-20 win over Louisiana Tech while scoring on eight of its 13 drives (excluding kneel-downs) and getting everyone involved. That’s not an exaggeration.
From quarterback DJ Uiagalelei’s 145.4 quarterback rating to running back Will Shipley’s career-best 139 rushing yards to a sprinkling of splash plays from receivers Joseph Ngata (41-yard catch), Beaux Collins (32-yard touchdown) and Antonio Williams (19-yard touchdown), it was a tantalizing glimpse at what Clemson looks like when it’s hitting on all cylinders.
Tellingly, the Tigers also moved to 57-0 under Swinney when they both pass for and rush for 200 yards. On Saturday, Clemson got 241 through the air and 280 on the ground for a grand total of 521 yards and one happy coaching staff.
“That’s the name of the game right there: points,” offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter said. “And if we can be balanced, that’s what we want to be … we have the talent.”
Clemson never trailed against Louisiana Tech (1-2) thanks in part to an offense that found an early rhythm and rarely lost it, ending the game with 17 “big plays,” defined by StatBroadcast as runs of 10-plus yards and completions of 15-plus yards.
Uiagalelei completed 17 of 29 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, Clemson’s offensive line turned in its best game of 2022 and five different skill position players (running backs Shipley, Kobe Pace and Mafah and receivers Collins and Williams) scored touchdowns on a very fruitful night.
“We love to see it,” Shipley said. “That offensive staff puts in hours and hours of work to get the game plan ready, and we were able to go out there tonight and execute. We’ve still got some things holding us back so once we get those figured out, I believe it can be more.”
Here’s what else we learned from Clemson’s win over Louisiana Tech.
Injury bug
A number of Clemson defensive players missed Saturday’s game, but Swinney said postgame “nobody’s got any type of long-term serious injury that’s going to make them miss a lot of time.”
Defensive tackle Tyler Davis (undisclosed), defensive tackle Tré Williams (knee), safety Andrew Mukuba (elbow) and cornerback Nate Wiggins (hip) all sat out against Louisiana Tech, while defensive end Xavier Thomas (foot) missed a third game and cornerback Sheridan Jones (neck/shoulder stinger) exited midgame.
Swinney said he’s not sure who among that group will and won’t play next weekend against No. 19 Wake Forest, noting that Davis and Thomas “could’ve played” against Louisiana Tech.
Louisiana Tech is Ella Strong
Swinney will be a fan of Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Cumbie “for the rest of his career” after the class Cumbie and his program showed Saturday night, Swinney said.
Cumbie wore an Ella Strong T-shirt in pregame warmups in honor of Ella Bresee, the 15-year-old sister of Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee who died Thursday after a battle with brain cancer. (Bresee missed Saturday’s game.)
Every player on the Louisiana Tech roster also wrote a letter to Bresee and his family along with first-year coach Cumbie, who delivered a box of them to Swinney and Clemson after the game.
“That’s everything that’s good about college football,” Swinney said, adding of Cumbie: “As I told him after the game, this right here is why he’s going to be successful … that really tells me how he’s wired and how he thinks. I’ll be pulling for him forever.”
Active hands
On a night where Clemson intercepted three passes, the team also recorded 12 pass breakups, passing last year against Wake Forest (10) for the most in the Swinney era.
Payton Page’s second-quarter stuff of a field goal attempt also marked Clemson’s third special teams block of the season (the Tigers blocked two points in their opener). It’s the first time Clemson has recorded three special teams blocks in an entire season since 2016 (five).
Bend, don’t break
Clemson excelled in run defense, allowing just six yards, and allowed just two field goals during the game’s first three quarters, which mostly featured starters. But occasional busts and miscommunications in the secondary persisted.
Louisiana Tech quarterback Parker McNeil passed for 311 yards and had separate completions of 26, 28, 31, 31, 38 and 46 yards. His three interceptions certainly dampened the impact of those chunk plays, but it remains a lingering issue for a Clemson defensive backfield that could be further hurt by injuries to Mukuba, Jones and Wiggins.
This story was originally published September 18, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
