CLEMSON, S.C. — Dabo Swinney said wide receiver Justyn Ross returned to practice this week in the aftermath of Clemson’s loss to Georgia and spent days beating himself up for the way he played. So did DJ Uiagalelei, the Tigers’ sophom*ore quarterback.
“We don’t have anybody in denial around here,” Swinney said Saturday night, referring to the offensive woes against the Bulldogs. “We’ve got a bunch of great kids who have good self-awareness.”
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As Clemson players went back and watched the tape with their coaches, Swinney said everyone was on the same page about what went wrong and how the Tigers would fix it.
“Let’s go do something about it,” Swinney said they all agreed.
It wasn’t always pretty, and Saturday night showed that Clemson’s offense still has cleaning up to do. But the Tigers did what they set out to do at Death Valley in Week 2, clobbering South Carolina State 49-3.
“I was proud of how they handled themselves this week coming off a disappointing loss. Just so much enthusiasm and energy, and I never felt it wane at all,” Swinney said. “I think that’s the sign of a mature team.”
Clemson made clear its intention to run the ball against the Bulldogs from the first play of the game. Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott acknowledged earlier this week that he wished he had forced the issue more against Georgia, so he remedied it this time around, with Clemson picking up 56 rushing yards on its opening drive alone. Last week, against a much better defensive front and after seven sacks on Uiagalelei, the Tigers had 2 rushing yards for the entire game.
A week after senior Lyn-J Dixon missed the first half of the Clemson-Georgia game for violating team rules, he got the start Saturday and popped off a 16-yard run to open the game. By the eighth play of the game, all three of Clemson’s top running backs — Dixon, sophom*ore Kobe Pace and freshman Will Shipley — had at least two carries each, with Pace breaking a 15-yard run on the fifth play of the game. Uiagalelei ran in a 4-yard touchdown, and the Tigers got a better look at how their ground game can look when it’s clicking — at least with Pace and Shipley. Despite getting the start, Dixon appears to still be dealing with disciplinary issues. He didn’t get another carry until midway through the third quarter after the opening two plays and finished with four carries for 27 yards.
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“He just needs to grow up. Needs to grow up. It’s just that simple,” Swinney said of the senior. “He needs to be a team player. And just grow up. He’s a very good player, obviously. … Just need him to stay out of (running backs coach C.J.) Spiller’s doghouse. That’s really it.”
Shipley finished the night with eight carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns, including a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter on which he ran through two defenders. He also had a 30-yard pickup midway through the second quarter and scored the first touchdown of his career in the first quarter, after freshman quarterback Will Taylor took a wildcat snap at quarterback and saw his own rushing touchdown come back because of a block in the back from junior receiver Joseph Ngata.
Pace finished with 68 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, and Uiagalelei was particularly efficient with his legs in the red zone, scoring on 4- and 5-yard runs.
“For the running backs, they got the opportunity to touch the ball and get into rhythm. It’s a rhythm position,” Elliott said. “Shipley, I mean, he’s just been doing what Shipley’s been doing since he got here. In the spring, he was able to pop some big runs.
“The biggest thing with him is he just needs repetition. Same with Kobe. These guys just need reps and opportunities.”
Clemson finished with 242 rushing yards, the Tigers’ largest output on the ground since they ran for 258 yards against Miami in October of last season.
As for Uiagalelei in the passing game, Swinney talked his quarterback up, saying he was “excellent” and “on point all day.” He might have been covering for his young starter, though, who finished 14-of-24 passing for 171 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Uiagalelei threw high multiple times — something Elliott said hasn’t been an issue up to this point — which started with missing Ross on what would have been a wide-open touchdown during the second drive of the game. Ross was open in the right corner of the end zone with no one near him before Uiagalelei sailed the ball past him and out of bounds. For what it’s worth, Swinney said he thought Ross jumped too early, causing Uiagalelei to mistime their connection.
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One quarter later, Uiagalelei threw his second interception of the season on what Swinney acknowledged should have been the “easiest” throw, a screen to Ngata. Uiagalelei threw the ball so far out in front that Ngata tipped the ball into the hands of Bulldogs defensive back Decobie Durant while reaching for it.
The interception neutralized the work of Clemson junior safety RJ Mickens, who just seconds earlier had picked off a South Carolina State pass. It marked the second consecutive week in which the Tigers offense struggled to put up points after takeaways.
“I feel like I left a lot of stuff out there on the table against Georgia. … I feel like I did a pretty good job (Saturday). Still a lot of stuff to work on,” Uiagalelei said. “(I’ll) definitely keep growing from the games, but just continue to get better and better and better.”
Other offensive miscues from Clemson included a three-and-out and near-Uiagalelei pick on the fifth drive of the game, a fumble from running back Michel Dukes late in the second quarter and a Ngata fumble on Clemson’s opening play of the second half.
Clemson’s offense must clean up mistakes as the Tigers head into conference play. However, Clemson’s regular-season schedule is forgiving. Plus, the defense proved again that it’s the team’s top asset.
“Coach V says it all the time: ‘Make the layups. No one’s got to be Superman, just do your job. You get 11 (players) doing their job, and you’re money,’” sixth-year linebacker James Skalski said of defensive coordinator Brent Venables. “Hopefully, we keep this thing going as far as no touchdowns. That’s our goal.”
Swinney said he was most pleased with the defense — particularly the reserves, who kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone — and praised special teams, as well. South Carolina State finished with just nine first downs to Clemson’s 26 and 235 yards of total offense to Clemson’s 504.
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The most exciting moment of the afternoon came late in the first quarter when Taylor took off for a 51-yard punt return that instantly put Clemson in the red zone. Uiagalelei and Ross did right by Taylor, hooking up for an 11-yard touchdown in the left corner of the end zone moments later to make the score 28-0. Ross finished with three catches on five targets for 52 yards and a score.
Swinney raved about Taylor as a punt returner during preseason camp and started the true freshman there against Georgia, as well. Taylor turned down the MLB Draft as a first-round prospect to enroll at Clemson and play football and baseball.
“I didn’t know who he was until he came to camp,” Swinney said of Taylor as a 10th-grader. “He walked away from a lot of money.”
In all, Clemson rebounded after a tough loss in Week 1 by beating an FCS team it was expected to clobber. But it’ll be easier to get a gauge on what kind of team this will be as Clemson gets into conference play, which starts next week against Georgia Tech.
“It’s all about ACC play for us. That’s what starts this week, and the next goal for us is to win the division,” Swinney said. “We’ve been in a lot of big-time postseason games around here for a long time now, and the only reason that’s happened is because we’ve been able to win this league.”
(Photo of DJ Uiagalelei and Michel Dukes: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)
Grace Raynor is a staff writer for The Athletic covering recruiting and southeastern college football. A native of western North Carolina, she graduated from the University of North Carolina. Follow Grace on Twitter @gmraynor
