On Saturday, the unranked Clemson Tigers lost to the No. 23 Pittsburgh Panthers, 27-17.
The lack of offensive movement and dropped passes paired with a tired defense in the second half led to the Tigers’ inability to bring home a win.
In the first quarter, Tigers’ quarterback DJ Uiagalelei seemed to find some movement with the ball, but during Clemson’s second drive of the game, Uiagalelei threw an interception to Damarri Mathis near Pittsburgh’s endzone.
Luckily for the Tigers, their defense was able to force Pittsburgh to punt the ball. In the following series, Clemson’s running back Phil Mafah scored the first touchdown of the game to put Clemson up 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
With a little over 3 minutes remaining in the second quarter, Clemson’s defense let up a Pittsburgh touchdown that tied the game at 7. Clemson then proceeded to have three straight incompletions by Uiagalelei.
In the final drive of the first half, Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett capped off a 76-yard drive with a 39-yard touchdown pass to receiver Taysir Mack, who was wide open down the field. That score gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead over the Tigers at the half.
In the second half of the game, the Tigers offense slowed down and lacked the momentum they originally had in the first half.
“Offensively, just so many missed opportunities: critical turnovers, drops, and missed throws,” said Head Coach Dabo Swinney after the game. “We are what we are right now, we’re very immature, very young and very unconfident.”
At the beginning of the third quarter, Uiagalelei attempted a shovel pass which was intercepted by Pittsburgh linebacker SirVocea Dennis for a defensive touchdown. That play would extend Pittsburgh’s lead to 14.
At that point, Uiagalelei was benched in favor of backup quarterback Taisun Phommachanh for the following two drives.
With the Clemson offense still struggling to make plays and move the ball to get a touchdown, the Tigers settled for a 42-yard field goal, which narrowed the Panther’s lead to 11. However, the Panthers would respond with a field goal of their own, with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter.
During the fourth quarter, the Tigers’ defense seemed tired and let up another field-goal, which gave Pittsburgh a 17-point lead.
With 7:46 remaining in the game, Uiagalelei ran in a six-yard touchdown to give Clemson fans a sense of hope. Unfortunately, the Tigers’ offense was unable to take the field again, as Pittsburgh ended the game in victory formation after a 15-play, 49-yard drive.
Now, Clemson will look ahead to a home game against Florida State (3-4) team on Oct. 29, at 3:30 p.m.
