Clemson had its fair share of struggles on Saturday night, but a strong third-quarter performance allowed the Tigers to leave Memorial Stadium with a 48-20 victory over Louisiana Tech.
After entering halftime with only a seven-point lead, the No. 5-ranked Tigers poured in 21 points and 173 total yards in the third quarter.
Clemson’s defense was also effective at most times, as it forced two turnovers in the same 15 minutes.
The first turnover in the second half was an interception by linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.
Trotter’s takeaway then set up a 32-yard rushing score by Will Shipley at the 14:40 mark in the third quarter — the first of five touchdowns in the second half for the Tigers.
The sophomore running back finished the game with a career-high 139 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts, marks that offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter was thrilled to see.
“He’s an animal,” Streeter said. “He just gives 110 percent every single time he’s out there. He’s such a tough, hard-nosed guy.”
Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei also found his stride throughout the game, most notably completing a 32-yard touchdown to Beaux Collins at the 3:37 mark in the third quarter.
The junior signal-caller ended the game completing 59% of his passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 62 yards with his legs and picked up multiple first downs running the ball downhill.
For Uiagalelei, he and the Tigers wanted to stay composed after only leading by seven points at halftime.
“There’s nothing less important than the score at halftime,” Uiagalelei said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re up by 30, down by 30; at the end of the day, we always treat it like it’s zero to zero.”
Clemson finished the game out-gaining the Bulldogs in total yardage, 521-317.
The Tigers also forced four turnovers on defense.
Although Clemson moved to 3-0 on the year, the Tigers’ performance was marked with errors throughout the game, including the defense giving up 14 points early in the fourth quarter to keep the Bulldogs within two scores.
A 19-yard Uiagalelei-to-Antonio Williams score would soon after make a Lousiana Tech comeback insurmountable, but the Tigers still gave up their most points of the season.
Contributing to those struggles was the Tigers’ secondary, which was without starting safety Andrew Mukuba and starting cornerback Nate Wiggins.
In their absence, Clemson’s pass defense gave up 311 passing yards to Louisiana Tech quarterback Parker McNeil.
Whereas the Tigers may have given up yardage through the air, Clemson’s run defense was stout throughout the entire game, holding the Bulldogs to six rush yards on the night.
With the 28-point win, Clemson extended its winning streak in Memorial Stadium to 36 consecutive games.
Clemson will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. next week to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
