Tiger offense sees young QB battle, take steps forward in road win

Uiagalelei battled to a win. (Photo: Ken Ruinard / USATODAY)

Zachary Wagner · Correspondent · Sunday, November 07 2021

The Clemson offense put together its best performance of the season on Saturday night against the Louisville Cardinals, scoring 30 points and registering 338 yards of total offense in a 30-24 nailbiter in Kentucky.

The 30 points matched the most points the offense has scored against an FBS opponent this season (30 against FSU). Quarterback DJ Uiaglalelei threw for two touchdowns and 220 yards as well as rushed in the game-winning touchdown with four minutes remaining on one leg, his best performance of the season by far.

The offense has taken its slack this season, much of it earned, but offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and Uiagalelei both made the calls and plays they needed to to help the Tigers get to 6-3 on the season.

“I thought DJ (Uiagalelei) played really well and placed the ball where it needed to be,” Elliott said after the victory. “He took some shots down the field early and put the ball where it needed to be. He got banged up a little bit with his knee, and he just came back and battled through it. He just continues to get better and managing the game. Right there when we had to have it, he didn’t flinch. Really, really proud of him and battling through everything that’s been placed in front of him.”

Clemson moved wide receiver Justyn Ross back to the edge and moved true freshman Beaux Collins to the slot position. Collins hauled in six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown on a 46-yard connection from Uiagalelei early in the first quarter. Uiagalelei and Collins, former high school teammates in California, could be something the offense leans on down the stretch of the season.

“Beaux stepped up for us tonight, really proud of him,” Elliott said. “If you look at earlier in the season, he had a couple of drops that he battled through. First 100 yard receiving game of his career. We’ve been stretching him and he’s had to play multiple spots and he’s really starting to settle in. He’s an unbelievably incredible young man, he works extremely hard and his confidence is at where it needs to be for him to go out and display to everyone what he has.”

With a three-point lead late in the game, Clemson ran the ball three times in Louisville territory with a chance to ice the game with a touchdown. Elliott said that was Coach Swinney's call to run the ball and they were either looking to hit a play, or to extend the lead to six.

“Coach Swinney came over the headset and said we were in all run territory,” Elliott said. “The biggest thing there is we felt like we were in field goal range and a field goal would be big. If we could pop a run, we were trying to pop a run there if we could. That was a decision there to run it three times and see if we could pop one, and if we couldn’t to kick a field goal and let the defense go win it.”

Louisville scored first on their first drive of the game, driving down 75 yards in six plays and taking 2:52 off the clock. It was important for Clemson to answer the points, which they did with a three-play 75-yard drive of its own. Elliott believed that was a huge confidence booster for his offense and helped kick them into gear for the rest of the night.

“It was huge, you’re on the road and momentum is key and the game was going to come down to who could flip the momentum at the right time,” Elliott said on the Tigers' first drive. “It was our responsibility to go out there and challenge the guys. We’ve taken a lot of pride in trying to score in the first nine plays and tonight they came right out of the gate.

“Kobe (Pace) came right out of the gate, then we hit a back shoulder to Ngata, great ball by DJ,” said Elliott. “We were in position to be aggressive and take a big shot and Beaux (Collins) and (Justyn) ross did a great job and DJ (Uiagalelei) had great protection and delivered the ball. It was huge for our momentum.”