Tigers outlast Deacs to even ACC record

Clemson held on to a 17-12 win over Wake Forest in Death Valley.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Sat Oct 07 18:55:12 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Nothing came easy for the Tigers Saturday afternoon, but despite a sloppy performance, Clemson (4-2 overall, 2-2 ACC) was able to outlast Wake Forest (3-2, 0-2) 17-12 on Homecoming at Death Valley.

Clemson once again lost the turnover margin after a fumble by Klubnik and a muffed punt by Tyler Brown, but a solid defensive performance allowed the Tigers to overcome the miscues.

Head Coach Dabo Swinney picked up win number 165 in his career, tying him with Frank Howard, Clemson's all-time winningest coach.

Clemson amassed 340 total yards, with Klubnik throwing for 131 yards on 18-of-28 passing. Will Shipley led all rushers with 19 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown. Klubnik added 12 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown. Beaux Collins and Jake Briningstool added five catches a piece. Brown had three catches.

Coming into the game, the Tigers were tied for third-most fumbles lost with six, and those turnover issues reared their ugly head yet again in the first quarter. At the 8:04 mark, Klubnik tried to hand the ball off to Shipley, but Shipley failed to secure the ball at the mesh point, and the Deacs recovered the ball at Clemson's nine-yard line. Clemson’s defense stopped Wake Forest on four straight plays, including two plays on the two-yard line to keep the game scoreless.

After a 53-yard punt by Aidan Swanson, Wake Forest took over on the Clemson 45-yard line with just over five minutes to play in the opening quarter. On the drive's first play, Griffis found Wesley Grimes for a 23-yard pickup to the 22. The next five plays were rushes for short gains, but it was enough to set up a 35-yard field goal for the game's first points and a 3-0 Deacons lead.

The Tigers didn’t pick up their first first down of the game until there was under a minute remaining in the first quarter on a three-yard pass to Brown. Two plays later, Klubnik found Collins down the opponent’s sideline for a 16-yard gain to the Clemson 49-yard line. Collins had two more catches on the drive of ten and nine yards to set the Tigers up on the 11-yard line. Mafah picked up four yards, and on the next play, Klubnik faked the handoff and sprinted to his left untouched to the endzone for a 7-3 Clemson lead with 10:18 to play before halftime.

RJ Mickens evened the turnover margin with a recovery on a fumble caused by Khalil Barnes, who was once committed to Wake Forest before Clemson offered.

Both offenses muddled on for the next two possessions, and the Tigers were set to get the ball back with just under two minutes to play in the half, but Brown lost the punt in the sun, and it bounced off his chest into the hands of the Wake Forest defender. Clemson’s defense bailed their counterparts out again, forcing a 31-yard field goal that was missed as time expired to preserve the 7-3 Tigers’ lead.

The Tigers got the ball to open the second half, and Shipley had runs of 21 and 12 yards to open the drive. With a steady dose of the running game, Clemson worked its way down to the four-yard line, where it faced a fourth-and-one that Shipley fought through the middle for two yards and a first down. Three plays later, the Tigers settled for a 25-yard Jonathan Weitz field goal to extend Clemson’s lead to 10-3 with 7:13 to play in the third quarter.

The Deacons answered with a 12-play, 71-yard drive – aided by a roughing the passer call on third down – that ended with a 22-yard field goal to make it a 10-6 contest with 2:20 to play in the third quarter.

Weitz missed a 51-yard field goal attempt with 14:26 to play.

The teams traded possessions for the next five-plus minutes until Clemson took over on its own 39 with just over nine minutes to go. Shipley took the handoff on the first play for 12 yards to the 49-yard line. On third-and-five, Klubnik found Brown in the middle of the field for a 15-yard pickup. Rushes by Klubnik and Shipley moved the chains until Shipley found space with Collins blocking down the field for 18 yards to the one. Shipley finished the drive on the next play with a one-yard touchdown run up the middle. With the extra point, Clemson led 17-6 with 5:49 to play.

The Deacons were not going to go away quietly, however. Over the next four-plus minutes, Griffis meticulously led Wake Forest on an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown scoring drive. Clemson committed two penalties that extended the drive, but a two-yard touchdown run by Demond Claiborne and a missed two-point conversion made it a 17-12 Tiger advantage with 1:34 to play.

Clemson has an open week and will return to action on October 21 as they travel to Miami to take on the Canes (time TBA).

Clemson-Wake box