Williams stars for Tigers in first career 100-yard game

His 149 receiving yards and two touchdowns were critical for the Tigers to get this victory over the Panthers.

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Monday, November 18 2024

CLEMSON—It is a little hard to believe that sophomore wide receiver Williams never had a 100-yard receiving game until this past 24-20 victory against Pittsburgh. Williams had 13 receptions, tied for the fourth-most by a Clemson receiver. His 149 receiving yards and two touchdowns were critical for the Tigers to get this victory over the Panthers.

“As a whole group as an offense, we thought we found a (really) good way to attack their passing game,” Williams said. “We knew we could attack them in many different ways with their coverages.”

Pitt found some rhythm in the fourth quarter and, with 1:36 left in the game, jumped out to a 20-17 lead despite all of their self-inflicted penalties. It took a matter of seconds for the Tigers to regain the lead. It took only 13 seconds for junior quarterback Cade Klubnik to respond with a 50-yard rushing touchdown to take the lead and ultimately win the game. Williams had an 18-yard catch preceding the TD run.

“He had a belief. Nobody on that sideline ever thought he was about to lose that game,” Williams said. “So, going into it, started out fast, got a good positive play on the first play, and that’s always a good sign and then I was running my defender off, and I looked over and saw Cade one-on-one, and I saw the guy missed the tackle and then, it was over from there.”

While the win was crucial to keeping Clemson’s ACC Championship hopes alive, and the Tigers looked good on paper with Williams’ day in the receiving game and the defense’s eight sacks, Clemson’s offense struggled for much of the second half, however. Throughout the game, the Tigers had three fumbles—two of them by Klubnik. Williams attributed the offensive performance to the Tigers getting comfortable with their lead and playing conservatively, although he also said the Panthers did a good job of shutting down the run.

“I think we kind of were just trying to play with our lead and just get play, maybe more conservative. They were doing a good job at stopping the run,” Williams said. “We had some (offensive linemen) get hurt. But, next man up. A lot of guys stepped up. So, we got the win.”

It is difficult to run the ball when you have as many injuries on the offensive line as the Tigers did in this game. Already without redshirt junior Tristan Leigh and senior Marcus Tate, Clemson continued to have more offensive line injuries throughout the game, including losing true freshman Elyjah Thurmon for the rest of the season. Williams said it made a difference in the mentality of the offensive line group when offensive line coach Matt Luke joined the Tigers, and that is reflected in how they are playing this season despite the injuries.

“That whole group, they’ve just been warriors this whole year and in the offseason,” Williams said. “They heard a lot of hate about how they weren’t a good group, and they weren’t getting the job done, and I think Coach Luke coming in, their whole mentality changed, and I can rely on them whenever. Who’s ever in the game, I can trust them. So, I know Cade does, and who’s ever in, they get the job done.”