Woodaz happy with win but sees room for improvement for Clemson defense

Wade Woodaz saw the good and bad out of the Clemson effort against Virginia.

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Sunday, October 20 2024

CLEMSON—For the third time in four games, junior linebacker Wade Woodaz forced a fumble when No. 10 Clemson beat Virginia 48-31 to improve to 5-0 in ACC play. The forced fumble was also one of four sacks the Tiger defense recorded in their win against the Cavaliers.

“Whenever I get a blitz, I start itching a little bit,” Woodaz said. “So, I was really excited, and then I just beat the running back and got a sack.”

Things did not start out well for Clemson. On offense, they only scored three points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, junior quarterback Cade Klubnik had his second interception of the season, which set up a Virginia touchdown. The Cavaliers took a 10-3 lead, marking the first time this season the Tigers have been down at home. After that score, however, Clemson scored 35 unanswered points.

“I think we just locked in mentally. We’re making some simple mistakes and then penalties, stretched out some of those drives. So, I think we cleared some of that stuff up,” Woodaz said. “That’s the biggest thing, being consistent in and out everyday. We just got to keep it rolling.”

Through the first three quarters, the Clemson defense only allowed 10 points. However, in the fourth quarter, the Tigers surrendered 21 points. While some of the younger players were in the game at that point, that performance does not meet the standard of Clemson’s defense, and it's been a trend throughout the first seven games, as they have been outscored in the fourth quarter 69-36.

“I’m never happy when we let up touchdowns obviously, especially when we make stupid mistakes, which is frustrating. But, that just means there’s room for improvement,” Woodaz said. “Silly penalties extended drives, and then we saw what happened when we were able to settle in and focus on our job. I think we had three or four three-and-outs in a row. So, I’m happy that we got the win.”

They finished with 10 penalties for 97 yards, both season highs.

Clemson is undefeated in the conference thus far and is firmly in contention to get back to Charlotte to play in the ACC Championship game. On the other hand, the next opponent in Louisville (Nov. 2) is coming off of a hard loss against No. 6 Miami that gave them their second conference loss of the season. However, the Tigers aren't taking anything for granted in the home matchup.

“I know they’re going to be a good team and the only tape I’ve watched on them was them playing Virginia,” Woodaz said. “Their defense is solid. So, I expect them to give (us their) best.”