WINSTON SALEM, NC - My 48-13 score prediction was off by just one point on each side of the ball! It was a bit of a slow start for the Tigers at Wake, as they were shut out in the first quarter and trailed for the first time since the opener and allowed first-quarter points for the first time this season, but it didn't take long for the offense to "wake" up. Trailing 7-0 going into the second quarter, the Tigers tied the game and then scored two more unanswered touchdowns thanks to a pair of interceptions by Kylon Griffin and Khalil Barnes. I've been waiting all season for Barnes to make a big play. It seemed like he made at least one in every game at the end of his freshman season last year. Those turnovers and scores completely changed momentum in the stadium and seemed to deflate the Deacs, who were coming off a big come-from-behind road win at NC State last week.
The Tigers never looked back after that, allowing just one more score and finishing with 7 touchdowns. They struggled offensively in the red zone at Florida State last week, settling for 7 short field goal attempts, but they were a perfect 5-5 with 5 touchdowns at Wake. Dabo and Garrett Riley even got to have some fun with a double-pass TD by Antonio Williams and a fourth-and-goal touchdown with the jumbo package for the first time this season. Big Peter Woods was lined up in the I formation, blocking for Mafah, and fellow defensive lineman Demonte Capehart was also in on the play. Antonio is the first Tiger to catch and throw a TD since CJ Spiller. Cade Klubnik was outstanding once again, completing 75 percent of his passes with some big runs and no interceptions, and Mafah rushed for over 100 yards again, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. The 37 first downs by the offense was third-most in program history!
For the second straight week, the run defense was outstanding, holding Claiborne to just 53 rush yards after he had a monster game at NC State. The Tigers did not turn the ball over and won the turnover margin for the fifth straight game. Dabo said it was their most complete game this season, and I agree because, unlike the other blowouts, the backups came in and played great. The defensive reserves shut Wake out, and Keith Adams, Jr. had some impressive runs, including a touchdown. Freshman Jarvis Green also had a couple nice runs late.
The biggest difference between this season and last--other than Cade's play and the turnovers--is the depth at receiver and ability to overcome injuries. The Tigers were without Wesco, who did not make the trip because of a minor injury, and they held back Tyler Brown to make sure he gets back to 100 percent, but the offense did not miss a beat. Stellato stepped up with a big game, and Antonio and Brinny were great as usual. Adam Randall amazingly had a TD catch just 12 days after his toe surgery! Even Tink Kelley got into the game and made a couple catches.
Sunday is Dabo's "Sweet 16" as a head coach. It was 16 years ago that he was hired as Interim Head Coach, ironically after the Tigers lost at Wake. He is now 16-0 versus Wake since! Next week will be a first for him, as he faces a former assistant and dear friend for the first time. Tony Elliott will return to Death Valley with his UVA team, and Dabo exhorted the fans to have the stadium "rocking at 10 am."
I'll have more in a bit. In the meantime, post-game interviews, highlights and notes are below!
WITH THE WIN...
- Clemson has now started 4-0 in conference play for the 10th time under Dabo Swinney, joining the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 seasons. It is Clemson's 19th such start since joining the ACC in 1953 including the 1959, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 2000 seasons.
- Clemson improved to 72-17-1 all-time against Wake Forest. It pulled Wake Forest within one defeat of Clemson’s most-defeated opponent, South Carolina, which Clemson has beaten 73 times.
- Clemson won its 16th consecutive game against Wake Forest, dating back to 2009, to take sole possession of the longest winning streak in series history (passing its 15-game streak from 1977-91). Clemson’s 16-game winning streak against Wake Forest is the Tigers’ longest active winning streak against an ACC foe.
- Clemson earned its fourth 16-game winning streak against a single opponent in school history, joining a 32-game streak against Furman (1938-present), a 29-game streak against Virginia (1955-89) and an 18-game streak against The Citadel (1932-present). It joined the Virginia streak as one of two winning streaks of 16-plus games against current FBS programs in Clemson history.
- Clemson earned its eighth straight road victory against Wake Forest, dating to 2010. Clemson’s last loss in Winston-Salem came in 2008, leading to Dabo Swinney being named Clemson’s interim head coach four days later.
- Clemson has now recorded an eight-game road winning streak against a single opponent for the fifth time in school history. It matched Clemson’s eight-game road winning streaks at Virginia Tech (1935-89) and The Citadel (1909-27) for the third-longest single-opponent road winning streak in school history.
- Head Coach Dabo Swinney became the first coach in conference history to win 175 career games at the helm of an ACC program.
- Swinney improved to 16-0 as a head coach against Wake Forest. Wake Forest is one of four ACC schools against whom Swinney is undefeated as head coach, a list that also includes Louisville (8-0), Virginia (5-0) and Virginia Tech (6-0), all teams he will face later this season.
- Swinney became the first FBS head coach in Stats Perform’s data set back to 1996 to win his first 16 games against a single FBS opponent. Swinney’s streak against Wake Forest to open his career was already the longest on record against an FBS opponent among coaches who began their head coaching career in 1996 or later.
- Swinney improved to 11-0 against Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson. Clawson became the first coach to be defeated by Swinney 11 times.
- Swinney improved to 40-5 all-time against teams from the state of North Carolina.
- Clemson improved to 38-8 in true road games since 2015. Clemson's 38 road wins in that span are the most in the country (Note: Ohio State and Boise State can tie Clemson with wins this evening).
- By defeating 2-3 Wake Forest, Clemson still has not lost to a team with a losing record at the time of the game since losing to 2-5 Boston College in 2010.
- Clemson improved to 136-18 against AP-unranked teams under Dabo Swinney and 113-8 in those games since the start of the 2012 season.
- Clemson improved to 99-13 in regular season play since the start of the 2015 season.
- Clemson is now 41-1 since 2015 when intercepting multiple passes in a game.
- Clemson trailed after the first quarter, 7-0. Dating to last season, Clemson has trailed after the first quarter four times in its last 11 games and has posted a 4-0 record in those contests.
- Clemson has now won 118 of its last 124 games when leading at halftime.
- Clemson improved to 140-4 since 2011 when leading after three quarters.
- Clemson now has a 134-8 record when totaling more first downs than its opponent since 2011.
- Clemson improved to 85-3 when rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney.
- Clemson is now 65-1 when both passing and rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney. Overall, Clemson is 115-1-1 in program history when reaching those marks.
- Clemson improved to 67-4 when having a 100-yard rusher since 2011.
- Clemson has now won 117 of its last 118 games when holding teams under 23 points (dates to 2010).
- Clemson now has an 83-4 record when winning the turnover margin since 2011.
- The Tigers are now 57-1 under Dabo Swinney when finishing +2 or better in the turnover margin.
GAME NOTES
- Clemson scored at least 40 points for the fourth time this season. It marks the first time Clemson has reached 40 points in four of the first six games of a season since 2020 (five).
- The game marked the 12th time in series history that Clemson has scored 42 or more points against Wake Forest, passing Georgia Tech (11) for the most 42-point games against a single opponent in school history.
- Clemson has now recorded 500 yards in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
- Clemson has now posted 500 yards in back-to-back games for the second time this season. It marks Clemson’s first time posting four 500-yard games in a season since 2020 (five).
- The 2024 season now marks Clemson’s first time compiling four 500-yard games in the first six games of a season since 2012 (four).
- Clemson has now reached 400 yards in five straight games for the first time since reaching 400 yards in all 12 games in 2020.
- Clemson reached both 200 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in a game for the fourth time this season. Clemson entered the week trailing only Ole Miss (four) in that category nationally.
- Clemson has now accrued both 200 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in back-to-back games for the second time this season. It was Clemson's first time reaching both marks four times in a five-game span since doing so seven times in an eight-game span in 2019.
- Clemson rushed for 150 yards in a fifth straight game for the first time since a 12-game stretch across the 2019-20 seasons.
- Clemson’s 37 first downs were a season high and rank tied for third-most in a game in school history, matching a 37-first-down game against Charleston Southern in 2023 and trailing a 40-first-down game against South Carolina in 2016 and a 38-first-down game against South Carolina in 2018.
- Clemson ran a season-high 85 plays, its most since an 89-play game against North Carolina last November.
- Clemson averaged 6.7 yards per play and has now averaged 6.5 or more yards per play in five straight games for the first time since 2019.
- Clemson averaged 5.4 yards per carry and has now averaged 5.0 or more yards per carry in five straight games for the first time since 2019.
- Clemson won the turnover margin, 2-0, and won the turnover margin for the 10th time in an 11-game span, including a five-game stretch to end the 2023 season. Clemson turned those two turnovers into 14 points.
- Clemson has now recorded consecutive games without a giveaway for the first time since 2022 against Wake Forest and NC State.
- Clemson played an eighth consecutive game (dating to last season) with one giveaway or fewer for the first time since a 12-game streak across the 2019-20 seasons. Dating to last season, Clemson has five giveaways over its last eight games and has not had a multi-giveaway game in that span.
- Clemson went 5-for-5 in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on all five red zone possessions.
- Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 31-of-41 passes for 309 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions. He also added seven rushing attempts for 30 yards.
- Klubnik became the first Clemson quarterback to throw multiple touchdown passes in five straight games since Trevor Lawrence's five-game streak in 2020.
- Klubnik (38) passed DJ Uiagalelei (36 from 2020-22) for seventh on Clemson's all-time leaderboard for career passing touchdowns.
- During the game, Klubnik (50) became the 10th player in school history to be responsible for 50 career touchdowns (all categories including passing).
- Klubnik (50) also entered the Top 10 in school history in career total touchdown responsibility. He passed James Davis (49 from 2005-08) and now stands tied with Travis Zachery (50 from 1998-2001) for ninth on Clemson's all-time leaderboard.
- Klubnik (21) has now posted the 19th individual season in Clemson history in which a player has been responsible for 20 or more touchdowns.
- WIth his fifth career 300-yard passing game, Klubnik passed his former offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter (four) for sole possession of the fifth-most career 300-yard passing games in Clemson history.
- During the contest, Klubnik (5,069) became the ninth player in school history to reach 5,000 career passing yards.
- During the game, Klubnik (5,588) passed Rodney Williams (5,510 from 1985-88) and Cullen Harper (5,549 from 2005-08) to move into ninth on Clemson's all-time leaderboard for career yards of total offense.
- During the game, Klubnik (474) passed Nealon Greene (458 from 1994-97) and Woodrow Dantzler (460 from 1998-2001) for seventh on Clemson's all-time leaderboard for career pass completions.
- Klubnik (738) also entered the Top 10 in school history in career pass attempts, passing Kyle Parker (710 from 2009-10) and Rodney Williams (717 from 1985-88) for ninth.
- Klubnik’s 31 completions were a season high and represented his first 30-completion game since the 2023 Gator Bowl against Kentucky (30).
- Clemson’s first points of the game came on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Klubnik to wide receiver Antonio Williams.
- Williams finished the contest with six receptions for 69 yards with a touchdown reception and a 28-yard touchdown pass.
- With his fifth touchdown reception of the season, Williams set a new single-season career high in touchdown receptions.
- Williams has now caught a touchdown in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
- Williams added the first touchdown pass of his career on a wide receiver pass in the third quarter, completing a 28-yard scoring pass to tight end Jake Briningstool.
- Williams' touchdown pass to Briningstool was the first Clemson touchdown pass by a non-quarterback since Will Shipley's two-yard touchdown pass to Davis Allen against Wake Forest in 2021.
- Williams became the first Clemson player to catch a touchdown pass and throw a touchdown pass in a single game since C.J. Spiller accomplished the feat (and rushed for a touchdown) against NC State in 2009. Williams joined Spiller and Jacoby Ford (2009 against Coastal Carolina) as the only Clemson players to accomplish the feat since 1996.
- Briningstool posted a season-high 104 receiving yards on a season-high-tying seven receptions with one touchdown.
- The 100-yard receiving game was Briningstool’s third of his career, a school record for a tight end. He has now been responsible for three of the eight 100-yard receiving games by tight ends in school history.
- On his fifth reception of the game, Briningstool (102) became the second tight end in Clemson history to reach 100 career receptions (Jordan Leggett, 112). The milestone catch gained 14 yards on third-and-9.
- With the performance, Briningstool (1,139) passed Bennie Cunningham (1,044 from 1972-75) and Dwayne Allen (1,079 from 2009-11) to move into third on Clemson's all-time career receiving yardage leaderboard for tight ends.
- Briningstool’s 28-yard touchdown reception from Williams was the 14th touchdown reception of his career, pulling him within four touchdowns of the school career record of 18 held by Jordan Leggett.
- Running back Phil Mafah rushed 19 times for 108 yards with two touchdowns.
- Mafah recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season to add to his single-season career high. He has now rushed for 100 yards in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
- Mafah became the first Clemson player to record four 100-yard rushing games in a five-game span since Travis Etienne's school-record six-game streak of 100-yard rushing games in 2019.
- The game was the fifth multi-touchdown game of Mafah’s career and his first of the season.
- Mafah gave Clemson the lead for good with a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter two plays after an interception by the Clemson defense.
- Mafah scored his second touchdown of the second quarter on a two-yard run on fourth down. On the play, he received key blocks from defensive linemen DeMonte Capehart and Peter Woods.
- Clemson has now scored a rushing touchdown in 82 of its 88 games since the start of the 2018 season, the most in the nation.
- Clemson produced a 300-yard passer (Klubnik), 100-yard rusher (Mafah) and 100-yard receiver (Briningstool) in a single game for the second time this season (Klubnik, Mafah, Briningstool and Bryant Wesco Jr. vs. Appalachian State).
- Wide receiver Troy Stellato recorded a career-high 72 receiving yards on a season-high six receptions with a touchdown.
- Stellato recorded his first touchdown catch of the season — the second of his career — on an eight-yard pass from Klubnik in the second quarter.
- The touchdown was Stellato’s first since last season at Syracuse.
- Stellato’s second-quarter touchdown gave Clemson 28 points in the frame. Clemson (35-point first quarter vs. App State and 28-point first quarter vs. NC State) has now produced at least three individual quarters of 28 or more points in a single season for the third time in school history (three in 2020, four in 2012).
- Stellato’s touchdown reception gave Clemson multiple touchdown passes in five straight games for the first time since an eight-game streak in 2020.
- Wide receiver Adam Randall scored his second career touchdown on a nine-yard pass from Klubnik in the third quarter.
- Running back Keith Adams Jr. recorded his first career rushing touchdown on a four-yard run in the fourth quarter.
- The touchdown by Adams was the culmination of a 17-play scoring drive, Clemson’s longest since an 18-play touchdown drive against Georgia Tech last season.
- Wide receiver T.J. Moore recorded career highs in receptions (four) and receiving yards (46).
- Wide receiver Misun Kelley recorded his first career reception on an 11-yard pass from Klubnik in the third quarter. He finished with three receptions for 17 yards.
- Clemson allowed only one sack and has now surrendered one sack or fewer in five straight games for the first time since an eight-game streak in 2019.
- Safety Kylon Griffin recorded the game’s first takeaway, picking off Hank Bachmeier in the second quarter to set up a two-play Clemson scoring drive.
- The interception was Griffin’s first of the season and the third of his career.
- On Wake Forest’s next possession, safety Khalil Barnes, a former Wake Forest commit, recorded his first interception of the season, picking off a deflected third-down pass.
- The interception was Barnes’ fourth of his career.
- Defensive tackle Peter Woods secured a three-and-out on Wake Forest’s first drive with a tackle for loss on third down, his first tackle for loss since posting 2.5 in the season opener against Georgia. He already has a career high in tackles for loss this season (3.5).
- Defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart reached double-digits in tackles for loss for his career in the second quarter, notching the 10th tackle for loss of his career.
- Linebacker Barrett Carter recorded his third sack of the season in the third quarter.
- Carter has now posted a sack in three straight games for the first time in his career. It marks the first time a Clemson linebacker has posted a sack in three straight games since Jeremiah Trotter Jr. accomplished the feat against Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and North Carolina last season.
- Linebacker Wade Woodaz notched his first sack of the season in the third quarter.
- Safety Ricardo Jones recorded his first career sack in the fourth quarter.
- Wake Forest scored a touchdown with 1:32 remaining in the first quarter, marking the first points surrendered by Clemson in a first quarter this season. Clemson played 88:28 of game time in first quarters this season before allowing a first-quarter point.
- Clemson scored in a 286th consecutive game to tie the 1993-2016 Ohio State Buckeyes for the 14th-longest streak without a shutout in FBS history. Clemson was the program that ended Ohio State's streak with a 31-0 Fiesta Bowl win in 2016.
- The game marked the 72nd consecutive year Clemson has played Wake Forest in football, as the last year the two schools did not play was 1952. With the pandemic interrupting Clemson’s series against South Carolina in 2020, Clemson’s 72 straight years facing Wake Forest is its longest active string of consecutive seasons against one opponent. That streak is scheduled to end in 2025 by virtue of the ACC’s new scheduling rotations.
- Captains for the contest were defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart, quarterback Cade Klubnik, defensive tackle Payton Page and wide receiver Adam Randall.
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