There’s a reason why Clemson was favored by over 40 points coming into Saturday afternoon’s contest. And it wasn’t because of the team’s offensive prowess.
Clemson’s best source of offense was its defense. In the first half alone, Clemson totaled six sacks and held the Huskies to -49 rushing yards.
UConn proved to be a formidable opponent for much too long. This is a game in which Dabo Swinney quipped he would be fired if he lost. Naturally, UConn returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. That was just about all the scoring they would do.
Clemson’s defense outpaced the team’s offense yet again. While the Tigers came away with 44 points on the afternoon, 16 of those came via B.T. Potter’s leg and a Will Swinney fake field goal.
Mario Goodrich, Jr. and Sheridan Jones each came away with interceptions. UConn’s quarterbacks went 15-of-32 passing for 115 yards and those two takeaways.
If you divide it up, the offense scored 28 points on four touchdowns. Coming into Saturday, UConn was allowing opposing teams to score 36 points per game. The Huskies also have the nation’s No. 119 scoring defense.
The Huskies currently are tied for the country’s No. 124 red zone defense. Coming into the game, UConn allowed opponnets to score touchdowns on 38 of 40 attempts. They got their third redzone defensive stop of the season when Darien Rencher fumbled the ball in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter.
Granted, Hunter Helms and Billy Wiles took the majority of snaps under center for Clemson in the second half, but it’s not like the offense played much better in the first frame. Besides D.J. Uiagalelei’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Beaux Collins, the offense benefitted from a strong defensive performance and good field positioning.
Wiles, of course, connected with Jake Briningstool for their respective first-career touchdowns on a 25-yard connection to take a 44-7 lead late in the fourth quarter.
It didn’t take long for Clemson to take control of the game, but the offense was never convincing. Sophomore quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei clearly still hobbled by his PCL strain, didn’t quite look like the signal-caller that had Clemson’s offense rolling in the right direction over the past two games.
Uiagalelei completed just 21-of-44 passes (48%) for 241 yards with a passing touchdown and an interception. He was supplanted by Taisun Phommanchanch multiple times during the first half. Phommanchanch led a scoring drive that culminated in his first career rushing touchdown.
While Phommanchanch accounted for 33 passing yards and 16 rushing yards, he was held out for the majority of Saturday’s contest. According to Swinney, Phommanchanch injured his shoulder and was left unable to throw. He was on the sidelines in street clothes, along with a sizable contingent of Clemson players. Justyn Ross injured his foot and was later sporting a boot.
Additionally, Xavier Thomas, Tré Williams, James Skalski and Sergio Allen were all injured during the course of Saturday’s game. None of them would return, as injuries continue to decimate Clemson’s depth chart.
Adding insult to injury, Clemson was already down three injured starters in Will Putnam, Joseph Ngata and Andrew Booth, Jr. While neither Will Shipley nor Kobe Pace made an appearance during Saturday’s landslide win, that more so had to do with the flow of Saturday’s game.
That gave way for Darien Rencher and Phil Mafah to handle backfield duties. The duo combined for 86 on 31 carries after rushing for just a total of 15 yards on 13 carries in the first half. The Tigers ran the ball for just 121 yards on 39 carries, averaging a cool 3.1 yards per carry.
It was the second week in a row that Clemson scored 30+ points, even without a running game to speak of.