ATLANTA — As Clemson’s offense provided similar angst that last year’s unit provided, the defensive unit bogged down Georgia Tech in Monday night’s 41-10 win at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

Behind a gritty effort from Clemson’s defense and an offense that was able to string together successful scoring drives, the Tigers (1-0, 1-0 ACC) scored 27 second-half points.

After turning a corner, Georgia Tech had Clemson on its heels.

Led by Jeff Sims, a nine-play, 57-yard drive culminated in Tech’s first touchdown of the season. After converting on fourth down earlier in the drive, Jeff Sims found E.J. Jenkins for a 13-yard touchdown, beating both Andrew Mukuba and Sheridan Jones in coverage.

Before that touchdown scoring drive, Tech had been 1-of-9 on converting third downs on the evening.

At the end of the third quarter, as Uiagalelei was being dragged to the ground, he pitched the ball behind him to Shipley, who kept the drive alive with a 10-yard gain. Clemson continued to drive the ball down the field with completions to Davis Allen (14 yards) and Antonio Williams (7, 14 yards). 

Later in the drive, Uiagalelei ran a power play to the right side, following blocks from Jake Briningstool and Walker Parks into the endzone for a nine-yard score. Uiagalelei’s first rushing touchdown of the season capped off a nine-play, 74-yard drive.

That proved to be an effective turning point in the second half.

While Clemson scored 27 second-half points, a lot of it had to do with taking advantage of Georgia Tech’s miscues. After their lone touchdown scoring drive of the game, Tech had two three-and-outs that led to punts, a turnover on downs after a six-play drive and another blocked punt

After having not blocked a punt in a game since 2015, Clemson blocked not one, but two punts on Monday night in Atlanta. Carson Donnelly and Wade Woodaz both came away with key special teams plays, one being a turning point and the other being the last notch on the belt.

After Clemson displayed a lackluster rushing attack in the first half, the Tigers were able to move the ball a little bit more convincingly on the ground in the final 30 minutes. While the final boxscore might not point to that, Clemson had three rushing touchdowns on the night, including two in the second half.

Clemson totaled 127 yards on 40 carries between five different ball carriers. Shipley led the way with 10 carries for 42 yards and two touchdowns, while Uiagalelei added 28 of his own.

After completing 12-of-16 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in the first half, Uiagalelei completed just 7 of 16 passes for 95 yards in the second half. While he dealt with multiple second-half drops, he looked a lot more comfortable running Clemson’s offense.

Uiagalelei finished the night 19-of-32 with 209 yards and a touchdown.

Cade Klubnik made his Clemson debut and completed 4-of-6 passes for 50 yards, including his first career touchdown pass on a three-yard strike to Will Taylor.

Next Up

Clemson has a quick turnaround as it hosts Furman this Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!