It was a rough start for DJ Uiagalelei, but the Clemson quarterback stepped up late in the first half and came through again at an important point in the second half to help the fourth-ranked Tigers to a 41-10 win over Georgia Tech on Monday night in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
It wasn’t smooth sailing early on for Uiagalelei, who mishandled a snap on Clemson’s first drive and had the ball punched out on a designed quarterback run on the next before taking a sack on the third possession.
However, Uiagalelei started to find a rhythm in the second quarter, leading an eight-play, 67-yard drive that he finished off with a touchdown pass. The junior signal-caller flushed outside of the pocket and found Beaux Collins, who was streaking in the back of the end zone, for a 6-yard touchdown that put the Tigers up 14-0 with 3:52 left in the half.
After shedding over 20 pounds this offseason, Uiagalelei is a lot slimmer but still wasn’t much of a factor in the run game for Clemson in the first half. He carried the ball nine times for 17 yards in the game’s first 30 minutes, while completing 12 of 16 passes for 114 yards and the touchdown.
Uiagalelei’s legs were more of a factor in the second half, though. With Clemson up by just one score at 17-10 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Uiagalelei capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown run that extended the Tigers’ advantage to 24-10 at the 1:18 mark of the frame.
The touchdown was preceded by a key, highlight-reel play from Uiagalelei, which saw him turn a would-be sack into a third-and-4 conversion by somehow avoiding several potential tacklers in the backfield and pitching the ball to Will Shipley, who then ran 10 yards to pick up the first down.
Uiagalelei also ran for 7 yards on a third-and-5 play in the fourth quarter, setting up Will Shipley’s second rushing touchdown of the game that gave Clemson a 34-10 lead with 6:27 left. Both of Shipley’s scores came after the Tigers blocked punts.
Uiagalelei finished 19-of-32 passing for 209 yards and a touchdown, and would’ve had a better completion percentage were it not for a few drops by his receivers. He also finished with 13 rushes for 28 yards and one score on the ground.
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