Three weeks into Clemson’s season and Dabo Swinney’s team has yet to dominate an opponent for 60 minutes.

Saturday’s 48-20 win over Louisiana Tech Saturday night at Memorial Stadium was another tale of two halves. 

After a lackluster first half, in which Clemson scored just 13 points and allowed Louisiana Tech to hang around, Clemson’s defense — and its offense — answered the bell. Clemson outscored the Bulldogs 35-14 in the second half en route to a 28-point victory.

Down by a touchdown, Tech had the ball to start the second half.

Instead of making it a game, Sonny Cumbie’s team allowed Saturday’s contest to get away from them. Clemson forced interceptions on back-to-back possessions before stopping the Bulldogs on fourth-and-two from their own 33-yard line,

Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. came away with Clemson’s second interception of the game as the Tigers’ defensive front baited Parker McNeil into an errant throw. McNeil’s first interception of the game came on the heels of two false start penalties and a batted-down pass.

On the next play from scrimmage, Shipley scampered for a 32-yard touchdown — his second of the game. With his early third-quarter score, Shipley now has multiple scores in each of Clemson’s first three games. The sophomore running back accounted for 139 of Clemson’s 280 rushing yards Saturday.

While Tech turned the ball over on its first offensive possession of the second half, that didn’t exactly take the wind out of the Bulldogs’ sail. That was for at least for a handful of plays, in which Tech drove the football down the field. Then, the wheels began to fall off as McNeil was intercepted for a second time on the evening.

Clemson took over at its own 10-yard line following an interception by Malcolm Greene — the Tigers’ third interception of the night — and Phil Mafah’s four-yard score capped an impressive 14-play, 90-yard drive that spanned six minutes and 46 seconds.

On Clemson’s very next offensive play from scrimmage, D.J. Uiagalelei connected with Beaux Collins for a 32-yard touchdown pass. That would be Uiagalelei’s last throw for a couple of offensive possessions before being replaced by Cade Klubnik with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Uiagalelei finished Saturday’s contest, completing 59% of his passes (17-of-29) with 221 passing yards and two touchdowns. He added 62 yards on the ground on nine carries, averaging 6.9 yards per carry. 

Uiagalelei would later find true freshman wide receiver Antonio Williams for a 19-yard score. Williams, who hails from in-state powerhouse Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.) hauled in two receptions for 57 yards, in addition to scoring his first career touchdown.

As for Klubnik, the true freshman signal-caller got a lot more run time in his second career game in The Valley. The Westlake (Texas) product went 2-of-5 passing with 19 yards. He also had seven yards on the ground.

Klubnik would later be relieved by Hunter Johnson.

While Saturday’s box score would indicate a clean third quarter, the Tigers still allowed for some big completions. Despite his shortcomings Saturday, McNeil completed passes of 28, 26 and 46 yards in the third quarter alone. Even with the turnovers, McNeil at times was able to carve up a Clemson secondary that was absent Andrew Mukuba and Nate Wiggins, as well as Sheridan Jones, who was in street clothes for the second half.

McNeil completed 23-of-42 passes for 311 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He didn’t have his way with Clemson’s secondary like Georgia Tech’s Jeff Sims and Furman’s Tyler Huff did, but he exposed some deficiencies in the Tigers’ defensive backfield.

Up Next

Clemson will travel to Winston-Salem (N.C.) to take on Sam Hartman and Wake Forest on Saturday, Sept. 24.