Fifth-ranked Clemson (3-0, 1-0 ACC) is set to square off against No. 21 Wake Forest (3-0, 0-0) on Saturday in Winston-Salem.
Ahead of the matchup at the Demon Deacons’ Truist Field, ESPN college football studio host Matt Barrie weighed in on the top-25 showdown, pointing out that this is only the first time since 1950 that both teams have been ranked in the AP Poll when they’ve played.
“It’s a good matchup in that Wake Forest, kind of a darling team a year ago – Sam Hartman, A.T. Perry, that whole class was a fun team because no one really expected it,” Barrie said. “Sam Hartman comes back, he missed all of camp with a blood clot issue, he’s playing really good football, against big bad Clemson who comes in ranked fifth.”
As for the Tigers, Barrie said, “We still don’t know about Clemson” heading into Saturday’s game.
“We still don’t know what they are,” he said. “We know they’ve got a great defense. We know that. We know they’ve got Will Shipley, a really good running back. Joseph Ngata’s played pretty well over the first couple of weeks. We just still don’t know about the quarterback yet. DJ Uiagalelei has done enough to be good, but is he doing enough, has he grown enough to make Clemson hang around that top four College Football Playoff conversation? At least for now, they’re undefeated, they’re ranked fifth.”
Saturday’s game will kick off at noon ET and be televised on ABC. Wake Forest, Barrie noted, is 1-64 all-time against top-10 opponents.
“Can Sam Hartman, can he continue that magic?” Barrie said. “Can Dave Clawson, can they go in and can they get a win against Clemson and kind of let us understand who the Tigers really are?”
Come out to support Clemson baseball at Dear Old Clemson’s event on September 30 at the Madren Conference Center. New head coach Erik Bakich will speak and most of next year’s team will be on hand. Get your tickets today or sign up for the Orange level or higher of the Tiger Club to get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Dear Old Clemson.
