The 10th-ranked Clemson Tigers found the end-zone four times in the second quarter to build a 28-14 halftime lead and shut out Wake Forest in the second half for a 49-14 road win in Winston-Salem on Saturday.
Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik threw three touchdown passes as Clemson (5-1 overall, 4-0 ACC) won its fifth straight game, and the defense forced three punts and a turnover on downs to pitch a second-half shutout against the Demon Deacons (2-4, 1-2).
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney spoke to the media afterwards and credited his team for how they responded after falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter.
“We didn’t have our normal fast start,” Swinney said. “We kind of had a slow start and really missed some opportunities early. We missed on a post (route) high and then we fumbled a snap the next drive. But then we just settled in. We had four straight touchdowns and really, offensively, we played with a lot of rhythm from that point on.
“Then defensively, (Wake Forest) got a couple of scores in the first half. There was too many penalties… I think they had 195 (total yards) at halftime. They finished with 233. So, I’m really proud of our defense and how they shut them out in the second half. The two turnovers were huge because they created huge scoring opportunities for us. I’m just proud of how the guys competed and handled their business today.”
Here’s everything Swinney said after the Tigers’ second straight road win in ACC play against Wake Forest.
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