Tag: Clemson vs. NC State

Everything Brad Brownell said after Clemson’s loss to NC State

Clemson squandered a 12-point lead in the second half of Saturday night’s game against NC State and fell 78-77 to end a three-game winning streak in ACC play. 

Clemson squandered a 12-point lead in the second half of Saturday night’s game against NC State and lost another heartbreaker at home, 78-77, in ACC play at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers’ last three losses have all been by one point. This one ended a three-game Clemson winning streak.

DJ Horne scored a game-high 27 points and hit the game-winner for NC State with 9.8 seconds left.

The Tigers (17-8 overall, 7-7 ACC) had a chance on their last possession, but Chase Hunter missed a layup on the other end of the floor. When the buzzer sounded, the Wolfpack (16-9, 8-6) had earned their first win at Littlejohn Coliseum since 2015.

Joe Girard had another strong shooting night for Clemson, finishing with a team-best 23 points in the loss. PJ Hall added 18, and Hunter and RJ Godfrey had 10 to give the Tigers four players in double figures.

Clemson will travel to Atlanta for a rematch with Georgia Tech (11-15, 4-11) Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST at McCamish Pavilion. The Tigers fell to the Yellow Jackets in double overtime back on January 16 at Littlejohn. Wednesday’s game will be televised by ACC Network.

Here’s everything Clemson coach Brad Brownell said after Saturday’s loss to NC State.

Clemson Tigers vs. NC State Wolfpack: Where to Watch/Stream/Listen

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Saturday’s game against NC State.

Clemson is hoping to continue its winning ways when it welcomes NC State to Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday night in primetime.

The Tigers (17-7 overall, 7-6 ACC) are feeling a lot better about themselves after a three-game win streak over North Carolina, Syracuse and most recently Miami.

In the Tigers’ 77-60 victory over the Hurricanes, they closed the game with a spectacular 24-3 run over the final eight-plus minutes of action. Chase Hunter scored a season-high 20 points and made five 3-pointers, and Joe Girard added 18 points.

PJ Hall, who was named to the Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Midseason Team this week, had 13 points. The senior forward leads the Tigers in scoring with an average of 19 points per game.

Both Clemson and NC State (15-9, 7-6) will see a couple of familiar faces on the other side of this rivalry Saturday. For NC State, former Tigers forward/wing Ben Middlebrooks transferred to Raleigh after spending two seasons in Brad Brownell’s program. Middlebrooks has averaged 14 minutes a game this year.

Conversely, former NC State forward Jack Clark is now in a Tigers uniform. Clark has gradually earned more playing time as the season has progressed. He totaled a season-high 33 minutes in the Tigers’ 80-76 upset over North Carolina in Chapel Hill and logged 27 minutes in the win over Miami.

DJ Horne leads NC State this season with an average 17 points per game. The 6’1″ senior is coming off a season-high 31 points in the Wolfpack’s last contest, an 83-79 loss at Wake Forest on February 10.

Horne is averaging 32 minutes per contest, as is guard Casey Morsell (12 points per game).

Series Notes and Recent History

NC State leads the all-time head to head series, 83-56, but Clemson has won the last six meetings between the schools and seven of the past eight since 2020. The two programs met three times last season between the regular season and ACC Tournament. The Tigers are 33-24 all-time against the Wolfpack at Littlejohn Coliseum. NC State hasn’t won in Clemson since March 3, 2015.

Where to Watch/Stream/Listen

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Saturday’s game against NC State.

Date: Saturday, Feb. 17

Time: 7:45 p.m. EST

Where: Littlejohn Coliseum

TV Channel: CW Network

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 193)

Broadcast Teams

CW Network: Tom Werme

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Tim Bourret

Swinney comments on Shipley’s injury

Dabo Swinney was asked about Will Shipley’s injury against NC State.

Clemson’s Will Shipley took a huge hit on the 1-yard line in the second quarter against NC State Saturday and didn’t return to the game following the injury. 

It was a hit to the back of the head/neck area, keeping Shipley down for a while before heading off the field under his own power. It was a brutal hit to watch, and things looked scary before Shipley could get himself off the field.  

Following the game, Swinney was asked about the status of Shipley following the injury.

“I’m not sure,” Swinney said.

“I think they did some X-rays, maybe on his neck and stuff, but I haven’t gotten any results,” Swinney later said. “I was just told he was definitely out of the game.”

Hopefully, it isn’t anything serious for the star running back.

Social media reacts: Clemson trending in the wrong direction following loss to NC State

Social media reacts to another Clemson loss.

The Clemson football program is going through it in 2023 as they continued their struggles in a 24-17 road loss to NC State.

It was the same old story for this Clemson team, as the defense played well outside of some big plays allowed, and the offense struggled with turnovers, poor play-calling, and overall inconsistency. Things have worsened for the Tigers, as we haven’t seen a strong performance from Dabo Swinney’s team in weeks. Some would argue, all season. 

Social media was not friendly to the Tigers after this one, as Swinney’s squad continued trending in the wrong direction. Here is a look at how Twitter/X reacted to another Clemson loss.

Five takeaways from Clemson’s abysmal road loss to NC State

Clemson continues to pick up ACC losses following another underwhelming performance.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers had yet another poor performance as they fell on the road 24-17 against NC State.

Heading into writing this, underwhelming, was the word I had planned to use when describing this performance. The reality is that that is being generous at this point. The harsh truth is that it was an abysmal loss for the Tigers, who continually show us the same thing week after week.

Most Clemson fans would agree that it is a bad feeling heading into each game expecting the worst, but that’s the story with this team. It doesn’t look like things are going to change anytime soon. 

Here are five takeaways from Clemson’s abysmal road loss to NC State in Week 9.

Clemson’s nightmare season continues; fall to NC State 24-17 on the road

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers can’t put it all together as they drop another ACC matchup.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers are having their worst season in years, and it continued Saturday as Clemson fell on the rad 24-17 to NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Tigers (4-4, 2-4 ACC) trailed the Wolfpack (5-3, 2-2 ACC) 24-7 at the end of the 3rd quarter, with the Clemson offense threatening to score and chip away at the NC State lead. On the first play of the fourth quarter, running back Phil Mafah scored his second touchdown of the game on another 1-yard run, making the score 24-14 with a whole quarter left to play.

Clemson found themselves in the red zone a couple drives later but opted not to go for it on 4th down. Kicker Jonathan Weitz snuck in a 19-yard field goal, shrinking NC State’s lead to seven. The big issue, at this point, was the Tigers’ time management.

Swinney didn’t manage the clock well down the stretch, with the Tigers wasting precious time on multiple drives, including their final one. Their final drive was 14 plays for 35 yards, eating up 4:09 minutes of the clock.

Clemson’s struggles continue.

Halftime Report: Clemson’s struggles continue as they trail NC State 10-7

Clemson continues their season-long struggles as the Tigers trail NC State 10-7 at the half.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football team have struggled throughout the 2023 season, and that struggle has continued against NC State as the Tigers trail the Wolfpack 10-7 at the half in Carter-Finley Stadium.

Outside of one brutal drive, the Clemson defense has played a strong football game against the Wolfpack. Allowing 85 yards in a half will almost always be a good thing, allowing just 20 passing yards in the game. Defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro is having a great day, with a sack and two tackles for loss.

On offense, well, the struggles are very real. Totaling 162 yards in a half isn’t the worst thing in the world, but not scoring points is. Just seven points for the Tigers’ offense in this one, with the score coming on a 1-yard Phil Mafah touchdown.

Clemson starting quarterback Cade Klubnik ended the first half completing 14-23 passes for 124 yards and an interception. The team totaled 38 rushing yards in the half.

Mafah finds the end zone, Clemson trails NC State 10-7

Clemson finally gets points on the board behind a Phil Mafah 1-yard touchdown run.

After another slow start to a game for Garrett Riley and the Clemson offense, the Tigers got their first points of the game midway through the second quarter and now trail the Wolfpack 10-7.

It was a much-needed strong drive for this offense as they went 9 plays for 75 yards, with the drive being capped off with a 1-yard Phil Mafah touchdown run. The drive started with a Jake Briningstool 17-yard catch, with Beaux Collins adding a big 28-yard catch a few plays later.

Star running back Will Shipley had five touches for 29 yards on the drive before suffering a scary injury on a run to the one-yard line. We’re going to have to keep an eye out for the status of Clemson’s top running back going forward.

Three reasons Clemson picks up a much-needed win over NC State in Week 9

Here are three reasons Clemson will head to NC State and pick up a much-needed win over the Wolfpack.

Dabo Swinney and Clemson football have had a rough season in 2023, with their Week 9 matchup against NC State their next opportunity to get the program back on track and show the Tigers’ fan base that this team still has some life left in it.

Clemson (4-3, 2-3 ACC) lost to Miami on the road in Week 8 in a performance that summed up what the Tigers’ have looked like this season. It was another poor performance where this Clemson team left the fans wanting more. The talent is clearly there, but the execution is about as bad as it could be for a team of this caliber. 

This matchup with NC State is a great bounce-back spot for the Tigers, who SHOULD have no problems taking care of business on the road. Here are three reasons Clemson will pick up a much-needed win over NC State in Week 9.  

Defensive X-Factor for Clemson vs. NC State Week 9

When your defense is coming off one of their worst performances of the season, a veteran needs to step up.

Clemson’s defense got embarrassed in their road loss in Week 8 to Miami.

Embarrassed might feel like strong wording, but it is the feeling I had after watching that game. A usually stout defense had the football run all over them, while a true freshman quarterback starting the first game of his college career looked comfortable under center against this Clemson defense. 

Heading into their Week 9 matchup against NC State, veterans have to step up and ensure that what we saw last week will not happen again against the Wolfpack. For that reason, star linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is our defensive X-Factor.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney shared that after the Miami loss, Trotter “asserted himself” in the locker room, showing some emotion and fire he hadn’t seen from the linebacker in his time with the Tigers. This is exactly what this Clemson team and defense needs: some emotion. 

Trotter should be in for a huge day against NC State on Saturday.