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The Clemson Insider’s Julia Haskins recaps the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to Georgia last Saturday. We hear from quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, linebacker James Skalski and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott about what went right and what went wrong in …
The Clemson Insider’s Julia Haskins recaps the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to Georgia last Saturday.
We hear from quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, linebacker James Skalski and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott about what went right and what went wrong in Charlotte.
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No. 6 Clemson will look to bounce back from its season-opening loss to Georgia when the Tigers host South Carolina State in their home opener Saturday at Memorial Stadium. So what do the Tigers need to do to ensure themselves of a win? Here are …
No. 6 Clemson will look to bounce back from its season-opening loss to Georgia when the Tigers host South Carolina State in their home opener Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
So what do the Tigers need to do to ensure themselves of a win? Here are three keys:
Show up
The I-AA division in college football was formed by the NCAA prior to the 1978 season. It’s since been renamed the Football Championship Subdivision. Whatever you want to call it, Clemson’s rarely been tested against the lower level of the sport. The Tigers are 35-0 all-time against FCS teams with their average margin of victory north of 35 points in those games.
In other words, it would be easy for the Tigers to overlook this game, especially with it sandwiched between that bitter loss to Georgia and their ACC opener against Georgia Tech looming next week. Even if Clemson was looking ahead, it’s hard to envision a scenario where the Tigers lose to a team they’re far superior to in terms of sheer talent and will be able to physically overwhelm.
But Clemson has plenty it needs to work on following that slugfest with Georgia, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, so taking care of business Saturday while simultaneously building as much momentum as possible to take into the conference slate will be important for the Tigers.
Execute offensively
Clemson’s offense will likely be able to name its score whether it leans on the run or the pass. It would behoove the Tigers, at least in this writer’s opinion, to rep the running game over and over (particularly between the tackles) given how poorly things went against Georgia in that facet of the game. After netting just 2 yards on the ground, establishing the line of scrimmage and building cohesion and confidence among the offensive line and running backs heading into ACC play would be ideal.
But regardless of how the Tigers decide to go about moving the ball, the execution needs to be better. Whether it was missed blocks up front, miscommunication between D.J. Uiagalelei and his receivers or timing issues in the passing game, there were far too many operational breakdowns within the offense last week. While a defense the caliber of Georgia’s will make life difficult for a lot of offenses, Clemson didn’t do itself any favors by botching some of the details that it can control.
Again, the Tigers likely won’t have much problem winning this game, but how they look doing it — at least the first- and second-teamers — will be just as important. A much cleaner performance would go a long way in helping the Tigers’ offense feel better about itself heading into the meat of the schedule.
Don’t be sloppy
Speaking of cleanliness, there’s only one way South Carolina State becomes a national story for a monumental upset come the end of the weekend, and that’s if Clemson beats itself. No offense to Buddy Pough’s program, whose coaches and players put just as much time and effort into their preparation as anybody else, but the Bulldogs simply don’t come close to matching Clemson’s skill level.
But sloppiness from superior teams is a surefire way to help inferior ones hang around, particularly turnovers that turn into immediate points like Georgia’s pick-six last week. Granted, it would likely take a lot of turnovers by Clemson for this game to still be even remotely competitive come the fourth quarter, but, again, this is about finding rhythm and confidence if you’re Clemson. Throwing interceptions, fumbling the ball all over the place and racking up a bunch of penalties wouldn’t exactly inspire that heading into next week.
The good news for Clemson is that hasn’t been much of a problem of late. Clemson finished 22nd nationally in turnover margin last season and turned it over just once against a much bigger, faster Georgia defense than what it will see Saturday. It was only the sixth time in 174 games of the Swinney era the Tigers have lost when winning the turnover battle.
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
A few weeks ago on CBS Sports Network, former Georgia quarterback and current CBS Sports college football analyst Aaron Murray called Clemson the most overhyped top-25 team heading into the 2021 season. But even Murray didn’t expect to see the …
A few weeks ago on CBS Sports Network, former Georgia quarterback and current CBS Sports college football analyst Aaron Murray called Clemson the most overhyped top-25 team heading into the 2021 season.
But even Murray didn’t expect to see the Tigers’ offense perform so poorly against Georgia last Saturday, when quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei and company managed only 180 total yards of offense, including 2 yards rushing while allowing seven sacks and committing the pivotal pick-six that proved to be the difference in a 10-3 defeat.
Despite Uiagalelei’s showing against the Bulldogs, Murray believes he will still be one of the nation’s best signal-callers moving forward.
“I was surprised,” Murray said of Clemson’s offensive performance against UGA in an appearance on The Zach Gelb Show on CBS Sports Radio. “D.J. Uiagalelei, he looked confused. And I know Kirk Herbstreit said it a lot during the broadcast (on ABC), but it was true – he looked like the game was just happening too fast. I think the kid is uber-talented. I think he’s going to still be – and I think there’s a lot of people out there with the same belief – he’s going to be one of the premier quarterbacks in this country, whether it’s this year or next year before he gets ready for the NFL. He has all the tools.
“Unfortunately, he faced the best defense in the country, Week 1, an offensive line that is not very good, an inability to run the football and just a lot of pressure on him to go out there and be perfect, which is just not feasible against what Georgia was going to be able to bring. So, a little bit surprised.”
While Murray thinks the Tigers will run the table the rest of the way and capture their seventh consecutive ACC title, he isn’t sure it will be enough for them to make the College Football Playoff for the seventh year in a row.
“The good thing for them, just like Georgia, the schedule’s not super tough down the stretch for Clemson,” he said. “They should still take care of business in the ACC. But to me, when you see what happened with the ACC this weekend – Miami got just stomped by Alabama, North Carolina lost a game to Virginia Tech, (Monday night) Louisville lost to Ole Miss. It’s just a very weak conference. So, even if they do win out and win the ACC, I just don’t know if they deserve a chance to be in that final four at the end of the day.”
Although he knows injuries and crazy things can happen in college football, as it stands right now, Murray sees both Georgia and Alabama making the CFP along with Ohio State and Oklahoma, leaving Clemson “on the outside looking in.”
“If Georgia does what they did this past weekend and just gets a little bit better offensively, they should be undefeated,” Murray said. “I don’t think anyone’s taking down Alabama, they’re just too darn good. You have a chance to see two undefeated teams in the SEC Championship Game. It doesn’t matter who wins, who loses, both teams are going to be in the playoff at the end of the day. Then it’s Ohio State most likely, then it’s Oklahoma, and I just think Clemson, even if they’re 12-1, they’re going to be on the outside looking in based on the performance versus the Dawgs and just based on how overall weak the ACC is this year.”
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D.J. Uiagalelei’s first start this season didn’t go nearly as well as his two previous ones. After throwing for more than 700 yards and five scores in helping lead Clemson to wins in spot starts against Boston College and Notre Dame a season ago, …
D.J. Uiagalelei’s first start this season didn’t go nearly as well as his two previous ones.
After throwing for more than 700 yards and five scores in helping lead Clemson to wins in spot starts against Boston College and Notre Dame a season ago, Uiagelelei found the going much tougher Saturday taking his first snaps as Trevor Lawrence’s successor. Uiagalelei posted career-lows in passing yards (178) and completion percentage (51.3) and tossed the only touchdown of the game, though it counted as points for the other team.
Chris Smith’s 74-yard pick-six late in the second quarter proved to be the difference in the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to Georgia over the weekend, though Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott put that miscue on receiver Justyn Ross more than their sophomore signal caller. Regardless, it’s the first real bout of adversity Uiagalelei has faced early in his career as Clemson’s quarterback.
How has he responded?
“He’s had a great week of practice just like any great competitor does,” Swinney said Wednesday. “You pick yourself up and go back to work.”
Swinney said Uiagalelei was one of the first players back at the team’s facilities Sunday to watch the film of a performance Uiagalelei personally shouldered the blame for afterward.
“There’s a lot of things when you watch the film and look at it and think, ‘Wow, I could’ve done this different, I could’ve done that different and it would’ve changed the outcome of the game,’” Uiagalelei said. “But I think the most overall thing is I’ve just got to play better.’
Uiagalelei said there were misreads on his part on some of his throws as well as miscommunication with his receivers at times. He also critiqued his pocket awareness, saying there were a couple of times he should’ve bolted to escape the constant pressure created by Georgia’s defense up front.
But Uiagalelei didn’t get much help on a night when the Tigers tallied 180 yards of offense and averaged just 3 yards per play. Clemson’s running backs combined for just 24 yards on nine carries. And with Georgia getting to Uiagalelei for seven sacks, the Tigers finished with just 2 net rushing yards, the fourth-lowest rushing total in program history.
Uiagalelei completed just 10 of 21 passes in the first half for 75 yards, but he picked it up down the stretch. He went 4 of 7 on Clemson’s opening possession of the fourth quarter, one that reached Georgia’s 5-yard line and produced the Tigers’ only points of the night.
Uiagalelei covered 56 of Clemson’s 82 yards on the drive through the air and had 67 of his passing yards in the final quarter. The Tigers would love nothing more than to see Uiagaleleli’s finish carry over to this week’s game against South Carolina State on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
“He’s a special player. He’s a special person, and nobody cares more,” Swinney said. “For two and a half quarters there, he didn’t play very well. But, man, he responded in a tough environment and finished really well. Once he got going, we didn’t play well around him. But he showed back up.”
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
Justyn Ross has seen better days on a football field. Clemson’s star wideout made his much-anticipated return from his competitive hiatus in the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to Georgia on Saturday, a frustrating, error-filled performance for Clemson’s offense …
Justyn Ross has seen better days on a football field.
Clemson’s star wideout made his much-anticipated return from his competitive hiatus in the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to Georgia on Saturday, a frustrating, error-filled performance for Clemson’s offense as a whole. The Tigers finished with just 180 yards of offense, and not since a 13-3 setback to Georgia Tech in 2007 had they mustered only a field goal.
Ross, a freshman All-American in 2018, was widely considered one of college football’s top wideouts after combining for 1,865 receiving yards and 17 touchdown catches his first two years with the Tigers. He had surgery over the summer to correct congenital spine fusion that cost him all of last season before making his return with four catches for 26 yards against the Bulldogs.
“I will promise you this, there ain’t nobody that cares more than that guy,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “He was very down on himself, but I’ll win or lose with that guy any day.”
Primarily an outside receiver his first two years in the program, Ross debuted Saturday in the slot but lined up at different positions to try to get back in the flow of the offense. But that proved to be more of a mental struggle than a physical one for the 6-foot-4, 205-pounder.
It was the first time he had played with quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. The two had done some pitch and catch with each other in the offseason even before Ross was fully cleared for contact, Uiagalelei said, to work on their chemistry. But whether it was timing, miscommunication or a combination of the two, it was off early and often against the Bulldogs.
On Clemson’s second offensive series, with the Tigers facing second-and-4 from their own 23-yard line, Ross lined up to the boundary and beat his former teammate, Derion Kendrick, with an inside release. But Uiagalelei’s throw went to the outside and fell incomplete along the sideline.
Uiagalelei again looked Ross’ way in the field slot on the next snap, but on a play offensive coordinator Tony Elliott described as a “hot situation” where Uiagalelei was supposed to get rid of the ball quickly against a blitz, Ross got crossed up on the signals and kept running. It forced Uiagalelei to hold on to the ball longer than he wanted, and the end result was one of Georgia’s seven sacks.
“We were free releasing our (running) back, but we had enough time if we’re on the same page with our receiver and our quarterback, that ball’s going to be completed probably over the middle and we’re running,” Elliott said.
With Clemson backed up at its own 16 facing third-and-9 on its next possession, Uiagalelei again targeted Ross, who was again lined up in the field slot. Ross ran an out route well beyond the sticks, but Uiagalelei’s throw was well behind Ross, whose confused raised-hands gesture afterward was noticeable even to ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit during the network’s broadcast.
“We’ve definitely had some work, but I think it’s his first game coming back,” Uiagalelei said. “It was just a lot that we’ll be able to get everything settled in together, and we’ll be perfectly fine going out through the season.”
Ross’ most critical error came on Christopher Smith’s pick-six late in the second quarter with the Tigers driving in Georgia territory. The Bulldogs brought a blitz from the field, leaving Ross one on one with Smith, who was dropping inside from his safety spot. Ross had the option — something Elliott said was implemented as part of the offense for receivers last season — to turn out or slant toward the middle of the field. He chose the latter but didn’t beat Smith to the ball, and Smith raced 74 yards the other way for the touchdown that proved to be the difference.
“All he’s got to do is just turn out like he’s supposed to do, and he’s going to catch that ball and he might break a tackle and score or get inside the 20,” Swinney said. “But at least he’s at the 21 or 22 and a first down. And instead it’s points the other way. That’s basic, simple stuff. He just made a bad decision.”
While it may have been an atypical performance for a player of Ross’ caliber, it wasn’t all that hard to see coming. It was his first game action since Clemson’s national championship game loss to LSU 20 months ago, and his preparation for the opener was slowed by COVID-19 protocols. Ross was cleared for full contact right before fall camp was set to begin Aug. 6, but he had to wait another week before returning to the practice field.
Like every other player at the beginning of camp, Ross also had to go through a five-day acclimatization period once he started practicing. He missed the first scrimmage of camp but took part in the second, though that wasn’t until Aug. 19.
That timeline gave Ross right at two weeks to try to get adequately prepared for his first game reps after such an extended layoff. While it wasn’t a good day for Ross from an execution standpoint, Swinney said he doesn’t have any long-term concerns about Ross’ cohesion with Uiagalelei, adding their chemistry was “great” during fall camp.
Swinney kept things in perspective considering the circumstances.
“I’m just happy he was able to go out there and make a mistake in a football game, you know?” Swinney said. “Happy for him. All that other stuff, we’ll get better from it. That’s just a part of his journey. This guy is special.”
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
On College Football Live this week, ESPN college football analysts Desmond Howard and Greg McElroy gave a “Progress Report” on some of the nation’s top quarterbacks and talked about how they fared in Week 1 of the season. Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei …
On College Football Live this week, ESPN college football analysts Desmond Howard and Greg McElroy gave a “Progress Report” on some of the nation’s top quarterbacks and talked about how they fared in Week 1 of the season.
Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei had his share of issues in last Saturday’s 10-3 loss to Georgia, but McElroy pointed out that the sophomore signal-caller’s subpar performance wasn’t all his fault.
“They’ve got to do a lot of things to make life easier for D.J.,” McElroy said. “They’ve got to block, they’ve got to create a little more separation, they’ve got to be more consistent with the timing of the passing game. So, yes, he didn’t play well. But like you said Des, that was not all on D.J. at this point.”
Uiagalelei completed 19-of-37 passes for 178 yards with one interception — his first career turnover, the pivotal pick-six that proved to be the difference in the game — and was sacked seven times.
“D.J. had his struggles, man,” Howard said. “It started up front obviously with the offensive line. They could not block Georgia’s defensive front. But when you get beyond that, even D.J.’s coach Dabo Swinney said after the game that it took D.J. probably two and a half quarters just to get settled. And Greg can tell you better than anybody, you can’t take that amount of time to get settled in a game of that magnitude against an opponent like Georgia. So, once he got settled, he started to throw the ball in rhythm.
“But it was bigger than the offensive line. He wasn’t making the right reads, he wasn’t getting them out of bad situations, and his receivers, too, they didn’t help him out. That pick-six was not on D.J. — it was actually on the receiver who should have broke across the defensive back’s face so the ball didn’t get picked.”
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I get why Clemson fans are disappointed by last Saturday’s results. It is not so much that the Tigers lost to Georgia, but how they lost. Clemson’s offense looked bad. The play calling was not creative and was too predictable at times. I get it. But …
I get why Clemson fans are disappointed by last Saturday’s results. It is not so much that the Tigers lost to Georgia, but how they lost.
Clemson’s offense looked bad. The play calling was not creative and was too predictable at times.
I get it. But my question is why?
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney gave us reasons why during his Tuesday press conference. There were missed assignments everywhere. The offensive line had some MAs, the running backs struggled with their assignments, receivers were running wrong routes and quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei was not decisive enough in his decision making at times.
Then there was the play calling. Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott admitted he gave up on the running game too soon and should have given his running backs more opportunities to make plays.
Also, let’s give Georgia credit, too.
The Bulldogs played great on the defensive side of the football and made it tough for Clemson to succeed with no mistakes, much less the many the Tigers made throughout the night.
It was the perfect storm. It was a sea of disaster for the Clemson offense on the turf at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The last time we saw a Clemson offense perform that bad came in the 2018 Sugar Bowl. Alabama held the Tigers to 188 total yards, as it beat up the Tigers 24-6 in New Orleans.
But unlike Clemson’s trip to the Sugar Bowl, the Tigers do not have to wait eight months to redeem themselves. This time around, they have a whole season left to get better, and who knows, maybe also give themselves a second opportunity against Georgia should they make it into the College Football Playoff.
Scoring three points and totaling 180 yards was tough to watch last Saturday. It was, but remember, no team is the same team at the end of the year.
Clemson will find its way offensively. Uiagalelei is still the same quarterback who threw for 439 yards against Notre Dame last year. Justyn Ross is the still the same wide receiver who embarrassed Alabama in the National Championship Game in 2019.
Tony Elliott is still the same offensive coordinator who has led the Tigers to an 80-8 record in the 88 games he has called a game.
Clemson has the playmakers on offense. It has the talent on the offensive line. The offense will get better.
The good news, it can get better without having to play Georgia’s defense each week.
It is okay to be upset. But the season is far from over.
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit went in-depth this week on the problems he sees with Clemson’s offense, which mustered only three points and 180 total yards – including just 2 yards rushing – while allowing seven sacks in the Tigers’ …
ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit went in-depth this week on the problems he sees with Clemson’s offense, which mustered only three points and 180 total yards – including just 2 yards rushing – while allowing seven sacks in the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to Georgia last Saturday in Charlotte.
Herbstreit gave Georgia’s stout defense its due when discussing what’s wrong with Clemson’s offense, though he pointed out that D.J. Uiagalelei’s first game as the Tigers full-time starter didn’t go like many expected it would considering how well Uiagalelei performed in his two starts against Boston College and Notre Dame as a true freshman last season while filling in for Trevor Lawrence.
“They’re a great defense. They are legitimate, worth all the hype,” Herbstreit said during a conversation with ESPN host Matt Barrie on The ESPN College Football Podcast. “But Clemson’s got some things they’ve got to figure out without Trevor Lawrence, without mainly Travis Etienne. D.J. Uiagalelei is going to be a great player. We all know that, right. But I think because of the way he played last year when he was in for Trevor when he had COVID against BC and Notre Dame and he looked so good, I think we just all assumed he would just be that guy, no problem. And maybe he will be. Maybe it was just great Georgia, I don’t know. We’ll see.”
As Herbstreit was calling the Clemson-UGA game with Chris Fowler on ABC last Saturday night, Herbstreit was wondering why Uiagalelei didn’t use his legs more often in the running game than he did.
“I kept saying, why he is not running the ball?” Herbstreit said. “Why is he not taking off, whether it’s a designed run or … I kept kind of showing, like, look at these running lanes on these passes. They’re playing Man Under (coverage), there’s gaping holes. Trevor and Deshaun (Watson) are gone for 25 yards, and maybe that’ll be his film study.
“We just talked about how you get better watching film. Maybe that’ll be something that he and Tony Elliott talk about – hey man, you’ve got to be a willing runner, we need you to run. We’re still trying to figure out our offensive line, still trying to figure out the running backs. You’ve got to be part of the running game and we need your feet. Maybe that’ll be the area that we see him grow. Because I feel like if he can do that, you get some first downs, you get the tempo going, that’s Clemson. Now you’ve got the defense on their heels, then you get aggressive.”
Herbstreit also thinks another issue with Clemson’s offense is that it is missing a true slot receiver like the weapons the Tigers have had out of the slot in the recent past.
“The other thing I’ll say is the great Clemson offenses over the years had that Amari Rodgers, Hunter Renfrow, Artavis Scott – that guy in the inside that was just a pain the butt,” Herbstreit said. “Get in those option routes on third-and-6, and you always had to leverage him and you had to account for him, and when you do that, because it’s a real threat, now you open up these vertical shots with these tall receivers. It feels like all they have are these big, huge, tall receivers, and they’re all great, probably all go to the NFL. But they need a guy that can get in there and wreak havoc in the inside of the defense, especially if the linebackers are blitzing like Georgia was. Right now, they don’t seem to have that.”
As Herbstreit noted, Joseph Ngata stepped up against Georgia. The junior receiver recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game, finishing the game with a career-high six catches for 110 yards.
However, Herbstreit believes the Tigers must run the ball more effectively and stretch the field in the passing game in order to put a real scare into opposing defenses.
“Ngata gave them a little bit of a threat,” Herbstreit said. “Late in the game, he started to make a few catches, but they were contested and he had to hold on and be brave, which he is. But if you can’t run the ball and you don’t have vertical threat, what am I afraid of?”
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Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott met with the media on Monday and talked about the hateful messages he has received from some fans on social media in the aftermath of the third-ranked Tigers’ 10-3 loss to No. 5 Georgia on Saturday in …
Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott met with the media on Monday and talked about the hateful messages he has received from some fans on social media in the aftermath of the third-ranked Tigers’ 10-3 loss to No. 5 Georgia on Saturday in Charlotte.
Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei spoke with reporters on Monday as well and was asked if he turns off social media or looks at it after a game like Saturday’s, when he completed 19-of-37 passes for 178 yards with one interception – the pick-six from Georgia’s Christopher Smith that turned out to be the difference in the contest.
“For me, I look at social media,” Uiagalelei admitted. “I look at it a little bit, I look at it here and there. I see the comments and stuff like that. But for me, it’s kind of like you don’t want to look at the social media and pay too much attention to it when you play good, because you don’t want your head to get big. Then again, when you lose, you don’t want to look at it too much to where it’s going to put you down.”
Uiagalelei added that his main word of the year is “trust,” and he knows God has a plan for him.
So, Uiagalelei intends to keep trusting in God’s plan as he goes throughout the rest of his sophomore season with the Tigers.
“He never says ‘oops.’ God has a plan, he always has a plan in mind,” Uiagalelei said. “So, whatever is a part of his journey. I’m going to continue to trust his path that he has for me. So, just continue to keep fighting and just keep following his path.”
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D.J. Uiagalelei is ready to get back at it in Week 2. Uiagalelei is eager to get back out on the field after what he characterized as a “disappointing” performance in Clemson’s 10-3 loss against Georgia. While he’s ready to turn a new leaf, …
D.J. Uiagalelei is ready to get back at it in Week 2.
Uiagalelei is eager to get back out on the field after what he characterized as a “disappointing” performance in Clemson’s 10-3 loss against Georgia. While he’s ready to turn a new leaf, Uiagalelei hasn’t shied away from shouldering the blame.
“There were a lot of things (that went wrong). I think the main thing was that I didn’t play very well,” Uiagalelei told reporters during Monday’s media availability. “That was the main thing that I looked at. There was times in the pocket, where I should’ve scrambled out, made a play.”
He mentioned that there were instances where he drifted in the pocket, which caused him to get sacked. Uiagalelei made sure to mention that it was his fault and not the offensive line’s.
He was sacked seven times during Saturday’s contest.
There were also some other plays inside the pocket, where Uiagalelei drifted out, which caused one of Georgia’s defensive ends to have a wide-open lane on him.
“Going off of Week 1, it’s definitely not what you want coming off of your first game,” he said. “I’m definitely disappointed, but I’m definitely eager. Always ready for a challenge. Always ready to go for Week 2. I’m ready to get back into the game plan. Ready to get back into practice. Ready to go back and fix mistakes.”
There were a lot of things from watching the film that Uiagalelei knows he could’ve done better. As Dabo Swinney mentioned on a conference call with reporters Sunday, Clemson’s starting quarterback was the first one in the building to watch the game film.
It’s a tough pill to swallow, albeit a necessary one.
“It’s definitely difficult,” Uigalelei said. “Going into the game, you don’t see yourself only scoring three points as an offense…hats off to Georgia. They have a great defense. It was just a tough night, that night.”
Uiagalelei knows that everyone will be ready to go for South Carolina State this Saturday.
With that being said, how confident is Clemson’s starting quarterback that he will play better going forward?
“For me, I’m very confident,” he said. “Last week, I didn’t play very well and it showed. I know I just want to come out this week and continue to stay focused. Focus on the details and the little things. Control what I control. Just continue trusting the process.”
Uiagalelei was asked to expound on the details and the little things that he mentioned.
“There’s a lot of stuff,” he said in response. “From what I was talking about (before). There were a couple of times I should have left the pocket. Getting sacked a couple of times. Had a couple of missed reads on certain throws. Missed a couple of receivers. There was a lot of things. You watch the film, you look at it, you are like ‘Wow, I could’ve done this differently, could’ve done that differently.’ It would’ve changed the outcome of the game. I think for the most part I just got to play better.”
After Clemson’s 7-point loss on Saturday, Uiagalelei didn’t blame anybody but himself. He sang a similar tune Monday.
“For me, It starts off with the quarterback,” Uiaglelei added. “As the quarterback, as the leader on the team, as the leader of the offense, I didn’t play very well. Off of that, a lot of people that feed off the quarterback playing well, they’re most likely the offensive line. Everyone else is going to rally around the quarterback. When the quarterback’s not playing well, it’s really hard to rally around (him)…Coach Swinney said, ‘The best players have to play their best in the big games.’ For me, I didn’t play my best and I know that.”
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