ESPN college football analyst Todd Blackledge can’t really explain what he saw from DJ Uiagalelei last Saturday against Syracuse, considering how well Clemson’s starting quarterback had played overall to that point in the season.
Blackledge, who served as the color commentator for ABC’s broadcast of fifth-ranked Clemson’s 27-21 win over then-No. 14 Syracuse, joined SiriusXM’s Full Ride show on ESPNU Radio this week and spoke about Uiagalelei’s struggles against the Orange.
The junior came in having thrown 17 touchdown passes with only two interceptions across Clemson’s first seven games, before getting picked off twice by Syracuse and also losing a fumble that was returned 90 yards for a touchdown.
“Well, first of all, I don’t think there’s any real explanation for what happened to DJ Uiagalelei on Saturday,” Blackledge said. “Because he had not shown any signs of that over the last five, six weeks. When the season started, there was all kind of questions about him – was he going to fend off Cade Klubnik, was he going to be better than he was in ’21? And after a sluggish first half against Georgia Tech, he’s really played at a very high level. I mean, everything – efficiency, touchdowns to interceptions, his willingness to run, his decisiveness – everything has been better, until this game.
“And for whatever reason, he just didn’t have it. I mean, he wasn’t seeing things correctly, he didn’t take care of the football, both running and throwing. So, it’s hard to say, because he had not played that way.”
Klubnik, the Tigers’ highly touted true freshman signal-caller, replaced Uiagalelei after he was benched following his second interception that came on Clemson’s third possession of the third quarter.
Entering the game with the Tigers down 21-10, Klubnik helped spark an offensive attack that ended up scoring 17 points on his four drives as opposed to just 10 points on the eight drives with Uiagalelei under center.
However, despite the offense coming to life with Klubnik at the helm, Blackledge doesn’t think he is the “answer” for the Tigers at the quarterback position right now.
“Cade Klubnik is not the answer right now for them,” he said. “They just wanted him to come in and not lose it for them at that point – trust their defense, trust their running game.”
Will Shipley’s 50-yard touchdown run with 11:26 to play gave Clemson the lead for good, capping a 27-carry, 172-yard day for the sophomore. Fellow running back Phil Mafah registered 18 carries for 94 yards and a score.
“I do think their running game is solid,” Blackledge said. “I think the combination – Kobe Pace has been hurt, so he hasn’t been in that rotation – but the combination of Shipley and Phil Mafah, they’re two different styles of runners, and I think their offensive line has stayed healthy and I think they’re solid.”
“But they cannot afford for their quarterback to play that way again,” he added.
Klubnik’s performance in relief of Uiagalelei was very reminiscent of the last time Clemson survived an upset bid from Syracuse at Death Valley – Sept. 29, 2018, when Chase Brice took over for an injured Trevor Lawrence and guided the Tigers on a game-winning, 94-yard drive in the fourth quarter capped by a Travis Etienne touchdown run with less than a minute left for a 27-23 win.
Blackledge was on the call with play-by-play man Sean McDonough for ABC’s broadcast of that thriller as well.
“You know it’s crazy guys, Sean and I did the game in 2018 when Syracuse went in there and almost beat them, and it was eerily similar,” Blackledge said. “In that game, Trevor Lawrence wasn’t benched but he was hurt. He got hurt in the first quarter. Kelly Bryant had already left the team and they had to go to Chase Brice, their third-team quarterback, and they didn’t want him to throw either. They were just hoping that they could run the football and play defense.
“And Syracuse had a lead, and you could just feel it slipping away from them as the game wore on, and that’s the same way this thing felt. Syracuse played so well in the first half, and then in the second half, you just saw signs of it slipping away. Maybe it’s a dropped pass here, it was a costly personal foul penalty on a third-and-26 that extended the drive, and you could just feel that it was the same kind of thing happening, and Clemson found a way to win.”
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