Clemson’s fast start was enough for the Tigers to keep their distance from Furman for a comfortable win Saturday at Memorial Stadium, but the Tigers were far from flawless against the in-state FCS opponent.

Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the Tigers’ 35-12 victory:

The good

The last time Clemson played an FCS opponent before Saturday, D.J. Uiagalelei completed just 58% of his passes. Against Furman, his completion rate was nearly 20 percentage points higher.

Simply put, it’s been a while since Uiagalelei has shown as much precision and fluidity throwing the ball in a game as he did this weekend.

Building on his final three quarters against Georgia Tech, Uiagalelei started fast against the Paladins and stayed on the mark far more often than not. He hit on his first six passes, 12 of his first 13 and was 15 of 18 by halftime. Clemson found the end zone on each of the first five possessions led by Uiagalelei, who completed five third-down throws on four of those drives to keep them alive. Uiagalelei often stepped up in the pocket as he went through his progressions, and he used touch when he had to. His drop in the bucket over the shoulder of Beaux Collins for Clemson’s fourth touchdown was a thing of beauty.

By the time he was done, Uiagalelei was 21 of 27 passing for 231 yards. He’s completing 67% of his passes through two games, which is more along the lines of the kind of efficiency Clemson needs from him if it’s going to get back to being a College Football Playoff contender this season.

“Proud of D.J.,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Just awesome to see him play the way he’s playing.”

Uiagalelei also got more help from his starting receivers, who combined for just four catches against Georgia Tech. They weren’t perfect – E.J. Williams had a couple of notable drops – but Collins, Williams, Joseph Ngata and Brannon Spector combined for 14 receptions. True freshman Antonio Williams, who tied Collins for the team lead with four catches, also continues to be a factor in the passing game.

The offense also got more assistance from a running game that averaged just 3 yards per carry in the opener. The offensive line opened up more holes up front, and Will Shipley, who went for 68 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, led a group of rushers that averaged 5.3 yards a tote this time around.

Defensively, the Tigers forced multiple turnovers for the first time this season, one of which ended a Furman scoring threat in the red zone during the first half. Clemson improved to 115-14 under Dabo Swinney when at least tying the turnover margin.

The bad

As improved as Uiagalelei has been so far this season in the accuracy department, he’s yet to play turnover-free football.

After losing a red-zone fumble against Georgia Tech, Uiagalelei was intercepted late in the third quarter when he threw in the direction of Brannon Spector. Uiagalelei, Swinney and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter all agreed it was a poor decision on the quarterback’s part to try to force that pass with coverage coming in underneath, which led to a tipped ball and the pick. Uiagalelei hasn’t had many decision-making miscues through two games, but that’s one he’d like to have back.

Will Taylor later muffed a punt near midfield, and Clemson needed a goal-line stand afterward to keep Furman from scoring more points. It was part of a sluggish second half for the Tigers, who mustered just 14 yards of offense in the fourth quarter and went the final 25 minutes, 8 seconds without scoring. It didn’t help that Clemson’s defense was on the field for more than 34 minutes of game time.

“We definitely would love to have gone down there and gotten a couple of more scores in. Of course. And had more yards and all of that,” Streeter said. “Wished we could’ve gotten more guys in the game, but it was just one of those games right there where we had to play, a majority of the time, our first group. But it was good work for them as well.”

Speaking of defense…

The ugly

What exactly was that from Wesley Goodwin’s unit?

After suffocating Georgia Tech for the better part of the Tigers’ 41-10 win on Labor Day, the Tigers didn’t come close to duplicating that success despite having a distinct advantage in size, speed and athleticism. Behind the play of quarterback Tyler Huff, who completed his first 12 passes, Furman (384) outgained Clemson (376) in total yards. The Tigers’ offense, which had just two possessions apiece in the first and fourth quarters, ran just 59 plays in large part because the defense couldn’t get off the field.

Furman converted a whopping 10 of 18 third downs usually with chunk plays through the air. In particular, the Paladins dialed up multiple screen passes with Clemson seemingly making few adjustments to it. Huff finished 30 of 39 passing as Furman averaged nearly 9 yards per completion.

“I don’t remember the last time someone was 10 of 18 on third down on us,” Swinney said. “We did not play anywhere near what we need to defensively. So that was frustrating.”

Swinney also mentioned coverage that was too loose at times in the secondary. Furman didn’t do much on the ground (3.7 yards per carry), but the pass defense left a lot to be desired.

Defensive coordinator Wesley Goodwin chalked some of it up to his group being too aggressive and overpursuing at times, particularly on some of those screens. But it was an uncharacteristic performance that won’t cut it against the better teams on Clemson’s schedule.

“A lot of things to clean up obviously,” Goodwin said.

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