About The Clemson Tigers are the American football team at Clemson University. In recent years, the Tigers have become one of the most elite college football programs in the United States. Founded in 1896, the program now boasts more than 750 wins and three consecutive national championships. Clemson was a College Football Playoff finalist in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, beating Alabama in 2016 and 2018.
Clemson vs. Wake Forest, Saturday
No. 5 Clemson survived a defensive stand to beat No. 21 Wake Forest 51-45 in double extra time on the 24th of September Saturday. The win extended the Tigers’ winning streak against the Demon Deacons to 14 games, dating back to 2009, and the victory seemed as unlikely as any victory in the past decade.
Dj Uiagalelei had his best game of the season, totalling 371 yards and five touchdowns while finishing second on the team in rushing. Uiagalelei used his size and strength not only in the run game but to stay in play as Wake Forest did a good job of pushing the Tigers from the quarterback. Uiagalelei could connect with receivers in the signature position that proved to be the difference; His two touchdowns in overtime won the game against Clemson’s defence.
The loss hurts a Wake Forest program that has lost 13 straight to Clemson until Saturday alone and has seen every meeting by a double-digit margin since 2012. Sam Hartman put together a historic and sometimes heroic effort by the Wake Forest offence, passing for 337 yards and school- six touchdowns on 20-of-27 carries. The offence thrived as the Wake Forest receivers won their only game against Clemson’s high school; Jahmal Banks had six catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns and Donavon Grein, who returned from injury in 2021, added two touchdowns and led the offence.
Clemson jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter but was held out of the end zone for its next six drives as Wake Forest’s defence made a big third-down punt to force a penalty and a field goal. That’s when Hartman and his offence took off, eventually taking a 21-20 lead early in the third quarter and making it 28-20 on offence.
Uiagalelei declined to let Clemson go down without a fight and led the Tigers’ offence into the end zone for the first time since the first quarter, capped off a nine-play, 75-yard drive by Davis Allen and a. The 2-point conversion led to a Beaux Collins layup that tied the game at 28-28. A touchdown by Uiagalelei and the Clemson offence was a preview of what was to come in overtime, but it would be a few more points before those final possessions.
Forest Awakening drove down the field on its next possession to go up 35-28, and Clemson answered right back with a long touchdown run by Will Shipley to tie the game again.
Both teams traded field goals before halftime, sending the game into overtime at 38-38. After each first round, Uiagalelei urged Hartman to start the second round. At that point, the Clemson defence made the biggest stop of the game at its best, sealing the win and preserving the Tigers’ place as the favourite in the ACC.
Rising of a new champion
By the standards of most college football programs, the Clemson Tigers have a proud history of postseason victories that includes a 1981 national championship bid and the 2014 Orange Bowl. Entering the 4th quarter of the 2016 National Championship Game, although they scored 3 points and ranked No. wave.
