Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 NOV. 5, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED On The Prowl After a one-year hiatus, the Tigers are back in the thick of the College Football Playoff picture GAME PREVIEW: CLEMSON BY TYLER HORKA C lemson is like the superhero in a movie that sneaks up on the villain, smirks and gives a clas- sic one-liner. "Remember me?" Several people in the college football community wanted to count Clemson out after a down year by the Tigers' standards in 2021. Those are the folks who view Clemson as more of a vil- lain than a hero. And they shouldn't be chastised for feeling as such. Clemson has been the bully in many a nightmare through the years. And now, something close to that ver- sion of them is back — like the hero who can't be held down or the villain who never seems to die. Pick your poison. "Sometimes you lose ourselves in the process of what you're doing," Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. "Then you look up one day and go, 'Wow, holy cow. We got a chance to do something pretty cool.'" That something, as Clemson stands at a perfect 8-0 entering a matchup against Notre Dame, is to qualify for the College Football Playoff and compete for a third national championship since 2016. Pretty cool indeed. HOW CLEMSON GOT HERE The Tigers qualified for the College Football Playoff in six straight seasons from 2015-20 and won national titles in 2016 and 2018. It was evident from the very first game of the 2021 season that things would be different that year. Clemson lost to Georgia 10-3 in a game in which the Tigers did not score a touchdown for the first time since los- ing to Alabama the Sugar Bowl in a CFP semifinal on Jan. 1, 2018. The offense that had ranked in the top five in the country in scoring in each of the previ- ous three seasons was no more. As it turned out, DJ Uiagalelei was not Trevor Lawrence at quarterback. Nobody else is. Uiagalelei started twice before the 2021 season opener. One of those starts came against Notre Dame in South Bend on Nov. 7, 2020, when Lawrence was battling COVID-19. Uiagalelei passed for 439 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for 1 more score in a double overtime loss to the Irish. It was that game that heightened ex- pectations for who Uiagalelei would be once Lawrence turned pro and was selected No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. "DJ is a special player," former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said after his team's win over No. 1 Clemson two years ago. "Trevor Lawrence is a special player, too. Boy, I'd love to have Dabo's problems with those two guys. "He's outstanding. His ability to throw the football today was pretty spe- cial. If we played them again, we'd have to do some things differently with him because he is so explosive as a quarter- back." He did not live up to that lofty stan- dard. Not right away. In 2021, Uiagalelei completed 208 of 374 pass attempts (55.6 percent) for 2,246 yards with 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Clemson beat Georgia Tech 73-7 in 2020. Clemson beat Georgia Tech 14-8 in 2021. It was tough sledding like Swin- ney hadn't experienced as a head coach since meandering to a 15-12 overall re- cord in his first two full seasons, includ- ing a 6-7 campaign in 2010. But for anyone who thought the offen- sively challenged losses to North Caro- lina State and Pitt a year ago and a 10-3 overall record were a sign that Clemson had dropped off for good, think again. The Tigers haven't been as prolific as they were previously, but they're once again back in the conversation as one of the top teams in the country. And Uiagalelei has been a major part of that. Through eight games, he has com- peted 150 of 235 pass attempts (63.8 percent) for 1,803 yards with 17 touch- downs and 4 interceptions. "Each and every week I play, I want to try to get better," Uiagalelei said on Oct. 17. "I feel like there is a lot of stuff I did well last week, but there is a lot of stuff I could improve on to keep getting better. That's been my main focus. "Each and every game, keep getting more comfortable and keep growing." UPS AND DOWNS That growth might have been stunted last time out against Syracuse Oct. 22. The Orange had the Tigers on the ropes in Death Valley, a friendly home venue Clemson has not lost at in 38 tries dating back to 2016. Uiagalelei threw 2 interceptions and lost a fumble. He was replaced by five-star freshman Cade Klubnik, who led the Tigers back from down 2 touchdowns to pull out a 27-21 victory for Clemson. Swinney was adamant in his post- game press conference that Clemson does not have a quarterback contro- versy. Klubnik only accounted for 34 yards; 19 passing on 2 of 4 attempts and 15 rushing on 6 carries. He lit a spark, but this is still Uiag- alelei's team. "It was just one of them days," Swin- ney said. "DJ's been awesome all year, and sometimes the ball don't go in the basket. The best of the best, sometimes they go 0 for 5. Sometimes Steph Curry goes 3 for 22. Sometimes it just won't go in, and sometimes you have to give somebody else an opportunity." The Clemson doubters forecasted Klubnik's opportunity coming much sooner than it did. But it sure sounds like Uiagalelei will get his second career start at Notre Dame Stadium on Nov. 5 — almost exactly two years to the day of his first one. Junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei passed for 439 yards and 2 touchdowns plus ran for 1 score in a double-overtime loss to the Irish in 2020. PHOTO BY DAVID PLATT/COURTESY CLEMSON ATHLETICS