Clemson Offense Overcomes Slow First Quarter in Rout of Wake

WINSTON-SALEM – No. 10 Clemson found itself in an unusual spot after the first quarter of play against Wake Forest on Saturday.

After the Demon Deacons scored a touchdown with 1:32 remaining in the opening stanza to go up 7-0, it marked the first time the Tigers had trailed in a game since the season-opening loss to Georgia in Atlanta.

However, they would not trail long. Cade Klubnik and the offense would quickly answer with a touchdown drive of their own, marking the beginning of a run that saw Clemson score touchdowns on six consecutive possessions as the Tigers would pull away and beat Wake Forest 49-14.

After the game, Klubnik talked about what some might call a slow start on the offensive side of the ball, as the unit managed just 47 yards on its first two drives. The junior quarterback also mentioned a couple of throws he missed on early that helped lead to the early lull. Although, for Klubnik, the biggest thing was this offense’s ability to not panic and continue to push forward after a scoreless first quarter.

“This was the first time we had really been down in a while, so it was good for us, just to see us respond,” Klubnik said after the game. “And it was great. Six straight touchdowns after not getting anything on the first two drives and that was huge.”

Klubnik said the offense had a plan coming in and it was executed at a high level.

“I think so,” Klubnik said. “They do a really good job. They are a bend don’t break kind of team in how their corners and safeties play. We knew that coming into it so we just had to find ways to put drives together.”

The Tigers would finish with 566 yards of offense, while Klubnik was 31-of-41 passing for 309 yards and three touchdowns. The junior signal-caller also did a really good job of spreading the ball around, completing passes to nine different players.

In fact, during those second and third quarters while the Tigers were scoring touchdown after touchdown, Klubnik said the offense was executing at such a high level, it almost felt like the unit could do whatever it wanted.

“The big shots weren’t always going to be there and I missed a couple of throws I wish I could have back,” Klubnik said. “But yeah, I felt like there were points in the game where we felt like we could do anything.”

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