Clemson dropped a spot from No. 4 to No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 this week, despite a 41-10 season opening win Monday night over Georgia Tech.
Clemson (1-0) led only 14-10 in the third quarter before pulling away and the Tigers took some criticism for the lack of early urgency leading to the one-spot drop in the poll.
On Saturday, the outcome is unlikely to be in doubt when Clemson hosts FCS Furman (1-0) at Death Valley.
The first-ever football game in Clemson history came against Furman in 1896, a 14-6 Tigers victory. Although the teams have not played since 1979, Clemson is 43-10-4 all-time against Furman and has won 31-consecutive games, Clemson’s longest winning streak against any opponent.
The win over ACC rival Georgia Tech was Clemson’s eighth straight conference-opening victory.
“Every championship team we’ve had since I’ve been here, we’ve won the opener, so it’s a big night for us,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Just a great team effort and we played four quarters of Clemson football.”
Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was 19 of 32 for 209 yards and a touchdown, with another TD on the ground. Will Shipley rushed for a pair of scores and Clemson blocked two punts for first time since 2007.
Last season, Uiagalelei threw more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (nine) in his first season as a full-time starter, putting even more scrutiny on himself during Monday’s primetime game.
“Probably best-case scenario that it didn’t just all go perfect,” Swinney said, according to The State newspaper. “There’s nobody in America that had more eyes on him tonight than our quarterback. I love how he responded.”
On defense, the Tigers intercepted a pass on the first play from scrimmage and held Georgia Tech to 75 rushing yards. It was the fifth-straight game Clemson has held an opponent under 100 rushing yards.
The defense held Georgia Tech to 2 of 16 on third down.
Furman is coming off a 52-0 win over Division II North Greenville last week after building a 45-0 lead by halftime. The Paladins shut out an opponent for the first time since 2003 while racking up 589 yards of total offense.
Quarterback Tyler Huff, a graduate transfer from Presbyterian College, had 189 passing yards and 94 rushing yards, including a 56-yard touchdown run.
“Tyler Huff’s play was outstanding. The guy hadn’t played in a year and a half,” Furman head coach Clay Hendrix said. “Great win to start, great win to build off.”
Furman was a fourth-place pick in two Southern Conference preseason polls. The Paladins were 6-5 last season, winning their final two games.
–Field Level Media
