DJ Uiagalelei outduels Sam Hartman to give Clemson statement win over Wake Forest

Clemson football just passed its biggest test yet.

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Davis Allen and Clemson’s defense stopped Wake Forest one possession later as the No. 5 Tigers escaped with a 51-45 double overtime win over No. 21 Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon at Truist Field.

Uiagalelei threw for 371 yards and five touchdown passes and outdueled Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman (337 yards, six touchdowns) in a battle of ACC Atlantic Division heavyweights.

”Honestly, man, that was a crazy game,” Uiagalelei said: “You could just see the heart of our team — the heart of the offense, the heart of the defense. When plays had to be made, we made the plays. That just shows a great sign of a good football team.”

The win sets Clemson up for a huge home game next week against No. 12 N.C. State.

Clemson (4-0, 2-0 ACC) also got 104 rushing yards from Will Shipley and touchdown catches from four different receivers while adding to a 10-game winning streak that, dating back to last season, is the longest in college football.

The Tigers — which were down starting safety Andrew Mukuba, starting cornerback Sheridan Jones and reserve cornerback Malcolm Greene on Saturday — were repeatedly gashed by Hartman and company all day but came up big when it mattered most.

After Uiagalelei connected with Allen to go up 51-45 and Clemson failed on its mandatory two-point try, Wake Forest got the ball at the 25-yard line and could’ve won with a touchdown and successful two-point try.

But defensive tackle Tyler Davis stuffed a first-down run for no gain, Hartman threw incomplete on second down and, after a four-yard Hartman scramble, cornerback Nate Wiggins broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth-and-6 to secure Clemson’s shootout victory.

“The only good thing about the game (defensively) is we gave up six touchdown passes — we didn’t give up seven,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “That’s the only good thing I can say. And they never quit and they kept battling and they played one more play — and Nate came up with it right there at the end.”

It was Clemson’s 14th consecutive win against Wake Forest (3-1, 0-1 ACC), which won the Atlantic Division last season. The Tigers also moved to 33-4 in true road games since 2015 and 25-7 against AP Top 25 teams since 2015.

Swinney, meanwhile, is now 14-0 against Wake Forest and 33-3 all time against teams from the state of North Carolina and 26-1 against such teams since 2012.

Game recap

Uiagalelei led Clemson on two rapid touchdown drives to start the game, finding tight end Jake Briningstool for a 12-yard score and wide receiver Brannon Spector for a 41-yard score.

That 14-0 lead didn’t last long, though, as Hartman connected with wide receiver Jahmal Banks for first-half touchdown passes of 36 yards and five yards. Those scores, coupled with Clemson twice settling for field goals after red zone trips, kept Wake Forest within 20-14 at halftime.

The Demon Deacons promptly outscored the Tigers 21-8 in the third quarter with Hartman recording touchdown passes of 28 yards to Donavon Greene, 19 yards to Blake Whiteheart and 25 yards to Greene and Wake Forest comfortably seizing the game’s momentum.

Clemson answered with Uiagalelei’s three-yard strike to tight end Davis Allen (and an ensuing two-point conversion to Beaux Collins) to tie the game at 28-28 in the third quarter and a one-yard Will Shipley rushing touchdown to tie the game at 35-35 early in the fourth.

B.T. Potter’s 52-yard field goal evened the game at 38-38 with 4:01 remaining, and Clemson’s defense with a tackle for loss, a sack and a third down stop to force a punt on Wake Forest’s final drive of regulation. The Demon Deacons punted it away with 39 seconds left, and Clemson (which had no timeouts) ran out the clock from its own 18 instead of trying to score.

Wake Forest and Clemson traded touchdowns on their first possessions of overtime to tie the game at 45-45 before the aforementioned Uiagalelei touchdown pass to Allen and Wiggins pass breakup.

Next Clemson football game

Who: Clemson (4-0) vs NC State (4-0)

Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1

TV: ABC