At the break, the Clemson Tigers lead the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by a score of 28-14 at Allegacy Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, here are some thoughts from the first two quarters.
End of a historic start
The Tigers were kings of the first quarter in their first five games, not allowing a score in the opening frame. The Demon Deacons changed that in their final drive of the first quarter, scoring a 31-yard touchdown coming from a Hank Bachmeier pass to Horatio Fields.
It was the first time that Clemson has been down in any game since Georgia in Week 1.
The drive had its flaws defensively for the Tigers, however. Three plays earlier, Shelton Lewis was flagged for a pass interference call that put Wake Forest into Clemson territory. Sherrod Covil Jr. was on the coverage of Fields when he scored the touchdown.
But it’s how you respond
This time around, it was the second quarter where the Tigers dominated their opponent.
Clemson scored 28 points in the final 15 minutes of the half with some help from the defense. Two interceptions, one from Kylon Griffin and Khalil Barnes each, gave the team the ball in dangerous territory and cashed in both times.
In the opening drive of the quarter, the Tigers were able to respond quickly with a Klubnik pass to Antonio Williams for a 22-yard score to tie the game at 7-7. The junior signal-caller has 191 yards and two touchdowns at the half. Phil Mafah would add two touchdowns on back-to-back drives. The graduate has 91 rushing yards as well.
The team has now scored 28 points in a quarter three times in different games this season. It’s only the third time in school history that there have been at least three games when the team has scored 28 points in a single quarter.
The jumbo package is here.
On Mafah’s second touchdown of the game, there were some interesting faces on the offensive line and in the backfield to help the tailback get into the end zone.
It was a 4th-and-goal on the 2-yard line, and DeMonte Capehart was the blocking tight end. Peter Woods was in the backfield and was the lead blocker for Mafah. As you would expect, Mafah went in untouched to grow Clemson’s lead. Both defensive linemen would make a vital block.
It makes you wonder if head coach Dabo Swinney will use these packages more often, or even use one of these linemen as a receiver in games to come.
