For the first time in his young career, the Clemson offense belonged to Christopher Vizzina. The redshirt sophomore stepped into the role of starting quarterback, to the support of everyone within the Tigers’ program.
What followed was far from what the group wanted. A 35-24 loss to the SMU Mustangs dampened spirits, but Vizzina showcased why he was the next man up for head coach Dabo Swinney.
“I thought CV came in there and competed,” Swinney said postgame of his quarterback, who finished 29-of-42 for 317 yards and three touchdown passes. “In the long run, that’ll be a positive for him. Something that he can build on, and grow some confidence from as well.”
Vizzina’s performance was even more impressive when taking into account the limited action he’d received prior to Saturday. The Birmingham, Alabama native had thrown just 48 passes during his Clemson career before the SMU game, and had never connected for a touchdown.
Both of those figures changed, with speedy wideout Tristan Smith on the receiving end of a pair of TDs. The Mustangs’ secondary lost track of the sophomore twice, and he was able to take the top off of the defense. A spectacular one-handed touchdown grab excited the Death Valley crowd, and got Clemson on the scoreboard.
Vizzina found transfer Tristan Smith for his third score of the afternoon, after drawing the SMU defense offside on a 4th-and-21 play deep in the fourth quarter.
“Obviously we’re trying to draw them offsides,” Vizzina told the media Tuesday. “When they did jump, it’s like, man, let’s give the ball to the tallest guy on the field that jumps the highest.”
Smith was the recipient, hauling in his first touchdown as a Clemson Tiger.
Looking ahead for Clemson, they enter their second bye week of the season with a highly motivated locker room. The Tigers haven’t failed to reach a bowl game since a self-imposed ban in 2004. You’d have to go back to a 3-8 mark in 1998 for the last time CU didn’t reach six victories.
Swinney has confidence that his group will respond, despite their very uneven play in 2025.
“There’s not much I can say other than, “let’s go back to work,” Swinney said after his team’s fourth defeat of the season. “This is a tough year to this point, but the year’s not over. We hopefully have earned a lot of credibility around here. There’ve been a lot of great years, a lot of great years, but this is a tough one. But we’re going to try to fight our way and finish this thing the very best that we can.”
