Campus Clash
(5) Clemson Tigers at (21) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Clemson: After years of dominating the ACC, they struggled a bit last year. It’s tough to replace a once-in-a-lifetime talent such as Trevor Lawrence and D.J. Uiagalelei had some big shoes to fill. There were moments in 2021 when they just looked flat. Now this year, I see a Clemson team playing with energy once again. First, D.J. looks so comfortable now with a full year of experience under his belt. I see a football player who appears to be more in sync with the offense and most importantly, he allows the play to come to him and the rest follows. As an offense, the Clemson Tigers play with balance. The one thing people wondered was if could they manage to still be an elite defense without Brent Venables. Brent left and took the Head Coaching job with the Oklahoma Sooners. They haven’t missed a beat. Not only are they one of the best defenses in the country, but this is also the best defensive team in the ACC. They are allowing 14 points per game. While the offense continues to learn who they are and what their identity is, they lean upon that defense. On Saturday, they’ll begin division play.
Wake Forest: The same thing I said about Texas A&M is what I can apply to them. They took Liberty way too lightly and just escaped with the victory, a one-point victory at that. I’ll keep saying it until it sits with everyone. You can not overlook who’s in front of you just because you might be the far more superior football team. When that big-name opponent is sitting on the schedule next, they will be there regardless of the outcome of your current game. Whenever I think of this Wake Forest team, the offense is the first thing that comes right to my mind. Their offense is led by a standout Quarterback named Sam Hartman. To me, he’s Drew Brees with better mobility. It’s not just one guy he gets the ball to, he spreads it around to the open receiver which can confuse a defense because you never know who to circle in on. This Demon Deacons’ offense is one of the best and can score at any time. It’s the defense that struggles to get off the field and help out the offense. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t good either if that makes sense. One area where they struggle is running the football. This could be a more dangerous offense with the balance. On Saturday morning, they’ll put their home-winning streak on the line.
Clemson X-Factor: Will Shipley– This kid is the real deal. Will is an all-purpose back meaning he can impact the game not only as a runner but as a receiver in space catching the ball on check downs. He has the straight line speed, but not the lateral quickness to wiggle himself around in the open field. Look for Clemson to feed Will the football as early and often as possible.
Wake Forest X-Factor: Ke’Shawn Williams– Ke’Shawn is the one receiver that can do everything he’s asked of. Run up the seams? Check! Run a screen play? Check! Make that catch in traffic over the middle, no problem at all! What I enjoy most about his game is how wispy he is in the open field. It’s almost as if he floats up the field.
Final Thoughts: This is the first test that either team will face. The Clemson defense hasn’t seen an offense this strong all year long and the Wake Forest defense has yet to play a stingy defense such as what they will see on Saturday. The Tigers’ defense can close games out for them. If they want to advance far and win another National Championship, D.J. and that offense must step it up. They will eventually have to take it to the next level. If there’s a defense that can contain the mesh offense, it’s this Clemson defense and they will see their fair share of that. Can Wake show some balance offensively? The Tigers’ defense will already be expecting a heavy dose of the passing game, throw them off, and run the ball. If there was ever an opportunity to have a get-right game, this is it for D.J. because this Wake defense isn’t the greatest.
Prediction: Clemson 34, Wake Forest 24
