Tigers salute the military with comfortable win over UConn

Clemson's defense stood strong in the win over the Huskies.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Nov 13 16:38:43 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – Clemson’s defense once again rose to the occasion, but the offense once again struggled and injuries continued to mount as the Tigers defeated UConn 44-7 on a perfect autumn afternoon in Death Valley.

Clemson pulled off another picture-perfect Military Appreciation Day celebration, but the offense never looked crisp and several key players left because of injury, including Justyn Ross, backup quarterback Taisun Phommachanh, and defensive end Xavier Thomas.

The defense allowed just 99 total yards, including minus-17 yards rushing.

Clemson improves to 7-3 overall and will host Wake Forest in a key ACC Atlantic Division showdown next week. The game kicks off at noon on ESPN.

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was 21-of-44 for 241 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Wide receiver Dacari Collins had a career day, catching six passes for 97 yards. Will Shipley and Kobe Pace were held and Phil Mafah stepped in and had 17 rushes for 49 yards.

Clemson’s win gives the program an all-time record of 775-465-45, making the Tigers the 14th FBS program ever to reach 775 wins.

The victory extends the nation's longest home winning streak – the Tigers have now won 33 consecutive home games since 2016. Clemson ties 1900-03 Harvard, 1901-06 Nebraska and 1995-2000 Marshall (33 each) for the 15th-longest home winning streak in FBS history. UConn is the 22nd different program Clemson has defeated at home during its current streak.

Clemson won its 24th consecutive non-conference home game, the longest such winning streak in program history. Clemson's last home loss in non-conference play was in 2012.

Dabo Swinney earned his 147th career win in his 14th season (including an interim stint in 2008) to tie Tom Osborne (147) for the fourth-most wins through the first 15 seasons of a coaching career in FBS history.

"Man our defense, tremendous. First time since '92 they go 0-for on third down. 0-for-14. Six sacks," Swinney said. "Negative rush yards. Great job from start to finish. Really didn't have any lulls. We were able to hold Kobe Pace and Will Shipley. They were ready to play, but we held them. Shipley looked good in practice, but we didn't want to have a setback. Will Putnam will be back Monday, ready to go."

Swinney said he was disappointed in the play of the offensive line in the first half.

"They played all one-safety. They had unblocked guys in the box. I wasn't real pleased in the first half," he said. "I didn't think we took over the line of scrimmage like I wanted to. We got better as the game went. We missed some big plays in the first half that were there. I didn't think we ran the ball well at all in the first half, then we started subbing in the second half and it was a mixed bag."

UConn won the toss, elected to receive, and immediately made the Tigers pay. Brian Brewton bobbled the ball at the one-yard line, then outran two defenders to the middle of the field before racing outside for a 99-yard kickoff return and a 7-0 lead.

Clemson answered with a 49-yard field goal by BT Potter and following a UConn punt, drove it down to the Huskies six-yard line. On fourth down the Tigers lined up for a field goal, but holder Will Swinney grabbed the snap and ran into the endzone for a touchdown and a 10-7 Clemson lead.

Early in the second quarter, Phommachanh led a 66-yard scoring drive that ended with his three-yard scoring run. With 14:31 to play before the half the Tigers led 17-7.

Clemson’s defense continued to obliterate the UConn offense, but turned good field position into just two Potter field goals, another one from 49 yards and one from 30 yards, for a 23-7 lead.

The Tigers forced a late UConn punt and took over at their own 12 with just under a minute to play, but instead of taking a knee elected to try for a final score and put together the best drive of the first half. Uiagalelei started the drive with a with an 8-yard completion to Dacari Collins, and then tight end Davis Allen got one foot down on a 19-yard gain on the left sideline.

A 29-yarder to Dacari Collins was quickly followed by a 32-yard over-the-shoulder pass to Beaux Collins in the end zone to complete the 88-yard drive in just 34 seconds. Clemson led 30-7 at intermission.

UConn attempted an onside kick to open the second half and it was recovered by the Tigers at the UConn 46. Eleven plays later Phil Mafah carried it in from two yards out and the Tigers led 37-7 early in the third quarter.

As injuries continued to mount for the Tigers, the coaches emptied the bench. Clemson had a late chance to score a touchdown, but Darien Rencher fumbled into the end zone to end the threat. The Tigers then scored the final points on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Billy Wiles to Jake Briningstool.

Clemson-UConn box