DJ Uiagalelei Clemson Tigers, Spectacular Magazine, Lawrence Davis III
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Clemson Dominates, Wolfpack Lose First Game of Season

Lawrence Davis III @LawDavis13 @SpecMagSports

CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 10 NC State football team dropped its first game of the season in a 30-20 defeat at No. 5 Clemson Saturday night at the Tigers’ Memorial Stadium.

The Wolfpack (4-1, 0-1 ACC) started on defense, holding Clemson to a field goal on its opening possession. After Clemson reached the Pack’s 3-yard line, NC State did not allow another yard on the drive, stuffing three rushing attempts before Tigers’ kicker B.T. Potter converted a 20-yard field goal.

NC State also tacked on three points on its opening possession, driving 78 yards on 15 plays before Christopher Dunn split the uprights on a 20-yard field goal to make it 3-3 with 19 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. The Pack converted a fourth-and-1 on the drive when quarterback Devin Leary plunged forward for 2 yards on a quarterback sneak.

Clemson (5-0, 3-0 ACC) pulled ahead 6-3 when Potter drilled his second field goal of the night, converting a 46-yard attempt with 5:47 remaining in the half.

The Wolfpack grabbed its first lead of the night with less than two minutes remaining in the half when Leary connected with Cedd Seabrough for a 2-yard touchdown. The Leary-to-Seabrough connection capped off a nine-play, 75-yard drive that churned 3:56 off the clock.

The Tigers answered with their first touchdown to take a 13-10 lead entering the halftime break.

After NC State’s offense opened the half with three-and-out, Clemson extended its lead to 10 when DJ Uiagalelei found Jake Briningstool for a 7-yard touchdown to make it 20-10.

The Wolfpack trimmed Clemson’s 10-point advantage to seven when Dunn nailed a season-long 49-yard field goal to cut it to 20-13 with 9:06 left in the third quarter.

After a pair of scoreless drives apiece, Clemson capitalized on an interception with a 44-yard field goal from Potter to make it 23-13 with 14:16 left in the fourth quarter.

Still facing a 23-13 deficit, the Wolfpack advanced to the Clemson 36-yard line with less than 10 minutes remaining. The Tigers, however, forced a stop when the Pack was unable to convert on 4th-and-13 from the Clemson 39-yard line.

Clemson scored its final touchdown of the game with a Uiagalelei 9-yard keeper with 3:04 remaining.

The Wolfpack tallied the contest’s final score when Leary rushed in from 4 yards out for the touchdown. Leary’s 4-yard score capped off an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown over 2:11 to make it 30-20 with 53 seconds left.