Under scrutiny since the start of last season, No. 5 Clemson’s offense outscored No. 5 51-45. 16 Wake Forest could represent a major turning point in the Tigers’ attempt to return to the top of the ACC and college football playoffs.
Facing Clemson’s offensive struggles, junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei threw for 371 yards and five touchdowns to keep pace with Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman, who had 337 yards and a school record 6 points to complete the game.
Asked to lead the Tigers to a must-win victory, the offense went for its second straight 500-yard game — the first since 2020 — and against more than a year.
Uiagalelei’s performance was his best since his freshman year, when he had two outstanding starts as a backup for the injured Trevor Lawrence. Sophomore running back Will Shipley rushes for 104 yards and touchdowns, his seventh.
Talk about a shift in the conversation: Clemson may now have more problems on the defensive end than the offense after failing to keep Hartman and the Demon Deacons secret.
Sweet victory:Clemson wins doughnut with fiasco to Wake Forest
Top 25 countdown:Scores and results from the biggest games of week 4
The inexperience and weak secondary were the Tigers’ weakest link after giving up at least 250 passing yards for the third straight game. Wake is the third team to have at least four touchdowns without an interception in a game against Dabo Swinney-coached Clemson, and the second to score six in the 2021 Sugar Bowl Joined Ohio State University.
Even a talented defensive line was mostly dominated by Vick’s veteran offensive line, even though the team stepped up late in the fourth quarter and in overtime.
Clemson will play No. 1 next week. 11 NC State, which has its own strong passing game after quarterback Devin Leary. With another strong offense and defensive rebounding against elite opponents, the Tigers will earn a spot in the nation’s top four.
Clemson, Wake Forest and others make the list of winners and losers this week:
winner
Tennessee
This is a team and project that is rapidly emerging in SEC East. Do not. 12 Tennessee reversed years of futility in the competition, beating No. 12. 22 Florida 38-33, the Volunteers sail even stronger in their second season under coach Josh Heupel. His work with Hendon Hooker is truly remarkable: After failing to get off the ground at Virginia Tech, he has 39 touchdowns and three interceptions since arriving in Knoxville, including 349 yards and a 3-1 against the Gators. Score twice. Tennessee has only surpassed Florida once since 2005.
Ohio State University
Wisconsin’s defense should test the No. 1, if not outright upset. 3 Buckeyes and quarterback CJ Stroud. There’s probably a team capable of doing that — it wouldn’t be the Badgers, who didn’t even force a score midway through the third quarter. Stroud had 281 passing yards, Trevyan Henderson ran for 121, tight end Cade Stover had two touchdowns, and the Buckeyes led 28-0 and defeated 52-21 the state of Wisconsin. The offense is terrible.
Kansas
The best story in college football continues: Kansas remains unbeaten with a 35-27 win over Duke, trailing another red-hot Saturday from quarterback Jaron Daniels, who has gone into an early Heisman Trophy battle. Daniels made 19 of 23 throws for 324 yards for a team-leading 83 yards and five touchdowns, which gave him 15 points and one turnover of the year. Drafted in head coach Lance Leipold’s second year but still finishing with four wins, the Jayhawks are now on their way to bowl eligibility, with Leipold emerging as one of the hottest coaches on the market.
Texas A&M University
Faced with an early elimination from the SEC and the playoffs, A&M narrowly moved past the No. 1 ranking to save an acceptable September. 10 Arkansas State 23-21. It’s easy to imagine what would have happened if there was a second loss, starting with a louder call for Jimbo Fisher to hand over his offensive duties. While the offense remains neutral, the Aggies have been inspired by quarterback Max Johnson, who does a great job of protecting the ball and playing with his legs. A&M also has one of the top guards in the SEC, Devon Achane, who has 159 yards against a tough Razorbacks defense.
Notre Dame de Paris
After a rough start from coach Marcus Freeman, the Fighting Irish began to correct the boat. Like Clemson, a stumbling offense sparked a pivotal win: Notre Dame had 576, 287 yards and a 45-32 win over North Carolina, streak after losses to Ohio State and Marshall Second win. Quarterback Drupine threw for 289 yards and a 3-pointer behind coordinator Tommy Reese’s excellent game plan.
Baylor
A 31-24 victory over previously undefeated Iowa State claimed no. 17 Baylor’s place among the top teams in the Big 12 and brings some clarity into the conference game heading into October. The win also saw a rebound from first-year starting quarterback Blake Shapon, who struggled in the Bears’ loss to No. 1. 23 Brigham Young and last week’s win over Texas State, but hit 19 of 26 passes for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Cyclones. The ISU began Saturday allowing quarterbacks to complete 51.4 percent of their throws and give up just 5.2 yards per attempt.
Adrian Martinez
The Kansas State grad transfer quarterback played the best game of his career in leading the Wildcats to a 41-34 victory over No. 2. 6 Oklahoma. Overly cautious in his first three starts — avoiding turnovers, but being too conservative as a passer — Martinez was loose against the Swifts with 234 passing yards, 148 rushing yards and five touchdowns Finish. Late in the fourth quarter, his 55-yard run knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to seal the victory. After a miserable four years in Nebraska, Martinez has a chance to write a positive ending to his college career.
James Madison
Forget Kansas. Is James Madison the success story of the season? In the program’s first year in the bowl division, the longtime champion division force went undefeated, stunned Appalachia 32-28 in the final 29 points of the game. Once trailing 28-3, Duke gained some momentum with a 75-yard scoring run toward the end of the second quarter, then pulled off a major upset of the five with a short brace in the second half.
loser
Oklahoma
The Big 12 is in contention after the Sooners’ sloppy loss at Kansas State. While the offense was able to move the ball to the Wildcats, many drives were stalled due to untimely penalties, most of which were false starts, leaving the Sooners behind in chains. After a placid nonconference roster, Oklahoma left the opening month as a mystery. Are the Sooners the best team in the conference? Will Brent Venables’ defense get better? For Oklahoma, the loss eliminated all margin for error in the conference game against No. 1 Texas. 8 Oklahoma and Baylor.
Miami (FL)
Mario Cristobal’s honeymoon is quickly over. No. 25 Miami’s 45-31 loss to Middle Tennessee after a winnable loss to Texas A&M last Saturday confirmed one of the Hurricanes’ biggest disappointments in the bowl division. With his team already relegated to non-factor status, Cristobal had to address another major situation early in his first year: Tyler Van Dijk was only halfway through his throws after two interceptions in the third quarter. He took a step back after a huge freshman season that reflected the poor performance of the new hire.
Arkansas
The Razorbacks missed an exciting comeback. Trailing 23-21 with less than two minutes left, Arkansas started a go-ahead shot from 42 yards by sophomore Cam Little, one of the best young kickers in the country. But Little’s kick was pushed to the right, barely hitting the top of the right post, and bounced back into the end zone. The loss took some of the energy out of next weekend’s game against No. 1 Alabama.
Texas
Steve Sarkisian could relate to Cristobal’s debut. He was even worse: Texas State failed to make a bowl game in one of the worst seasons in recent program history. How much better will Sarkisian’s second year be? No. 19 The Longhorns’ 37-34 overtime loss at Texas Tech was canceled due to a series of rule errors and a key overtime error by star running back Billy Robinson , and apparently failed to build on the morale damage in this month’s loss to Alabama. The Longhorns weren’t fighting for a spot in the New Year’s Six, but an afterthought in the Big 12.
Michigan State University
After using the transfer portal to fuel an unexpectedly successful 2021 season, Mel Tucker has apparently failed to make another rebuild and keep Michigan State ahead in the New Year’s Six Bowl. Pushed by Washington last weekend, the Spartans were humiliated in a 34-7 loss to Minnesota, which should give the Gophers some top-25 consideration.
Missouri
Count this as one of the worst losses of the season: Missouri missed a 26-yard field goal when regular time expired, then fumbled for a potentially game-winning touchdown in the first overtime to 17. -14 lost to an Auburn team that appeared to be playing under embattled coach Bryan Harsin. Instead, the nature of the ugly loss will put Missouri coach Eli Drinkowitz in a red-hot spot as the Tigers head toward a losing end.
Colorado
Worst team in the country? At least, companies in Massachusetts, Hawaii, Florida International and New Mexico are near the bottom. New Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell has found himself in a miserable situation in front of his predecessor, and apparently it will take some time for the Rams to get back on track after a 41-10 home loss to Sacramento State.
