As a freshman at Clemson, DJ Uiagalelei made a phenomenal first impression. He was so impressive that the quarterback he replaced, Trevor Lawrence, was barely missed — and Lawrence was the eventual No. 1 pick of the 2021 NFL draft.
In the second start of his career, Uiagalelei passed for 439 yards and two touchdowns in a classic game at Notre Dame. (Lawrence watched from the sideline after testing positive for COVID-19.) The top-ranked Tigers fell to the Fighting Irish 47-40 in double overtime, but the Clemson defense was the disappointment.
Two years later, Uiagalelei and the Tigers, 8-0 and ranked No. 4, are back in a similar spot. There are differences, though, because Uiagalelei has not been great the past two seasons, and the Irish are unranked home underdogs this time. (Also, Lawrence has been far from great in two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.)
A better Clemson defensive performance should be the difference. Notre Dame is getting subpar quarterback play from Drew Pyne, who opened the season as the backup. In a win at Syracuse last week, Pyne passed for only 116 yards and the Irish ran 56 times for 246 yards, a run-pass imbalance that’s unlikely to be effective against the Tigers.