DJ Uiagalelei passed for 371 yards and a career-best five touchdown passes as No. 5 Clemson fought off an upset bid to post a 51-45 double-overtime victory over No. 21 Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Uiagalelei’s 21-yard scoring pass to Davis Allen on the second possession of overtime was the decisive score for Clemson (4-0, 2-0 ACC). Wake Forest (3-1, 0-1) was unable to score on its second attempt.
Allen caught two scoring passes for the Tigers, while Beaux Collins, Jake Briningstool and Brannon Spector had one apiece. Will Shipley rushed for 104 yards and one touchdown.
Wake Forest star Sam Hartman threw a school-record six touchdown passes but couldn’t prevent Wake Forest from losing to Clemson for the 14th consecutive time. Hartman passed for 337 yards to raise his career total to 10,228, sixth-most in ACC history, leaping over four former players — including ex-Tigers Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence.
Hartman also moved into sixth place in ACC history with 85 TD passes, jumping Kenny Pickett and Chris Weinke.
Jahmal Banks (six receptions, 141 yards) and Donavon Greene caught two touchdown passes apiece for Wake Forest. Blake Whiteheart and A.T. Perry also made scoring catches for the Demon Deacons.
Hartman hit Perry on an 8-yard scoring pass in the first overtime, but Clemson answered when Uiagalelei tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Collins to tie it at 45.
Earlier, Hartman tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Greene with 12:13 left in the third quarter to give the Demon Deacons a 21-20 lead. That marked the first time Clemson trailed in a game this season.
After Wake Forest got the ball back, Hartman tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Whiteheart to give Wake Forest an eight-point lead with 7:47 left in the period.
Clemson tied the score at 28 three-plus minutes later when Uiagalelei threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Allen and a tying two-point conversion throw to Collins.
The Demon Deacons went back ahead on Hartman’s 25-yard pass to Greene with 1:19 left in the third, but the Tigers tied it again on Shipley’s 1-yard run with 11:16 left in the contest.
Matthew Dennis kicked a 29-yard field goal to give Wake Forest a 38-35 edge with 8:07 left in regulation. But Clemson’s B.T. Potter matched his career best with a 52-yarder to knot the score with 4:01 to play.
In the first half, Uiagalelei threw scoring passes of 12 yards to Briningstool and 41 yards to Spector and Potter kicked field goals of 24 and 38 yards as the Tigers held a 20-14 halftime lead. Hartman tossed touchdown passes of 36 and 5 yards to Banks.
–Field Level Media
