CLEMSON, S.C. — Though No. 5 Clemson is a 33-point favorite in tonight’s eight o’clock game against Louisiana Tech, it does not mean the game will lack interest.
Clemson’s defense hopes to get back on track after a bad performance in last week’s win over Furman. They likely will have to do it without star defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, who lost his 15-year-old sister, Ella, to brain cancer on Thursday.
Freshman Adam Randall is expected to make his long-awaited debut at wide receiver. This is the first time Tiger fans will have an opportunity to watch the 6-foot-2, 230-pound freshman in action. He tore his ACL and had surgery prior to the spring game this past April. Head coach Dabo Swinney said Randall will see limited action tonight.
Though quarterback DJ Uiagalelei completed 78 percent of his passes last week, while leading the Tigers on five touchdown drives, there are still some fans who do not believe he is the man for the job. A Louisiana Tech defense that allowed Missouri to score 52 points in Week 1, should give Uiagalelei plenty of opportunities to prove the naysayers wrong.
Clemson running back Will Shipley is attempting to become the first Clemson player since at least 1980 to open a season with multiple rushing touchdowns in three straight games. Last week, Shipley became the first Clemson player to score multiple rushing touchdowns in each of the first two games of a season since Wesley McFadden in 1987.
Tonight’s game will be Clemson’s second of the season in prime time, but its first night game at Death Valley in 2022. Clemson is 41-7 at night since 2015 and 22-4 in night games since 2018. Under newly installed LED lights as part of recent renovations to Memorial Stadium, Clemson will attempt to win its 18th consecutive night game in Death Valley, a streak that dates to the middle of the 2013 season.
Clemson is attempting to win its 36th consecutive home game to extend the nation’s longest active home winning streak. No member of Clemson’s roster has lost a home game at Clemson in their careers.
Clemson is also attempting to pass 2006-2011 Boise State (35) for sole possession of the 14th-longest home winning streak in FBS history. It would pull Clemson within one game of the ACC record (Florida State, 37 from 1992-2001).
–Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story
