Dabo Swinney breaks down offensive miscues, DJ Uiagalelei's performance against Georgia Tech

With a 14-3 lead over Georgia Tech at the half, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney broke down the performance of DJ Uiagalelei so far. Uiagalelei had a rough first half by his standards, turning the ball over once while ending their first four drives of the game without a score.

Clemson did build momentum after a tremendous effort by their defense and special teams, blocking a punt and recovering the ball on the Georgia Tech five-yard line. The Tigers entered the locker rooms with a 14-3 lead over the Yellow Jackets.

Dabo Swinney on DJ Uiagalelei’s first half

“Well we came right out of the gate, you know it was a good opening drive,” started Swinney during his on-field interview. “Third and a yard or whatever and we get kind of a little amped up. A little hot snap, high and high. So we had to punt. Then second drive right down the field, good balance — then we fumbled the ball, it was close.

“Then we got in a little bad field position for a couple, coming in back-to-back scores. We just went a little up-tempo, took what they gave us right there. I thought we made a couple of nice plays. Defense has played — great job. Big play on special teams. First ball game, first half. We certainly got some things to clean up, that’s what halftime is all for.”

Swinney was asked a follow-up question about how he felt Uiagalelei performed in the first half, and the Clemson coach was very positive about his offensive leader. The audio during his interview on the broadcast cut out, but he acknowledged his mistakes while praising his ability to pick up his rhythm.

“Good, other than the snap was disappointing … I thought he held onto the ball one time and took a sack. But hey, he made some plays, he got into a little rhythm. Made a couple of big plays down the field, some good timing throws. A nice little scramble for a touchdown. Solid.”

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The first quarter saw Clemson’s offense struggle mightily, as the first drive of the game ended with a three-and-out after a botched snap. The following possession, Uiagalelei fumbled the ball while scrambling for a first down. The Tigers’ first four drives of the game ended with three punts and a turnover, with a grand total of 55 total yards.

The Clemson defense continued their dominance after the first quarter ended, blocking Georgia Tech’s punt on the following drive and recovering the ball on the five-yard line. Clemson nearly stalled out despite the goal line field position, but managed to finish the drive with a touchdown on fourth down. Uiagalelei picked up his night shortly afterwards, leading Clemson’s best drive of the night and finishing with a touchdown pass to put them up 14-0.

Georgia Tech finished the half with their best drive of the night as well, finally getting on the board with a made field goal to enter the break with a 14-3 deficit.