Daily briefing: On DJ Uiagalelei, 2 transfer defenders and Pitt handling success

Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:

DJ Uiagalelei looked good – at times

It may be damning with faint praise to say that Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei played better Monday night than he did a year ago. Uiagalelei looked good at times in a conservative game plan against Georgia Tech. He threw for 209 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a score, but still had plays that make you scratch your head: a fumble here, a sack there, a bounced throw, a grounding penalty. The talent is in there somewhere, and Uiagalelei appears closer to delivering it more consistently. But one thing the Tigers made clear in their 41-10 victory is that this defense will win games on its own. Uiagalelei just needs to play efficiently.

Transfers making big plays

A good number of quarterbacks who transferred into marquee positions settled easily into their new jobs, from Caleb Williams (ex-Oklahoma) at USC to Dillon Gabriel (ex-UCF) at Oklahoma to John Rhys Plumlee (ex-Ole Miss) at UCF. But a word here about two transfer stars on the other side of the ball. Michigan State linebacker Jacoby Windmon, formerly of UNLV, tied a school record with four sacks and added a forced fumble in State’s 35-13 defeat of Western Michigan. Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse, formerly of Albany, had two sacks and another tackle for loss in the 24-23 defeat of LSU in New Orleans. Seminoles coaches noticed Verse when they studied ACC Atlantic foe Syracuse. He’s 6 feet 4, 248 pounds and fast. You’ll hear his name a lot this season.

Can Pitt avoid a letdown?

Pitt may have won the ACC championship last season, but to hear linebacker SirVocea Dennis tell it, their two regular-season losses stemmed from letting up after emotional victories. “That’s something we struggled with last year,” said Dennis, a junior and defensive captain this season. “We beat Tennessee, lost to Western Michigan. We beat Clemson, lost to Miami.” The week after the Panthers came from behind to beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl, they play Tennessee. “Handling success is always a problem,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “It’s always the biggest issue you’ll have on a football team. The hardest thing people have in life is handling it.” Narduzzi doesn’t believe it will be a problem this week because he has graded the video of the WVU win. Coaches love it when a team plays badly and wins.