Nobody promised a clean one, and Clemson didn’t need clean on Friday night in Berkeley.
The Tigers left the West Coast with a 24-10 win over Cal, surviving a messy, turnover-filled ACC road game to improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. After back-to-back tight league wins, Dabo Swinney’s team heads home to face No. 6 Miami.
The game belonged to Clemson’s playmakers when it mattered most. Bryant Wesco Jr. flipped the night with a 65-yard punt return touchdown late in the third quarter to put Clemson ahead 17-10, Gideon Davidson blew it open with a 75-yard touchdown run on third-and-8 with 2:58 left, and Elliot Washington II sealed it by intercepting Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele for a second time in the closing minutes.
Davidson was the engine on the ground, finishing with 159 yards and two touchdowns. Washington, the Penn State transfer, gave Clemson an answer early and then finished the job late. Clemson’s defense held Sagapolutele to 16 of 29 passing for 1119 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions while getting to him twice.
It was also a strange night by the clock. The 10:30 p.m.
Eastern kickoff was Clemson football’s latest since a 1982 game in Japan, and the final whistle didn’t come until 1:55 a.m. Eastern.
The first quarter was pure chaos.
Tait Reynolds threw an interception on his second pass attempt after trying to force a ball into double coverage on a poorly blocked flea-flicker. Washington answered by picking off a deep throw from Sagapolutele, who is widely viewed as one of the top NFL QB prospects in his class.
Then Clemson got a stop on fourth-and-2 inside the 30, only for Reynolds to lose the ball while scrambling. Cal took the fumble 35 yards for a touchdown, and the play stood after video review.
Even with the mistakes, Clemson kept piling up chances in the first half and just kept tripping over itself. The Tigers out-gained Cal 179 to 93 before halftime and finished with 14 first downs to the Golden Bears’ seven, but only had 10 points to show for six possessions.
Nolan Hauser opened the scoring with a short field goal after a red zone drive stalled, trimming Cal’s lead to 7-3. Later, Clemson grabbed a 10-7 edge on Davidson’s one-yard touchdown run with 5:37 left in the second quarter. That drive got a boost when a Cal defender jumped offsides on fourth-and-4, turning what looked like a punt into a fresh set of downs.
Cal tied it at 10-10 after Sagapolutele pushed the Golden Bears into field goal range, but Clemson answered immediately with Wesco’s punt return touchdown - the first of his career and Clemson’s first since Amari Rodgers did it in 2018 against Boston College.
Hauser then missed a 48-yard field goal wide left, his first miss in 12 attempts this season, leaving Clemson without the cushion it could have had. The Tigers still found the knockout punch anyway. After the defense forced another punt, Davidson raced 75 yards for the backbreaker on third-and-8.
Washington added the final insult with his second interception of the night, and Clemson closed it out with Reynolds picking up a rushing first down at the 1:43 mark before kneeling the rest away.
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Clemsons recent offensive unevenness has put the spotlight squarely on the quarterback spot, and true freshman Tait Reynolds has stepped into the conversation at a time when the Tigers need clarity. After earning the starting job, Reynolds showed progress in his first start, giving the staff a glimpse of what he might bring as the season moves along and the offense looks for more stability under Dabo Swinney.
Reynolds also lands in a larger story about how Clemson has managed the position during Swinneys tenure, where the Tigers have cycled through eras of consistency and uncertainty at quarterback. For now, the intrigue is less about where Reynolds came from than what he can do next, because his development may end up shaping whether Clemson can settle its biggest question on offense. [Read more 🡒]
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Clemson Faces A Big Tait Reynolds Test At California
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Reynolds next step comes with a real test attached, because Californias defense has been tough on opposing passers and has done a good job of limiting clean throws all season. For Clemson, this is the sort of game that can tell you a lot about how comfortable the offense is becoming with its young quarterback, especially in a road environment where every mistake tends to matter a little more. [Read more 🡒]