During ESPN’s College GameDay show, this ESPN analyst commented on Clemson’s loss to South Carolina last week and spoke about the ninth-ranked Tigers’ matchup against No. 23 North Carolina in tonight’s ACC Championship Game.
“DJ (Uiagalelei) went 8-of-29 for 99 yards last week against South Carolina in the Palmetto Bowl, and obviously (South Carolina head coach) Shane Beamer has been rubbing that in Clemson’s face on social media, everywhere he can. Congrats to them on that big-time win,” ESPN’s Pat McAfee said.
“And then if you look at UNC, they lose to Georgia Tech out of nowhere, seemingly out of nowhere, and then they lose again to NC State. Obviously it was close, goes to overtime. I think that (quarterback) Drake Maye’s situation is fascinating because he is a freshman. Still got a lot of time down there. (UNC head coach) Mack Brown still has a lot of time down there.”
McAfee also talked about what he sees as the “big problem” for UNC and its defense against Clemson’s rushing attack led by Will Shipley, who ran for 132 yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries last week vs. the Gamecocks.
“The big problem for me is how does UNC stop Clemson’s run game?” McAfee said. “They went for 237 as a team against South Carolina last week. Will Shipley’s a guy. I don’t know who’s going to be playing quarterback. Maybe Cade Klubnik comes in if DJ continues to struggle. But I don’t see how UNC stops the run game, which has been their problem basically all season.”
Entering the ACC Championship Game, Clemson is averaging 188.3 rushing yards per game, good for third in the ACC. Meanwhile, North Carolina allows 169.7 rushing yards per contest, which ranks second-to-last in the conference.
The ACC title game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte kicks off at 8 p.m. and will be televised on ABC.
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