Clemson football players want ‘revenge’ after double overtime loss at NC State last year

Davis Allen is a Clemson football veteran who’s long adhered to the program’s “windshield mentality.” He focuses on what’s ahead, not what’s behind.

Still, the senior tight end admitted this week, he’d be lying if he said last year’s 27-21 double overtime loss to N.C. State was completely in his rearview mirror.

“In the back of your head, you know we went there last year and we didn’t get the job done,” Allen said. “And you don’t want to do that again.”

That’s the narrative cherry on top of a Week 5 matchup already rich on the kind of storylines that would make even the most seasoned of TV executives salivate.

Pending any Hurricane Ian-related schedule changes, No. 5 Clemson and No. 10 N.C. State will meet Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the first AP Top 10 meeting in series history, the first overall Top 10 meeting in N.C. State history and only the 20th such meeting in ACC football history.

The undefeated programs, both vying for the ACC Atlantic Division crown they missed out on last season, have also drawn ESPN’s “College GameDay” program and ABC’s broadcasting A-Team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe to Memorial Stadium.

Looming over it all are the events of Sept. 25, 2021. That’s when fireworks sprayed, fans rushed the field at Carter-Finley Stadium and a normally reserved N.C. State coach Dave Doeren celebrated with a red Solo cup and a thick cigar after snapping an eight-game series losing streak to Clemson and booting the Tigers out of College Football Playoff contention.

Nobody on the south end of this Textile Bowl rivalry has forgotten it.

“We definitely have a little bit more motivation,” Clemson defensive tackle Tyler Davis said.

“One hundred percent, we want the revenge, want to win the division and want to win the conference. … That’s something we didn’t do last year,” right guard Walker Parks said. “We didn’t finish.”

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei ran through a number of his mistakes from last year’s game like they happened yesterday — third-down stalls, a low ball to Allen that got tipped and intercepted, a late throw to receiver Justyn Ross he still wants back — before confirming the obvious.

“Yeah,” he said. “It definitely sucked losing.”

Clemson ranked ninth in the country and had won eight-straight games and 15 of 16 in the series heading into last year’s contest, while N.C. State was unranked with an early loss at Mississippi State.

But N.C. State had its visitors on the ropes from the start, playing Clemson evenly in a 7-7 first half, taking a 14-7 third-quarter lead and nearly winning the game on a walk-off field goal with the teams tied at 14-14. (Kicker Chris Dunn’s game-winning 39-yard attempt went wide left.)

Quarterback Devin Leary hit receiver Devin Carter for a twisting 22-yard touchdown on the second play of the second overtime before Clemson turned the ball over downs, with Uiagalelei and Ross twice failing to connect on passes near the end zone on the final possession.

It was an afternoon of attrition, frustration and poor execution for the Tigers, which turned in another lackluster offensive performance and lost starting linebacker James Skalski, defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and running back Will Shipley to injuries throughout the game.

“When we got put in that point last year in the double OT, I think they wanted it more,” Parks said. “I think they knew what it took. They’d put more work in than us, prepared better, knew their assignments better and they just beat us. They were the better team.”

Neither team got the last laugh in the grand scheme of things, as Wake Forest’s win over N.C. State six weeks later put the Demon Deacons in the driver’s seat for an ACC Atlantic Division title they eventually won.

The Tigers finished 10-3 and won the Cheez-It Bowl over Iowa State, and the Wolfpack finished 9-3 before their Holiday Bowl game against UCLA was canceled hours before kickoff.

Still, Clemson-N.C. State 2021 was a sea change in a series that had under coach Dabo Swinney been chippy and close and high profile for years ... while also being one-sided.

Now the Wolfpack is the reigning Textile Bowl champion for the first time since 2011 heading into Saturday’s game in Death Valley, where they haven’t won since 2002, and both teams return a host of prominent starters from last season’s game.

There will be chips on shoulders. A prominent quarterback battle between the steady Leary and the much-improved Uiagalelei. Major ACC stakes. A national audience. And, more likely than not, some wacky weather. It’s the biggest game of the year for Clemson because it’s the next one, as players and coaches are so quick to say, but it’s not hard to find some other reasons.

“It’s always been a big rivalry ever since I’ve been here, and especially since we lost last year there’s a little bit more juice,” Allen said. “We just want to perform our best and put our best foot forward.”

And put Sept. 25, 2021, fully in the rearview mirror.

Clemson-NC State football game, weather

Who: No. 10 N.C. State (4-0, 0-0 ACC) at No. 5 Clemson (4-0, 2-0 ACC)

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Memorial Stadium, Clemson

TV: ABC

Line: Clemson by 6.5

Forecast: Chance of rain is 70% during the day, then 60% Saturday night