Clemson challenged Cal’s passing game. The Tigers won that challenge.
Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele entered Friday night accustomed to moving the football through the air.
Clemson made sure he never got comfortable doing it.
The Tigers held Cal to 145 passing yards in their 24-10 win in Berkeley, limiting Sagapolutele to a career-low 119 yards. Cal entered the week ranked 13th nationally at 321.7 passing yards per game.
More importantly, Clemson’s defense didn’t surrender a touchdown.
“Defensively, it’s about points,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “I mean, three points. That’s all we gave up.”
Cal’s lone touchdown came outside of its offense, leaving the Golden Bears with only a field goal against Clemson’s defense. It marked the first time Clemson held an opposing offense without a touchdown since its 2022 trip to Boston College.
Doing it against Sagapolutele made the performance particularly noteworthy.
Swinney had praised the Cal quarterback throughout the week, and nothing Friday night changed his opinion.
“I got a lot of respect for him,” Swinney said. “I mean, he is a really good football player.”
Instead, Clemson took away many of the things that had allowed Sagapolutele and the Cal passing game to thrive.
It started by limiting Cal’s ability to establish the run and create a balanced attack. Then Clemson went after the passing game.
“We took some of the easy access throws away,” Swinney said. “You see how that ball gets out there. I mean, it’s there quick.”
Rather than consistently giving Cal’s receivers room off the line of scrimmage, Clemson challenged them and forced Sagapolutele to hold the football longer.
“We just got up and challenged the guys,” Swinney said. “We held up for the most part and that made him have to hold the ball a little bit and create some pressure.”
The results showed up throughout Clemson’s secondary.
Cornerback Elliot Washington II intercepted Sagapolutele on Cal’s opening possession and added another interception late in the fourth quarter. Washington has now recorded an interception in consecutive games and has three in his Clemson career.
Ashton Hampton added three pass breakups, matching his career high.
The performance continued an encouraging trend for Clemson’s pass defense. The Tigers have held consecutive opponents below 150 passing yards for the first time since a three-game stretch against NC State, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech in 2023.
Clemson hadn’t held consecutive ACC opponents below 150 passing yards since Miami and Georgia Tech in 2020.
The Tigers also created pressure when Sagapolutele was forced to hold the football. London Merritt recorded his first sack at Clemson, while Jeremiah Alexander and Champ Thompson combined for another in the fourth quarter.
“We disrupted him, did a good job covering,” Swinney said.
There were imperfections. Swinney thought Clemson became too soft against Cal’s screen game at times, leaving the Tigers with areas to correct.
But when Clemson challenged Cal’s receivers, Swinney liked the result.
“When we got up there and challenged them, we were able to cover,” he said.
That may have been the most encouraging aspect of Clemson’s defensive performance.
The Tigers entered the game facing one of the nation’s most productive passing attacks and had a clear plan: limit the running game, eliminate easy throws, challenge receivers and make Sagapolutele hold the football long enough for pressure to arrive.
Washington’s interceptions and Hampton’s pass breakups were the visible results.
The scoreboard provided the most important one.
Three offensive points.
For a Clemson defense that has now held back-to-back opponents below 150 passing yards, Friday night offered another sign that throwing the football against the Tigers is becoming increasingly difficult.
With Miami coming to town on Saturday night, the Clemson secondary will face their toughest test this season through the air.
