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Clemson's Phil Mafah is a better prospect than Will Shipley, more overreactions at Wake Forest
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- Clemson's Phil Mafah is a better prospect than Will Shipley, more overreactions at Wake Forest
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Clemson football rolled to its fifth straight victory Saturday as the Tigers pounded Wake Forest, 49-14 , at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The Tigers (5-1, 4-0 ACC) had a slow start and fell behind Wake Forest (2-4, 1-2) midway through the first quarter and then surged in front, never giving the Demon Deacons much of a chance to get back in the game.
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Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 31 of 41 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Jake Briningstool had seven catches for 104 yards and a TD. Running back Phil Mafah led the way on the ground with 108 yards and two TDs on 19 carries.
Here are three overreactions from Clemson's win at Wake Forest:
Phil Mafah is better NFL prospect than Will Shipley
Clemson graduate student running back Mafah could be a better NFL prospect than Will Shipley, the Philadelphia Eagles player with whom Mafah shared the Clemson backfield last season.
Mafah's bruising style plus breakaway speed is better suited for the pros. Mafah piled up 91 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns in the first half against Wake Forest to reach 587 yards, on target to top the 1,182 yards by Shipley in 2022. Mafah still has six more regular-season games.
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Since the opener against Georgia, which held Mafah to 59 yards on 16 carries, he has been nearly unstoppable with an average of 8.4 yards per carry. Last season, Mafah ran for 965 yards on 5.4 per carry, while Shipley had 827 on 5.0 per carry.
Mafah has a body that holds up better against collisions. He showed that last season with a school-record 36 carries for 186 yards against Notre Dame. He punishes would-be tackles and did that time after time against the Deacons.
HOW CLEMSON WON: Here's how Clemson got victory at Wake Forest
Freshman wide receiver TJ Moore ready for big role
Clemson freshman TJ Moore in the first quarter tied his career best with three catches and was targeted repeatedly by quarterback Cade Klubnik.
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Moore looks ready to take a bigger role in the second half of the season. He saw more action than usual in the absence of fellow rookie receiver Bryant Wesco Jr., who missed the game with an injury.
Moore had three grabs and a touchdown against Appalachian State but just four total in the three games since. But he's found the end zone twice already, same as Wesco, and is developing similar rapport with Klubnik.
Trick play by Clemson was knockout punch
Clemson used a trick play in the third quarter to put the finishing touches on the win The Tigers were cruising, up 35-14, and some of the Wake Forest faithful were already filing out of the stadium.
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Clemson took out whatever life was left in the Demon Deacons with a double pass for a touchdown to make it 45-14. Quarterback Cade Klubnik threw a lateral pass to the sideline to Antonio Williams , who fired a perfect 28-yard TD pass to Jake Briningstool.
Todd Shanesy covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at todd.shanesy@shj.com . Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ .
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football's Phil Mafah shows NFL talent in rout of Wake Forest
