Nearly 2,500 miles from home and well past midnight on the East Coast, Clemson found a way to make the long trip to California worth it.
It was far from a clean night for the Tigers. The offense struggled to find a rhythm at times, turnovers came early and both teams had trouble moving the ball consistently.
But when Clemson needed a spark, it came from the ground game and special teams. Bryant Wesco Jr. provided the first jolt. Gideon Davidson provided the knockout punch.
And by the time the clock hit zero, Clemson had walked out of Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., with a 24-10 victory over Cal.
“We were a tough football team,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said after the game.
The Tigers (3-1, 2-0 ACC) had to be.
Clemson and Cal traded interceptions on their opening possessions, setting the tone for a first half dominated more by defense than offense. Cal eventually struck first when Kamar Mothudi scooped up a Tait Reynolds’ fumble and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.
Clemson answered with a 30-yard field goal from Nolan Hauser before putting together its longest drive of the night.
The Tigers marched 66 yards on 17 plays, grinding out first downs and controlling the clock. A Cal offsides penalty on a fourth-and-four pooch punt out of field-goal formation kept the drive alive, and then converting a fourth-and-two pass to tight end Christian Bentancur to keep the chains moving.
Davidson finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run with 5:39 remaining in the second quarter.
It was the first of two touchdowns for Davidson — and the first step toward a very expensive night for the sophomore.
Davidson had promised to donate $500 to charity for every touchdown he scored this year. By the end of the night, he had two, plus the one he scored last week. That makes it $1,500 for charity.
More importantly for Clemson, Davidson is beginning to look like the back the Tigers needed.
After rushing for 105 yards against North Carolina last week, Davidson followed it up with a career-high 159 yards on 22 carries against Cal, averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
“He’s had some really good runs,” Swinney said. “He’s got a lot of confidence.”
Clemson took a 10-7 lead into halftime despite an offense that was still searching for consistency.
Reynolds, making his second career start, finished with 108 passing yards and an interception. He and Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele both struggled to find a rhythm, with Sagapolutele throwing two interceptions of his own.
But Clemson’s defense kept answering the call.
The Tigers held Cal to just 231 total yards and 86 rushing yards, while Sagapolutele finished 16 of 29 for 119 yards. Cal went just 3-for-12 on third down and never found the end zone offensively.
Then came the play that changed the game.
After Cal tied the game at 10 with a field goal early in the third quarter, the Golden Bears punted on their next possession.
Agnus Davies’ line-drive 39-yard punt toward the middle of the field was caught by Wesco in stride. The Clemson receiver slipped past two tacklers, cut toward the Clemson sideline and found nothing but open field.
Sixty-five yards later, Clemson was back in front at 17-10.
The touchdown was Clemson’s first punt-return score since Amari Rodgers took one 58 yards to the house against Boston College in 2018 — the same season Clemson won the national championship.
“Big plays create a ton of energy,” Swinney said. “We haven’t had that since 2018, and ’18 was a pretty great year for us.”
The return gave Clemson the momentum it had been searching for all night.
The Tigers’ defense made sure Cal (2-2, 1-1 ACC) couldn’t take it back.
Ashton Hampton continued to make his presence felt in coverage, including a key pass breakup on third down late in the fourth quarter that forced another Cal punt.
And with the Tigers pinned deep at their own two-yard line with just over five minutes left, Davidson made sure the game would not come down to another possession.
Clemson kept the ball on the ground.
Ten yards. Then another. Then Davidson broke free.
With 2:59 remaining, the sophomore took a third-and-eight handoff 75 yards for his second touchdown of the night, turning a seven-point game into a 24-10 lead.
“I felt like we kind of made it harder than it needed to be,” Swinney said of Clemson’s offensive performance, particularly Reynolds’ early mistakes.
But Clemson found another way.
The Tigers rushed for 255 yards, controlled the clock for more than 34 minutes and held Cal without an offensive touchdown.
Elliot Washington II put the finishing touch on the night with his second interception of Sagapolutele, sealing Clemson’s second straight ACC victory.
Now, the Tigers turn the page. Clemson returns home next week for a matchup with No. 6 Miami on Oct. 3.
“We have to turn the page,” Swinney said. “Thankfully we have a day to reset. We know we have a tough challenge next week.”
For Clemson, Friday night was not about perfection.
It was about finding a way.
A long road trip. A late night. A struggling offense.
And eventually, Davidson and Wesco gave the Tigers exactly what they needed.
Ten yards, then go again.
By the time Clemson finally headed home, the Tigers had their third straight win — and another ACC victory to add to a season that is beginning to take shape.
—photo courtesy of Clemson Athletics
