Editor’s Note: This is part of an All Clemson Tigers.com series of stories, which breaks down Clemson Football’s history against its 10 Power 5 Conference opponents for the 2023 season. In each story, All Clemson Tigers will recap a Memorable Game, Memorable Play, Significant Win, Significant Loss, Did You Know, Top Individual Performances, as well as detailed facts from the series’ history.
There is no other opponent Clemson has beaten like Wake Forest.
Over the years, the two ACC foes have met 88 times with Clemson winning 70 of those games. The Tigers have a .801-win percentage over the Demon Deacons.
Clemson has won the last 14 meetings in the series and 10 of those games were won by 20 or more points. Overall, the Tigers have won 34 games against Wake Forest by at least three scores.
The Tigers, who will host Wake on Oct. 7 this coming season, even own a 27-10-1 advantage in games played on Wake Forest’s home field.
Memorable Game: The 2022 matchup between Clemson and Wake Forest marked the first meeting since 1950 that both teams came into the game ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. The Tigers were ranked No. 5 in the polls, while the Demon Deacons were ranked No. 21. Like the 1948 and 1950 meetings—the other ranked contests between the two—the game lived up to the hype. DJ Uiagalelei threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns as Clemson rallied to beat Wake Forest, 51-45, in double overtime. The Clemson quarterback found tight end Davis Allen for a 21-yard touchdown on third down in the second overtime for what turned out to be the game winner. Nate Wiggins, who was picked on all afternoon, broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone on Wake’s second overtime possession to secure the Tigers’ dramatic victory. Before batting down Sam Hartman’s pass to end the game, Wiggins was called for three pass interference penalties and gave up a 25-yard touchdown pass. After B.T. Potter made a 52-yard field goal to tie the game at 38-38 with 4:01 to play in regulation, the Clemson defense prevented Wake Forest from winning the game when Tyler Davis stuffed Justice Ellison on a second-down run and then teamed up with defensive end Myles Murphy to sack Hartman to force overtime. Hartman completed 20-of-29 passes for 337 yards and six touchdowns in the loss. Clemson running back Will Shipley finished the afternoon with 104 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Allen caught two of Uiagalelei’s five touchdowns, while Jake Briningstool, Brannon Spector and Beaux Collins each grabbed one. Collins caught a 21-yard touchdown, also on third down, in the first overtime to answer Wake’s touchdown.
Memorable Play: On the first play of the fourth quarter in the 2006 meeting, with No. 15 Clemson trailing Wake Forest 17-3, the late Gaines Adams recovered a botched Wake field goal and rumbled 66 yards for a touchdown. Adams’ touchdown changed the momentum of the game, as the Tigers outscored the Demon Deacons 24-0 in the final 15 minutes for a 27-17 victory in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Significant Win: Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired, clinching No. 9 Clemson a spot in the 2011 ACC Championship Game. The Tigers’ 31-28 win at Death Valley was significant because they rallied from 14 points down in the second half to beat Wake Forest. Three weeks later, in the ACC Championship Game, Clemson knocked off No. 5 Virginia Tech to win their first ACC Championship in 20 years.
Significant Loss: In what was an ugly football game, Wake Forest beat the Tigers 12-7 in 2008 on a Thursday night in Winston-Salem. The loss was significant because it dropped Clemson to 3-3 on the season, after being a preseason top 10 squad and favored to win the ACC that year. The loss to the Demon Deacons was enough to get Tommy Bowden dismissed as head coach, bringing in his young receivers coach, Dabo Swinney, to close out the season. Swinney did such a good job getting the Tigers bowl eligible, athletic director Terry Don Phillips removed the interim tag beside his title and made him Clemson’s permanent head coach. The rest you can say is history.
Did You Know? Clemson has a 60-9-1 lead vs. Wake Forest since the formation of the ACC in 1953, that is a .862 winning percentage.
Series Record: Clemson leads 70-17-1
Games played at Clemson: Clemson leads 40-7
Games played at Wake Forest: Clemson leads 27-10-1
Neutral Site Games: Clemson leads 3-0
First Meeting: 1933, Clemson won 13-0 in Charlotte, N.C.
Last Meeting: Clemson won 51-45 (2 OT), in Winston-Salem, N.C.
First Meeting as ACC opponents: 1953, Clemson won 18-0 in Clemson
First Wake Forest win in the series: 1936, 6-0 at Wake Forest
Last Game at Clemson: 2021, Clemson won 48-27
Last Wake Forest win: 2008, 12-7 in Winston-Salem
Last Wake Forest win at Clemson: 1998, 29-19
Current win streak: Clemson has won 14 straight
Longest win streak in the series: Clemson won 15 in a row from 1977-’91
Wake Forest’s longest win streak: 6 straight from 1942-’47
Other series facts: In 1981, Clemson beat Wake Forest on Halloween 82-24. The Tigers’ 82 points are still an ACC record for points scored in a game as an ACC team. The 82 points are also the most points scored by one ACC team against another ACC team. Clemson’s 12 touchdowns that afternoon is still the most in one game by an ACC team in league history. Clemson was 12-for-12 on third down and gained 756 yards of total offense, including 536 on the ground, still school records… Clemson’s 14-game winning streak is its longest active winning streak against any FBS foe… The Tigers have produced 10-game winning streaks against opponents eight times in school history. Wake Forest is the only opponent against whom Clemson has recorded multiple winning streaks of 10-plus games, posting a 15-game winning streak against the Demon Deacons from 1977-’91, as well as a 10-game streak from 1940-50… Clemson has won 14 in a row in the series, all under Dabo Swinney, by a combined score of 578-212… Clemson has scored at least 28 points in all 14 meetings against Wake Forest since Swinney took over in 2009…Clemson has beat Wake Forest 11 consecutive times at Memorial Stadium.
Clemson’s Top Individual Performances vs. Wake Forest
Quarterback: Tajh Boyd – 27-of-38 for 428 yards and 5 TDs, 2012 (Clemson won 42-13 at Wake)
Running back: Terrance Flagler – 22 carries for 209 yards, 2 TDs. Also caught two touchdowns and had 274 all-purpose yards, 1986 (Clemson won 28-20 at Wake)
Receiver: Sammy Watkins – 8 catches for 202 yards, TD, 2012 (Clemson won 42-13 at Wake)
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