Clemson offense confidence 'very high' going into ACC opener

Antonio Williams says NC State has Clemson's respect, as the Tigers look to start ACC play 1-0.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Wed Sep 18 11:32:28 GMT-04:00 2024

CLEMSON — Redshirt sophomore receiver Antonio Williams is ready for the Tigers’ first ACC matchup of the season, facing NC State this coming Saturday (noon/ABC). No. 21 Clemson is still riding on the energy and confidence from its 66-20 victory against Appalachian State in its home opener.

“I think our confidence is very high right now. We got a lot of momentum, but we got to handle the success just like how we handled the adversity of that first game,” Williams said. “We came in with a chip on our shoulder that Monday, just ready to work and ready to get that feeling out of our chest just of disappointment and that’s what we did. Now, having a game like that, we don’t want to get too high and think that we can’t be beat or that that’s going to happen every game just (because) we did it one time. So, just got to keep going.”

In Williams’ freshman year, Clemson won the ACC Championship. However, last year, they failed to make it to Charlotte with four ACC losses. That was without Williams on the field, though, as injury kept him out most of the season. In addition, last season was also the first year under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley’s offensive scheme. Now that junior quarterback Cade Klubnik and the rest of the offense have a year under their belt with Riley, things should be better this season. The win against the Mountaineers was the first step in the right direction and incredibly rewarding for Williams.

“Just rewarding from putting all the work in and coming back last year from that injury and then now just being 100 percent and hopefully staying that way and it’s just a blessing to be on that field every time, every game we have. So, just taking it game-by-game, day-by-day, and just enjoying it,” Williams said. “I just (knew) that we could do it. So, just to see us finally do it in a game. We’ve been doing it all camp against, probably, one of the best defenses in the country. So, I was disappointed in the first game … Now, I just feel like we expect to win. We should expect to win versus anybody we play. We can match up with anybody we play, and if we play our best, then we’ll be a tough team to beat.”

The Tigers have not lost to the Wolfpack at home since October 2002, when Tommy Bowden was Clemson’s coach. At that time, the Tigers were unranked, and NC State was No. 12 in the country. So, Clemson has a history of defending its home field against the Wolfpack. They have lost to NC State two of the past three years, with both defeats coming in Raleigh.

Even though NC State comes in unranked, Williams and the rest of the team know to take them seriously.

“They’re a great group. They have good guys on the outside and they’re a team that’s beat us two out of the last three years. So, they’re not scared of us. They don’t fear us, and they have a feeling that they can come in here and get the job done again,” Williams said. “So, we got to make the most of our opportunities when we’re given them and just be competitive and make those plays. They got No. 3 (graduate cornerback Aydan White). I don’t think he’s ever given up a touchdown. So, they got guys. But, we do too.”

For both teams, this will be their first game of conference play. No. 10 Miami is currently the highest-ranked team in the conference, and it will be important throughout this season for the Tigers to keep pace, given the level of competition throughout the ACC this season. The importance of this game for the season is not lost on Williams, as he wants the young players on this team to experience being conference champions as he did as a true freshman.

“We know that this game is very important if we want to get to Charlotte (because) if anyone needs a tiebreaker or whatever, we got to win this and just owning our conference and trying to win another ACC Championship,” Williams said. “The sophomores and freshmen haven’t got the chance to do that. So, just bringing that back.”