Remember last year when it felt like Clemson needed a miracle to reach 30 points?

The Tigers didn't do it against an FBS team until the second-to-last day of October, against Florida State.

Remember when DJ Uiagalelei looked like he couldn't complete a forward pass, and didn't look fit or willing to make things happen with his legs?

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It's all about perspective and context as we're evaluating the 2022 version of Clemson's offense, and the man piloting it.

Anyone who thought they'd come out and look like the 2018 version hasn't been paying much attention.

Clemson cracked 40 points in the opener. Uiagalelei showed real signs of progress, real signs that he can give this offense what it needs at the quarterback position.

Was the offense or Uiagalelei perfect? Heck no.

But when your defense and special teams are playing like this, you can take some time to grow an offense and a quarterback who are trying to gain confidence and cohesion.

Clemson overcame a shaky first half to pull away from Georgia Tech for a 41-10 victory over Georgia Tech in its season opener on Labor Day at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The defense was frothing, as everyone anticipated.

Special teams came up with two huge punt blocks, by Carson Donnelly and Wade Woodaz, to set up the offense for short-field touchdowns.

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The only real surprise of the night was that Clemson's offensive line did not have its way with Georgia Tech's defensive front. The Tigers finished with just 127 yards on the ground, not what was expected during camp when the offensive line generated hope that this offense would boast a punishing running game.

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But really, that allowed Uiagalelei to find his way out of some early struggles and make the offense's most important plays of the night.

You could argue that the receivers' gaffes were more glaring than Uiagalelei's first-half fumble, a dropped snap and a sack.

Had Beaux Collins brought in two perfectly placed balls by Uiagalelei in the fourth quarter, the junior quarterback's stat line would've looked even better. E.J. Williams also dropped a perfect throw from Uiagalelei.

Uiagalelei finished with 209 passing yards and a touchdown on a 19-of-32 clip and had 28 yards and a score on the ground.

He did much of his damage on third down:

Late in the first half, he helped the offense shake free from its funk in guiding the offense down the field and then connecting with Collins on a roll-out for a touchdown on third-and-goal from the 6. That helped give Clemson a 14-3 halftime cushion.

In the second half, the pressure was on after Georgia Tech drove for a score to trim it to 14-10. Clemson faced third-and-10 after two plays, and a Uiagalelei throw to Dacari Collins drew an interference penalty that extended the drive. The Tigers ended up kicking a field goal to make it 17-10.

And on the next drive, Uiagalelei provided what might've been the play of the game. On third-and-4 from Clemson's 32, he faced immediate pressure and had nowhere to go. But he saw Will Shipley free on his right and flipped the ball to him underhanded. Shipley ran for a first down, and Clemson went on to reach the end zone on a 9-yard run by Uiagalelei.

Early in the fourth quarter, the game was still in doubt and the offense faced a third-and-5. Uiagalelei benefited from good protection and made a beautiful throw to Davis Allen on a corner route to move the chains.

A few moments later, he made a perfect opposite-hash throw to Beaux Collins on third-and-6 that Collins couldn't bring in. Not long after that, he lofted a beautiful back-shoulder throw to Collins in the end zone that Collins couldn't catch.

The sequences seemed to affirm what Dabo Swinney has been saying for a while now about Uiagalelei: The quarterback needs to be better, but so do the guys around him.

Clemson finished with 386 yards and 22 first downs and was 7-of-16 on third down.

Georgia Tech totaled 237 yards and was 2-of-16 on third down.

Cade Klubnik came on late to lead an impressive touchdown drive in garbage time.

But there will be no quarterback controversy moving into the next two home games.

Uiagalelei wasn't perfect, but he was sure as heck better than most of what we saw last year.

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