CLEMSON -- Clemson grad Zach Thigpen crushed his guitar solos as the featured halftime guest.
That was about it for the pyrotechnics Saturday against Wake Forest.
The Tigers' offense certainly didn't provide many.
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If you want to say this group took a step back after all the progress shown the previous two weeks, you probably wouldn't be too far off.
Growing pains were evident in the sixth game of the season as the Tigers had to sweat out an onside kick with 1:34 left.
With special teams suffering its own problems on top of the offensive sputters, it's a good thing the defense came to play in this 17-12 victory that improved the Tigers' record to 4-2.
When Clemson took over at its 39 with 9:34 left in the game, the two teams had combined for 11 punts and 16 points.
Yeah, yuck.
After Will Shipley closed that possession with a touchdown to give Clemson some breathing room at 17-6 with 5:49 left, the Tigers' defense buckled some in allowing Wake to march down the field on an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.
But it was the defense that saved the Tigers' hide on this day, which began with no stress and a belief that Clemson would continue on an upward trajectory after its 31-14 win at Syracuse.
Before their late touchdown, the Demon Deacons had just six points to show for drives that ended at Clemson's 2-, 4-, 17-, 21- and 23-yard lines.
Clemson had two turnovers in Wake territory, including a fumbled exchange between Cade Klubik and Shipley that gave the Deacons possession at Clemson's 2.
But the defense kept Wake from scoring a point off those miscues, as the Tigers also buckled down after a fumbled second-quarter punt by Tyler Brown gave the Deacons the ball at Clemson's 31.
Klubnik threw for 131 yards on an 18-of-28 clip, and Clemson finally got its running game going after halftime by rushing for 167 of its 207 yards in the second half.
Shipley rushed for 97 yards on 19 carries, and Phil Mafah had 63 yards on nine attempts. Both backs broke free for carries of 21 yards in the second half to give the offense some life.
Klubnik added 48 yards on the ground to keep some drives alive.
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Clemson was 6-of-15 on third down and ran 70 total plays to 64 for Wake Forest.
The Tigers' defense had eight tackles for loss and four sacks, battering quarterback Mitch Griffis.
The Deacons totaled 239 yards and were 2-of-12 on third downs. Griffis passed for 137 yards on a 15-of-25 clip.
The Tigers had some dropped passes, but at least Hamp Greene corralled that onside kick late to avert a more frantic ending.
With the open date and the halfway point of the regular season now upon us, there will be plenty of time for everyone to debate whether the glass is half-empty or half-full.
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