Clemson's routine after wins in Winston-Salem is to celebrate with a bunch of fresh, Hot-and-Now Krispy Kreme donuts.
Go ahead and insert a joke about Dabo Swinney mandating that his secondary get theirs cold and later.
The Tigers were so bad in coverage in Saturday's 51-45 double-overtime win that it was almost fitting to see Nate Wiggins drop an interception on Sam Hartman's final heave to the end zone.
Become a subscriber at Tigerillustrated.com!
Go ahead and insert a joke about it being the first time all day Wiggins or any other corner actually turned their head to see the ball in the air, so maybe the object was too foreign for them to actually make the catch.
Wes Goodwin's defense will be the butt of plenty of jokes over the next week, and the object of a great deal of concern.
"We'll get this defense fixed," Dabo Swinney said afterward, a phrase that hasn't been uttered since the last time the defense looked this bad.
That would be when Kevin Steele said it more than a decade ago.
So much about Clemson four games in is not what anyone expected going in, yet another example that college football routinely punishes assumptions about players and teams.
The Tigers have found themselves a quarterback, that's for sure.
And the Tigers have found themselves some bonafide problems on the defensive side with Goodwin trying to replace icon Brent Venables.
Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on The West Zone message board!
The conventional notion about Clemson during the preseason was that the defense, returning gobs of talent at and near the line of scrimmage, would be able to carry an offense trying to piece together its confidence after a nightmare 2021 season.
Well, here we are and here's the read on this team in late-September:
The offense, showing explosiveness and extreme third-down poise thanks largely to DJ Uiagalelei, is capable of carrying a defense that's trying to figure it all out amid injuries, inexperience and some incomprehensible habits for giving up the big play.
Uiagalelei is probably owed an apology from the folks who were so eager to cut bait after seeing backup Cade Klubnik play well in garbage time at Georgia Tech in the opener.
Uiagalelei actually played pretty well in that game. But the message boards and social media weren't buying what Swinney and Brandon Streeter were selling when they said Uiagalelei was the clear starter.
Everyone is buying now.
Uiagalelei won a high-level shootout with Hartman, throwing for 371 yards and five touchdowns on a 26-of-41 clip while rushing for 52 yards on 14 carries.
The junior delivered clutch play after clutch play, including beautiful third-down balls for touchdowns to Beaux Collins and Davis Allen in the first and second overtimes, respectively.
Clemson was a remarkable 16-of-23 on third downs and piled up 559 yards on 86 plays.
And the defense, which once again came unglued on a bust that allowed for an easy touchdown throw from Hartman to A.T. Perry in the first overtime, did otherwise come up with huge stops late thanks largely to its defensive line.
Late in regulation, it felt like a miracle when the defense held and forced a short field goal after Wake drove deep into Clemson territory.
Non-football-related & off topics forum
Then they forced a punt on Wake's last possession in regulation when Tyler Davis decided he was going to take over the game.
And then in the second overtime Davis and interior mate Bryan Bresee created enough disruption to put Hartman and the Deacs' offense off schedule.
Hartman spent the day feasting on a secondary that was missing Andrew Mukuba, Sheridan Jones and Malcolm Greene.
Toriano Pride and Jeadyn Lukus simply weren't ready for that moment, which was understandable given that they're true freshmen.
Fred Davis, Wiggins and safety Jalyn Phillips also didn't seem fit for that moment, which was not understandable given that these were considered starter-quality players entering the season.
And we should also note that Wiggins was one of the biggest sensations of the offseason as various players and coaches said he was on the verge of being a superstar.
Saturday, he and Davis seemed on the verge of meltdowns after plays as they argued penalties and yelled toward the sideline about safety help that wasn't there.
Hartman threw for six touchdowns and 337 yards while completing 20 of 29 passes. That didn't count loads of pass-interference penalties as Clemson's defensive backs were often beaten at the line and were playing catch-up when the ball was in the air (Clemson totaled 10 penalties for 120 yards).
And when the corners were in good position, they almost never turned their heads to try to play the ball in the air.
Become a subscriber at Tigerillustrated.com!
Wake had 28 first downs to Clemson's 25. Neither team committed a turnover. Jahmal Banks totaled 141 receiving yards on six catches.
Clemson held the ball for more than 37 minutes and showed that it might be capable of carrying this team, and most certainly a defense that looked like nothing of recent vintage until the end.
Dave Clawson fell to 0-9 against Swinney after coming in thinking this was his best chance to knock off the big orange giant.
The 4-0 Tigers now come home for N.C. State, and whatever jokes you want to make about their defense.
Support our Military with Operation Hat Trick at The Tiger Fan Shop. SHOP HERE!
