October 1, 2026
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Freshman Tait Reynolds replaced an injured Christopher Vizzina at quarterback and threw for 178 yards and led five scoring drives as Clemson defeated Georgia Southern 22-7 on Saturday night following a two-hour lightning delay.
T.J. Moore had seven catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, and Nolan Hauser was 5 for 5 on field goal attempts for Clemson (1-1), which rebounded from a 51-10 thrashing at the hands of No. 11 LSU last week.
That loss, combined with a seventh-place finish in the ACC last year, left fans and former players frustrated with the Tigers’ sharp falloff under longtime head coach Dabo Swinney. Clemson’s win likely did little to inspire much confidence in new coordinator Chad Morris’ offense.
The Tigers (1-1), who were outgained by nearly 500 yards by LSU, finished with 345 yards but were 2 of 13 on third-down conversions and managed just one touchdown on five trips inside the red zone against the Sun Belt Conference foe.
“There are mistakes that we all made, and personally I made a lot," Reynolds said of his most extensive playing time since his junior year of high school. “But at the end of the day you can grow from it and get better from it. ... But it is what it is, and we got the win.”
Max Johnson, a North Carolina transfer, finished 27-of-47 passing for 244 yards and a touchdown for Georgia Southern (1-1).
Vizzina started the game for Clemson and connected on a 10-yard touchdown strike to Moore on the game's second possession, but was taken out after throwing an interception on the next series.
Swinney told the ACC Network at halftime that he planned to put Vizzina back in the game but that the quarterback “couldn't feel his left arm.”
Reynolds, who completed 16 of 27 passes, fumbled at the Georgia Southern 10 on his first possession, but regrouped to lead three first-half field-goal drives to give Clemson a 16-7 lead at the break.
The Eagles were able to stay close behind Johnson's 42-yard touchdown strike along the right sideline to Ashton Hollins — one of their few big plays on the day. But in the end, Georgia Southern just didn't have enough offense to support a strong defensive effort.
Hauser added field goals of 50 and 49 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
“There were a lot of tough circumstances,” said Georgia Southern linebacker J.R. Myles. “We had some turnovers, we had some three-and-outs, but at the end of the day that’s a football team. We lose together, we win together. So I think it’s just about having each other’s backs, which I felt like we really did.”
Reynolds said he has confidence that Clemson's offense will start scoring more touchdowns than field goals in the coming weeks.
“I'm extremely confident this team will get better,” Reynolds said. “We got some dudes, and we will put it together.”
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