CLEMSON — Tait Reynolds got the most extensive playing time of his career in Clemson’s 22-7 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday night.

The true freshman entered on the Tigers’ fourth possession and made a pretty strong case for why he should get an opportunity to start next week when Clemson hosts North Carolina in the ACC opener.

While Reynolds was far from perfect, the rookie signal caller showed off his abilities several times throughout the night, finishing 16-of-27 for 178 yards, while also adding 38 rushing yards.

“It all comes back to the quarterback,” Reynolds said. “I just made a few mistakes tonight. It is what it is, though. We got the win. The defense did an amazing job. They were fun to watch. But we will get better from it.”

While the offense racked up 267 yards in the first half, things stalled out over the final two quarters as Reynolds and the Tigers mustered just 90 yards after halftime. A big part of the problem was the inability to extend drives as Clemson finished a dismal 2-of-14 in third downs.

Five different times the offense marched into the red zone but finished with just one touchdown to show for it. Nolan Hauser tied a career-high with five field goals, including a 50-yarder late.

Despite more struggles on the offensive side of the ball, Reynolds fully believes the Tigers will eventually get it sorted out. The former four-star recruit says this team has too much talent not to get it figured out.

“I am extremely confident. Extremely confident,” Reynolds added. “I am extremely confident this team can get better and improve. We got some dudes. We will put it together.”

For the second straight week, the offensive line had its share of struggles. There were four holding penalties, one of which was declined, and two false starts. Those are the kind of mistakes that put the offense behind the chains, making it more difficult to sustain drives.

With so much youth and inexperience up front, it is taking some time for the offensive line to gel, and getting all 11 guys on the offense on the same page has proven to be a challenge. But Reynolds insists this team is putting in the work and he is confident the Tigers will get there.

“That is the name of the game,” Reynolds said. “We are all giving great effort. That is the thing. We are all getting after it. We just have to kind of put it together, and again. we will get there. We will be good.”