After Clemson’s 24-10 victory over Cal this past Friday night, former Clemson standout and current ACC Network analyst Eric Mac Lain identified what he sees as the overarching positives from the team’s gritty cross-country road win.

Speaking on the Gramlich & Mac Lain podcast, Mac Lain began by highlighting Clemson’s stifling defensive execution, focusing on the performance in the secondary and trenches.

Mac Lain lauded how the defense shut down Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and smothered both the passing game and ground game. Sagapolutele went 16-of-29 passing for 119 yards – his fewest yards in 17 career starts — and was intercepted twice.

The Golden Bears rushed for only 86 yards and did not score an offensive touchdown in the contest.

“The biggest overarching positive – I think there’s two. The defense was sick,” Mac Lain said. “They were unbelievable. Specifically looking at this pass defense. [Clemson defensive coordinator Tom Allen] had [Sagapolutele] in hell. That dude couldn’t do anything. … Forcing him [into] two picks, and taking away – it wasn’t like bad plays. It wasn’t tips. It was great defensive plays. [Cornerback] Ashton Hampton is just a monster. That dude’s going to be a top-15 pick, maybe better. So big, so strong. As sticky as it gets in coverage. Sacked him twice as well.

“I still need more – and I’m spoiled, right – the defensive lines I went against, the defensive lines shortly after. I have really high expectations for what a Clemson defensive line should be. But just seeing those guys get pressure up the middle, I love that. [Defensive end] London Merritt, awesome. Seeing him rise up, that was really cool. I thought [defensive end] Will Heldt did some really good things. Never got quite home, but did some really good things there. … I thought [linebacker] Jeremiah Alexander was making some big plays. That was fun to see. Because to me, he looks the part, and I’m just ready for him to kind of go off there.

“So, defensively, loved it. And again, [Sagapolutele’s] worst day by far in his life, ever. They held him absolutely in check. Shut the run game down. … Just a really great effort from the defense, and I really, really like that.”

As for Mac Lain’s second overarching positive from the game, he pointed to Clemson’s dominance on the ground, praising the team’s commitment to a tough rushing attack.

Mac Lain specifically gave major props to Gideon Davidson and raved about the sophomore running back, who led the charge with a standout 159-yard, two-touchdown performance as the Tigers piled up 255 rushing yards overall on 49 carries.

Davidson’s second score, a 75-yard run with 2:58 remaining, sealed the win.

“The second overarching thing is Gideon Davidson is a monster,” Mac Lain said. “I really wanted to see him get more stuff last year. I thought they could develop him and get him the ball, to this point where it would just be bang, like go. Like, this dude is a superstar right now, and you’ve seen, Clemson kind of had to ease into it. And we’re seeing by Game 4, really Game 3 and 4, he’s feeling it. This dude is good. And his vision, his pace, his explosive nature – like, that 75-yard touchdown, kind of game-sealer, if you will.

“That last drive where he had that long touchdown was five plays, 98 yards, and Gideon Davidson was all 98 of those yards. I know he had the big chunk at the end, but he was just doing it. And that’s kind of what Clemson shifted to in the second half – run, run, run, run, run, which I’m cool with. Like, you gotta do what you gotta do, and that was great. Gideon played really, really well. 159 yards, two touchdowns. That was super fun to see, for me, as he continues to get better. He’s a great player.”

After getting blown out 51-10 by LSU in the season opener, Clemson (3-1, 2-0 ACC) has bounced back with three straight wins, gaining momentum heading into Saturday’s huge home ACC matchup against the fourth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (4-0, 2-0).  

Mac Lain knows it will be a major test for the Tigers and will truly reveal how far they’ve come since the season-opening defeat.  

Mac Lain pointed out that Clemson has already responded better this season to the season-opening loss than the Tigers did last year after losing the opener to LSU (1-3 start en route to an eventual 7-6 record).

“To see the response from a year ago’s team versus this team is dramatically different, and that’s a good thing,” Mac Lain said. “So, we’ll see. But like I said, really big test this weekend. Cannot wait to be there in person. Night game in The Valley. I think the best team in the country, the Miami Hurricanes, coming to town, and we’ll find out. Literally from Game 1 to Game 5 here, we’ll find out how much progress has truly been made.”