Jonathan Smith liked the efficiency he got from his offense in Oregon State’s 42-17 win over San Jose State to open the season.

Hard to find fault with six touchdowns in nine drives, right? The Beavers completely controlled things against a Spartan team that had, just a week prior, given USC some fits.

The Beavs won’t catch anyone by surprise with their brand of defense — or the quality within that unit. But the offense was a welcome breath of fresh air. There was a dynamic ability on display, a traditional smash-mouth run game that was paired with an efficient and explosive pass game.

In his Oregon State debut, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei became the first Beaver player with three passing touchdowns and two rushing scores in the same game since at least 1996.

“Thought he saw it well. Played with composure. Distributed the ball. Got us in the right run plays. Got us in a couple protection checks that were critical on some throws,” Smith said right after the game. “Without watching the tape, I thought he was really efficient.”

It’s probably not a coincidence that the thing that “plagued” Uiagalelei throughout his Clemson career was the thing Smith was so happy about in his Oregon State debut.

Clemson made Uiagalelei the scapegoat for its offensive issues. After a 28-7 loss to Duke to open the post-DJ U era on Monday night, that seemed a little more clear.

Clemson ended its six second-half possessions Monday night with two fumbles, two turnovers on downs, an interception, and a missed field goal. Quarterback Cade Klubnik was on the hook for two of the three giveaways.

One day prior, Uiagalelei completed 20 of his 25 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover. He added 10 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground.

Oregon State averaged 7.5 yards per play, doing whatever it wanted through the air or via the ground game.

The question, of course, was whether Uiagalelei just had a monster game in his debut or if this is the 2.0 version of him as a quarterback. Was that the same DJ U that Smith saw throughout camp?

“In ways. In the scrimmages, how efficient he was, going to the right spots with the ball,” Smith said Monday. “Yeah. From the scrimmage and just watching him operate.

“Again, this wasn’t just all him making plays. He had some great protection. The mix of the run and the pass. Guys making plays in the pass game. It was good to see.”