Encouraging signs in smoother-than-usual Clemson win

Clemson had plenty of bright spots in the win at Syracuse.

by Ryan Kantor - Contributor - Mon Oct 02 07:00:06 GMT-04:00 2023

The Tigers enjoyed a role reversal as Syracuse’s two lost fumbles and missed field goal allowed Clemson to take a 21-7 halftime lead on Saturday. Clemson’s defense was excellent, surrendering just one long scoring drive, with the Orange’s only other points coming after a Jake Briningstool fumble. Clemson’s offense wasn’t dominant (389 total yards), but they played a clean game aside from the lost fumble. That was enough for a comfortable 31-14 win.

A week after receiving a lot of criticism, Wes Goodwin’s defense wreaked havoc on Syracuse, tallying five sacks. TJ Parker and Barrett Carter each had big games. Parker had two sacks and now leads the Tigers with three on the season. He posted an excellent 83.1 PFF grade. Barrett Carter posted a strong 76.3 PFF grade and was flying to the ball all day, collecting 1.5 tackles for loss and squashing any hope of Syracuse finding yards on the perimeter. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. had some early struggles, including a dropped interception, but made several key plays later in the game, including the game-sealing interception.

On offense, the Tigers struggled to run the ball, which was surprising given how well they ran it against Florida State. Shipley averaged just 3.4 yards per carry while posting a low 56.2 PFF grade. Phil Mafah was also quiet most of the day but exhibited patience and burst on a 32-yard TD run immediately following the Trotter interception. That gave him a total of 43 yards on eight carries.

Cade Klubnik threw for 263 yards with two TDs and no turnovers. He was very accurate, especially on the run, and used his legs to extend plays and manage the pocket. He found his favorite target, Tyler Brown, nine times for a whopping 153 yards. The freshman from Greenville is emerging as Clemson’s best target in the passing game, especially with Antonio Williams injured.

Clemson’s best WR in 2021 was true freshman Beaux Collins.

Clemson’s best WR in 2022 was true freshman Antonio Williams.

Clemson’s best WR in 2023 might be true freshman Tyler Brown.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 30, 2023

Troy Stellato had four receptions for 37 yards and a TD. He is also emerging as a valuable target for the passing game. Beaux Collins scored a long 47-yard TD on a great double-move but otherwise had a quiet day with just one other catch and a few pass interference calls drawn.

Having Brown and Stellato emerge has been a Godsend, as the players that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and receivers coach Tyler Grisham were originally expecting to carry the load generally have not. Entering the year, Swinney said the five wide receivers he was counting on were: Beaux Collins, Antonio Williams, Adam Randall, Cole Turner, and Brannon Spector. Collins is averaging 3.8 receptions and 58 yards per game. Antonio Williams is out with an injury. Adam Randall had no receptions on just seven snaps against Syracuse and has 78 yards on the year. Cole Turner is out for the season, and Brannon Spector has two receptions for nine yards on the year.

With Walker Parks out for the season (ankle/foot), Mitchell Mayes (53 snaps) and Trent Howard (27 snaps) manned the right guard position. They had some ups-and-downs, but Mayes ended his day on a high note with a great pull and block that propelled Mafah on his 32-yard run. They’ll need to find more consistency at right guard moving forward.

Senior season cut short, I’ll be back next year 🫡 pic.twitter.com/JMbacdOILy
— walker (@walkerparks64) October 1, 2023

Clemson entered the game with five lost fumbles on the year. Only Troy (7) and Louisiana (6) had more. After Briningstool’s fumble, they’ve lost six. Additionally, the kicking game continues to be a sore spot as Jonathan Weitz went 1-for-2. He and Gunn are now a combined 3-8. So, there are definitely some issues on offense and special teams that need to be fixed. Fortunately, the defense looks to be one of the better units in the ACC, and the offense and special teams should have some time to fix their issues. Wake Forest comes to town next week, and maybe the weakest opponent left on the schedule. Then it's an open date before the schedule toughens with back-to-back road games (Miami and NC State) before the big home game against Notre Dame.

Overall, the performance at Syracuse wasn’t perfect, but a resounding win in the JMA/Carrier Dome – where most Clemson games have tended to be a lot more stressful – is an encouraging step in the right direction.