Stats & Storylines: Tossing trouble away, Clemson offense wakes up |
Clemson was clinging to a tenuous 17-10 lead over Georgia Tech when they got the ball with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter. To that point, the offense was still mired in the struggles of 2021. After the first two plays of the drive, they were on the verge of a three-and-out. On third-down, freshman right tackle
Blake Miller got beat around the edge forcing QB
DJ Uiagalelei up in the pocket. Then the pressure came up the middle. Uiagalelei was being spun and pulled to the ground when he spotted
Will Shipley in the backfield and
tossed him the ball. Shipley reeled it in and scampered for a first down.
That play seemed to break Georgia Tech’s spirit and free the Tigers from their persistent offensive woes. Clemson scored on four of their final five possessions (three touchdowns) including that one and Clemson won, 41-10. Let’s break it all down in our first Stats & Storylines article of the season. DJ Uiagalelei: 210 passing yards, 19/32 (59.4%), 1 TD, 19 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 lost fumble; Cade Klubnik: 49 passing yards, 4/6 (66.7%), 1 TD, 4 rushing yards Uiagalelei played all but Clemson’s final drive and while he had some ups-and-downs, he was certainly better than last season. He sometimes didn’t see and decisively throw to open receivers, but his accuracy and running speed both looked markedly improved. He was also a much more willing runner. He posted 210 passing yards, which isn’t eye-popping, but it is a mark he only surpassed twice last season (at Louisville, vs. UConn). If he continues at this pace he would accumulate 2,730 passing yards, 13 passing TDs, 13 rushing TDs, and no INTs over 13 games. Across 13 games last season, he posted just 2,246 passing yards with 9 passing TDs, 10 INTs, and 4 rushing TDs. Cade Klubnik only got to play on one drive, but he smoothly led the offense down the field for a garbage time TD. His passes were extremely accurate, he was excellent passing on the move, and he made smart well-timed decisions. The future is bright with him. Hopefully, we get to see a little more against Furman next Saturday. Offensive Line Performance: three sacks allowed, 3.0 yards per carry rushing One thing we said all offseason was the play around Uiagalelei had to get better. Unfortunately, the offensive line struggles from a year ago continued. When Mason Trotter and Hunter Rayburn were lost over the offseason, I grew concerned. When Clemson announced Will Putnam was moving from guard to center to compensate, it felt like déjà vu from when they did the same with Bockhorst the year before. When they named true freshman Blake Miller the starter for the opener, it also felt like déjà vu from when they started Marcus Tate against Georgia. Despite all the rave reviews that came out of fall camp, the O-line surrendered three sacks and didn’t open up much in the run game as the running backs collected just 3.0 YPC. It left some feeling fooled. It is a shame the staff was unable to land an experienced interior line transfer. Hopefully, with a few games playing together at their new positions they can jell and elevate their game. Beaux Collins: 54 yards, 1 TD; Davis Allen: 45 yards; Antonio Williams: 37 yards Clemson’s pass-catchers came through with a few really nice plays, but also let their quarterback down on a handful of occasions. Beaux Collins was a bright spot in the first half, but had some drops later in the game. Joe Ngata and EJ Williams combined for just 2 catches and 15 yards. When the Tigers did not pursue a wide receiver in the transfer portal to help this beleaguered group, they were betting on this trio and need at least one of them to have a big season. On the bright side, Antonio Williams looked like the shifty slot receiver Clemson has been missing. The slot receiver spot seems to be in much better shape than last year when injuries ravaged them. Tight ends combined for 4 catches and 55 yards which can help take some pressure off the wide receivers. Nevertheless, the wide receiver play will need to improve. If Adam Randall can return in the next few weeks, perhaps that helps change the outlook for the group. Defense: 10 points allowed, 3.59 yards per play allowed The defensive line smothered the running game and spooked Georgia Tech’s offensive line into several false starts with their shifts and relentless pressure. The linebackers exhibited fantastic closing speed, and the secondary didn’t show any ill-effects from losing two All-ACC cornerbacks. The defense has reloaded. A couple players stood out to me as I watched: Andrew Mukuba, Barrett Carter, Trenton Simpson, and KJ Henry. Mukuba of course started the game with an interception and tallied five tackles on the night. Carter and Simpson showed off their speed and had eight tackles each including one tackle for loss by Carter. KJ Henry is my game MVP. He was a five-star recruit who really only started living up to that potential towards the end of last season. He has carried that momentum into this year. He had seven tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss (including 1 sack). Special Teams Mike Reed’s first game as the Special Teams Coordinator went exceptionally well. Clemson blocked two punts (Carson Donnelly and Wade Woodaz) putting Clemson in great field position for what turned into two touchdown drives. BT Potter was 2/2 on field goals. Aidan Swanson had six punts for an average of 44 yards with three pinned inside the 20-yard line. That was the best special teams day Clemson has had in many years. Georgia Looks Capable of Repeat, Florida Salvages ACC’s Weekend Georgia recruits extremely well, but after losing more talent than literally any defense has ever lost to the draft, I figured they’d take a big step back. If they did, it was hardly noticeable against a completely overmatched Oregon Ducks team. What was more apparent was that Georgia seems like they want to run a real offense now, and that’s downright scary. Last year, they relied on an all-time great defense to slowly boa-constrict their opponents circa Alabama pre-Tua Tagovailoa. If Oregon is actually good and this isn’t just a case of an overrated Week 1 opponent, perhaps Georgia is a legitimate threat to repeat. They were the most impressive team of the weekend even with Ohio State beating Notre Dame. Shortly after Georgia thrashed Oregon, Florida upended the Pac-12’s highest ranked team, Utah. It was not a banner week for the Pac-12, but things in the ACC threatened to get equally ugly for a while. Virginia Tech lost to Old Dominion… again. Boston College lost to Rutgers. Pittsburgh looked mediocre against West Virginia, but narrowly won after the Mountaineers elected to punt on 4th-and-inches in Pittsburgh territory. North Carolina surrendered 40 points in the fourth quarter, but staved off the insane comeback effort thanks to two failed two-point conversions from App State. NC State escaped Greenville, NC with a 21-20 win after the Pirates missed a PAT and field goal in the closing minutes. It took another missed PAT to save the ACC’s weekend though. Florida State and LSU had one of the most fun and memorable Week 1 games in ages. Jordan Travis lived up to the hype I gave him in my QB Rankings by throwing for 260 yards 2 TDs, 0 INTs, and running for 31 yards. They held a late fourth quarter 14-point lead, but LSU cut it to 7 points and then forced a punt. Things got crazy when LSU muffed the punt and FSU jumped on it. The Seminoles offense attempted a pitch which the running back mishandled and LSU got it back on their own 1-yard line with only 80 seconds remaining. The Tigers went all the way down the field and scored with no time remaining, but then allowed a rusher to get around the edge and block the game-tying PAT giving FSU a 24-23 win. Miami, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Duke took care of business in relatively comfortable wins so the ACC ended up going 7-2 in non-conference games. College football is back and it is crazy!
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
