Fact. Clemson got humbled against Notre Dame last Saturday night. Fact. QB DJ Uiagalelei did not have his best game, for the second game in a row. Fact. Coach Dabo Swinney has, as expected, taken all responsibility for his team’s performance. Fact. The Tigers are 8-1, ranked 12th, and headed to the ACC Championship game in December.
There is absolutely zero purpose in rehashing what happened last Saturday night. So, we won’t. Instead, we will go with what Dabo shared after the disappointing loss.
“The message is we are 8-1 (see my last fact). Not 5-3 or 4-4. Anything can happen. We lost in November of 2016. The world was over. We went back to work. You have no idea what life brings around the corner.”
The Tiger fan base can be ruthless at times, knee-jerk, angry, and downright brutal when the Tigers lose a game or even win a close game. You can only imagine the slams by NON-Clemson fans. One thing is clear, however. The man in charge is still the man in charge. It is his, and his staff’s responsibility to right the ship. What are the question marks most fans will look for to be answered?
The first one is obviously the lack of good quarterback play. Nevermind trying to compare either DJ Uiagalelei or Cade Klubnik to past quarterbacks. Instead, Dabo and OC Brandon Streeter have got to find some stable play for the offense to run efficiently. Two games in a row, Klubnik was inserted late in the game. The Syracuse game went well. The Notre Dame game? Not so much. Of course, the “fans” are calling out Dabo for this move. Once again, Dabo is in charge and doesn’t really bend to pressure from the fans.
The defense needs to start playing like the unit everyone was hyping pre-season. The talent is there. Is the “not on our homefield” mentality there somewhere? Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham is going to be a problem unless they can come together. Yes, the talent on the field has to make the actual tackles and defend the passes, but there are question marks with DC Wes Goodwin. As everyone has seen so far, in 9 games, this defense has not played up to its billing. It didn’t help that DE Xavier Thomas is lost for the season, but let’s be honest. He has only played in three games, logging 52 snaps with four tackles and two sacks. KJ Henry and Justin Mascoll have played very well in his place.
The secondary had given up 220+ yards passing in five straight games previous to the Syracuse game, but appears to have settled down. Notre Dame rushed for 263 yards against the Tigers, topping the 206 yards by FSU. What was the problem defending the ground game of the Irish? Scheme. Defensive sets. More likely, it was the “want” factor. Notre Dame simply wanted the game more.
Offensively, the Tigers must get some continuity. Last year, the Tigers struggled offensively through the first seven games. What changed in the final six games? The Tigers went to the run game and that might not be such a bad idea against Louisville. There needs to be a re-focus by the entire offense from play calling to the offensive line taking control to getting Will Shipley and Phil Mafah more involved. There is a lot to work on this week and the metal of this team is on trial.
Why does it feel like we are pulling people from the ledge and convincing “chicken little” that the sky is not falling? It was the worst game by a Clemson team in a long, long time and the “new” Clemson fans don’t have the history. “New” Clemson fans are those fans that only really remember the Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence years. Yes, there were the Tahj Boyd years, but he was involved in the 70-33 debacle back in 2012. When you consider that Clemson has 158 wins, 37 losses and 11 straight 10+ win seasons, most will put faith in his decision making and will turn the ship around after “ONE” loss. No, it wasn’t pretty but what loss is.
Fact. Dabo has this.
