Good, the Bad, and the really Ugly
Yesterday, Clemson went into Raleigh hoping to prove they were ready to come out of their offensive funk. They almost did. The 2nd drive of the game for the Tigers resulted in a Tiger touchdown. QB DJ Uiagalelei looked like the “Notre Dame game” quarterback from last year. 8 Drives later, the Tigers had 6 punts, an interception and a half ending drive and nothing to show for it. Behind 14-7, the Tigers drove down the field, much like the 2nd drive of the game, and put a touchdown on the board. That, folks, is the beginning and the end of the GOOD part of this piece.
The bad is going to be hard to distinguish between the UGLY. Four games into the season, the Tigers are 2-2 with loses to #2 Georgia and now to NC State. The Wolfpack are a good team, but make no bones about it, the Tigers are more talented. Yesterday, it didn’t show.
The offense still looks anemic. Against Georgia, the Tigers only had 180 total yards of offense, and did not put a touchdown on the board. Georgia Tech came to the Valley, and the Tigers managed a little better on offense, but only 14 points. Except for the two drives mentioned above, the Clemson offense was nowhere to be found. In regulation, the two scoring drives totaled 16 polays and 157 yards. Other than that, Clemson ran 28 plays for 37 yards. 28 plays for 37 yards. What is it? Is it the offensive line? Is it lack of making the right play calls? Is it that DJ is not ready for prime time? Is it a combination of all three? Granted, Clemson is trying to replace a #1 draft pick quarterback and a 1st round running back that was a machine. What is the answer? We as fans or media are not getting paid millions to fix the issues currently facing this Clemson offense. There are multiple coaches and about 70 players waking up this morning and getting back to work to try and resolve yesterday. Something is amiss with this Clemson offense.
Ugly is going to be in the eyes of the beholder. All you have to do is look at the numbers. This NC State team nickeled and dimed down the field all night. There was not one single stat sheet the Tigers won. FIrst downs, NCST 31 Clemson 10. 10!!!!!! Yards rushing 148 to 103 in favor of the Pack. Passing yards, 238 to 111. NC State ran 96 plays to 49 for the Tigers. 49! There was one stat Clemson beat the Pack on. penalties! The Tigers were penalized 13 times for 94 yards. Untimely offsides penalties resulted in several first downs when it seemed like the Tigers were close to getting the ball back. 31 first downs and 96 plays. To make matters worse, LB James Skalksi went out in the 1st half with a shoulder injury.
Plain and simple, Clemson was outplayed and outcoached. NC State is no slouch, bringing back all 11 starters on offense and 8 of 11 starters on defense, but something is not clicking on offense. Everyone knows it. Coach Swinney knows it. Coach Robbie Caldwell knows it. Coach Tony Elliott knows it. The College Football Playoffs are 99% out of the picture now. If the Tigers are to get to the ACC Championship game, they are going to need help with the Wolfpack. Wake Forest is playing very well and it may come down to being a Demon Deacon fan for one game. It was not a real good game for anyone wearing a Tiger paw yesterday, including the fans.
