The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Yesterday’s game with South Carolina State went as expected. The Bulldogs came into Death Valley knowing it was going to turn out well on the field, but left with a nice paycheck. It was a good game for both teams, in a way. Clemson was able to find their rhythm, so to speak, in their run game and be able to hit someone else besides each other. In other words, a glorified scrimmage. The Bulldogs got to play against one of the best teams in the country and will be better in the long run. Clemson is the best team on their schedule.
Let’s get to the Good since there was so much of it. First off, the Tigers played 100+ players in the game. I think I saw a couple of cheerleaders suiting up there in the 4th quarter. Coach Dabo Swinney rewards hard work, when he can, As a matter of fact, the TIgers played 77 players in the 1st half alone. The running game produced 242 yards on 36 attempts with freshman Will Shipley leading the way with 80 yards on 8 carries and his first two touchdowns in a CLemson uniform. Kobe Pace chipped in 68 yards on only 7 carries and a touchdown. No, this wasn’t the Georgia Bulldog defense but then again, neither are the 10 teams left on Clemson’s schedule. This game was important in the sense that the Tigers needed to put the emphasis back on the run game, and they did just that.
13 different WR’s got a reception, with Justyn Ross, Joseph Ngata and Beaux Collins leading the way with 3 each. It’s what’s called a “spread around day”, which is usually what happens in almost every Clemson game.
Two specific things stood out to me in the game. QB Taisun Phommachanh played well considering he has just recently returned from what looked to be a season ending injury. He completed 7 of 10 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. He showed good arm strength and will get better as the season goes along. QB/WR/Punt Returner Will Taylor is fast. Taylor took over the punt return duties and electrified the crowd with a 51 yard return at one point. The reaction of the crowd to that return alone was probably well worth not sitting on a minor league baseball bus headed to some small town to play a baseball game.
Defensively, so many people played, it’s amazing the defensive coaches were able to keep track of who was in and who was out. A week ago, LB James Skalski led the team in total tackles with 14. The leading tackler today was freshman LB Jeremiah Trotter, Jr, with 5 total tackles. In all, 29 Tigers got in on at least one tackle. The aforementioned Skalski was in long enough to get 3 total tackles. It’s called building depth.
It’s hard to find a lot of bad in a 49-3 victory but having three turnovers to a team like SCST can’t happen against the UNC’s and VT’s of the league. QB DJ Uiagalelei’s interception was simply a bad pass that was tipped up in the air and picked off. By the time Phommachanh got into the game, the victory was well in hand but turnovers are still turnovers and it’s a head coach’s nightmare.
The Tigers appeared to play “casual” at times on offense. The fumble by RB Michel Dukes off a screen pass was a matter of just not protecting the ball. No one wants to fumble, don’t get me wrong, but when you’re playing the caliber team of a SC State, it’s easy to just go through the motions. Uiagalelei did not look his sharpest. He completed 14 of 24 for 171 yards, 1 touchdown and the before mentioned interception off a tipped pass. He still looked a little unsure of himself and appeared to lock in on one guy. This too will improve as the season goes on. It is hard building chemistry between quarterback and receiver, especially when the Tigers runs WR’s in and out as often as they do.
A lot was accomplished today. The defense did not allow a TD for the second game in a row. A lot of kids saw the field. Today’s mission was a success. There are still things to work on but this team will continue to work hard and get better as the season goes on. The rest of the ACC better be ready for this hungry Tiger team.
