By Heath Bradley.

By Heath Bradley

In this feature we will take a look at a play Clemson used to score in last week’s victory over Maryland, detailing the formation, how the defense reacted, and what the Tigers did to find the end zone.

In the second installment of this feature, we will discuss the Tigers third scoring play, a 28-yard pass from Tajh Boyd to DeAndre Hopkins to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead with 2:42 remaining in the first quarter. The Tigers went on to defeat the Terrapins 45-10 to move their record to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the ACC with the NC State Wolfpack visiting Death Valley Saturday afternoon.

After both teams exchanged fumbles in a period of three plays, the Tigers gained possession of the ball just shy of midfield at their own 47-yard line. On first down Andre Ellington was only able to gain two yards leaving the Tigers with second-and-eight just short of Maryland territory. Second down was not kind to the Tigers as Boyd missed an open Watkins deep down the middle, leaving Clemson with a third-and-long situation. Boyd delivered on third down, hitting DeAndre Hopkins across the middle for a gain of 12 yards to the Maryland 39-yard line and a first down.

Once again on first down the Tigers ran Ellington, and once again Ellington gained two yards. However, this time on second down Boyd hit an open Sam Cooper for a gain of seven yards. Boyd then used his legs to pick up the first down, rushing for a gain of two yards, setting Clemson up with a first down on the Maryland 28-yard line.

With the ball on the right hash, the Tigers lined up with Hopkins and Jaron Brown out to each side, accompanying Brown on the right side of the formation at receiver was Adam Humphries who was lined up off of the line of scrimmage. The backfield featured Boyd and Howard side by side, as well as Cooper lined up behind Gifford Timothy at the three-position.

Before the snap Boyd brought Humphries in motion, a motion that saw Humphries continue behind Boyd as the play progressed. After faking the hand off to Howard, Boyd dropped back and hit a streaking DeAndre Hopkins for a 28-yard touchdown.

The success of this play can be credited to the ability of the Tigers to run the ball out of this formation earlier in the drive. After success running the football, the safeties began to creep up in anticipation of the run, allowing Hopkins to get behind the secondary for an easy throw and catch.

As the Tigers take on NC State and a talented player like David Amerson in the secondary, it will be key for Boyd to be able to draw the secondary in with good play fakes. This will only be possible if the Tigers can also have success running the ball.

Expect the Tigers to continue to use a good balance of running and passing out of each formation to keep the defense off balance.