By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
Each week we take a look back at what the Clemson Tigers did right and what they did wrong on the gridiron as we grade the Tigers’ performance at every position in Saturday’s 27-17 loss to South Carolina.
Quarterbacks
Grade: F
Tajh Boyd’s worse two games as a quarterback has come against the Gamecocks. It seems as if Jadeveon Clowney and company are in his head. South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said following the game they knew if they could take away Boyd’s first read and make him go through his progressions he would not fully go through them and would try to run with the football instead. He said this allowed Clowney and the rest of the defensive front to have enough time to get to him. Boyd was sacked six times, five by Clowney, threw two interceptions and completed just 11 of 24 passes for 183 yards.
Running backs
Grade: A
Andre Ellington and Roderick McDowell did well. Ellington rushed for 72 yards on 13 carries for a 4.8 yard average, while Roderick McDowell rushed for 47 yards on three carries. But, for some reason Chad Morris went away from the running game, which was effective enough and was slowly down South Carolina’s pass rush early.
Wide receivers/ Tight ends
Grade: D
What happened to DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins in the second half? The two combined for only five catches for 80 yards on the night, but Watkins had the only two catches of the second half for 14 yards. Hopkins dropped two passes that would have gone for solid gains. Also, Clemson’s wide receivers had a hard time getting off the line of scrimmage. Like Florida State, the South Carolina secondary was more physical and won the battle by knocking Clemson’s receivers off their routes and messing up the timing of their plays.
Offensive line
Grade: F
Six sacks. What else is there to say? Clowney had his way with Clemson all night long. The Tigers had no answer for him as he set a Memorial Stadium sack record with 4.5, while also recording seven tackles. Clowney said after the game that South Carolina will not lose to Clemson while he is there. Well, he has at least one more season to go, and if he plays the way he has played in his first two games against Clemson, it’s hard to argue that. It was not all bad for the Clemson front, the Tigers averaged 6.03 yards per carry on true running plays. Plus, it lost its leader and captain, center Dalton Freeman, to a groin injury halfway through the third quarter.
Defensive line
Grade: C
The Clemson defensive front played a good game, overall. The Tigers held the Gamecocks to 2.97 yards per carry and sacked quarterback Dylan Thompson three times and applied necessary pressure at times. But they also lost containment on the quarterback and let Thompson, who isn’t known for his running skills, gain big chunk yards on crucial third downs by scrambling.
Linebackers
Grade: D
Early in the game the linebackers were playing well, then they suddenly forgot to cover the running back in the flats, twice allowing USC to get out of third-and-long situations with little dump downs that turned into big gains for Kenny Miles and Mike Davis. Along with the defensive line, they were also responsible for Thompson, who twice ran off left tackle for good gains on the zone-read. Thompson also broke containment and ran up the middle for easy yards when he scrambled.
Secondary
Grade: D
It wasn’t so much the secondary as it was the scheme. Clemson had too big of a cushion all night on the USC receivers and Thompson took what they gave him as he dinked-and-dunked the football for the tune of 310 yards. Of course, defensive coordinator Brent Venables probably stayed with this scheme because he more than likely didn’t trust his safeties on the back side of the play should his corners get beat in man coverage. Clemson did not allow any big plays this week, but they were demoralized every time South Carolina picked up a first down on third-and-long. Also, Clemson dropped what should have been three interceptions, two by Xavier Brewer and one by Garry Peters. Brewer did have a nice interception in the end zone to prevent a score and also had a career-high 12 tackles and a sack.
Special Teams
Grade: B
The Special teams played okay, but it did do anything that really helped the Tigers, but it did not do anything that cost them either. Chandler Catanzaro finished the regular season by making 16 of 17 field goals, including a 37-yard kick in the third quarter to keep the Tigers close. Spencer Benton averaged 41.6 yards on five punts and twice pinned the Gamecocks inside their 20. Ace Sanders did get a 30-yard punt return on the first punt, but USC got nothing out of it and he was unable to return another punt the rest of the night.
Coaching
Grade: D
Clemson came out with a good game plan and the team seemed prepared to play, but when South Carolina adjusted to what the Tigers were doing on both offense and defense, it appeared as if the Clemson coaches could never get it together. The defense could not get off the field in the second half as USC possessed the football for 23 minutes and 19 seconds. USC was 7 of 12 on third down in the second half and picked up fourth down plays, one with a run and another thanks to a pass interference penalty. On offense, the Tigers gained 163 yards and scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, but after Hopkins 43-yard scoring catch, the offense managed 165 yards the rest of the game. Also, in the second half, Clemson went away from a running game that was averaging 6.03 yards per carry.