By Will Vandervort.

ATHENS, Ga. — 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 45-21 loss to No. 12 Georgia.

Quarterback: C

The statistics for Cole Stoudt and Deshaun Watson are not great, but they are not bad either. They are what they are, they were average. To be fair, they were average in large part due to the play calling in the second half when the offense lived inside its 20-yard line. In the first half Clemson completed five passes of 21 or more yards and none in the second half. Though Stoudt completed 6 of 8 passes in the second half, they netted just 15 yards, which turned out to be all the offense managed in the last 30 minutes. Stoudt finished the game 15 of 28 for 130 yards and an interception, while Watson 2-4 for 59 yards, which included a 30-yard touchdown pass to Charone Peake, which just slide by the ear of linebacker Ramik Wilson.

Running back: C

Like the quarterbacks, the play of the running backs was very average, too, especially considering who they had to share the field with on Saturday night. C.J. Davidson rushed for 66 yards and scored on one yard touchdown run and clearly looked like the No. 1 tailback. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry. D.J. Howard rushed for 28 yards and scored a touchdown, but h averaged 2.5 yards per carry, while Wayne Gallman had one carry for five yards and caught two passes for 17 more. He might have had more had he not slipped on a third-and-long play which would have given Clemson a first down at the time.

Wide receivers and tight ends: C

Mike Williams caught three passes for 88 yards, all in the first half. He was not even targeted in the second half. Artavis Scott made a great catch in the second quarter for 35 yards and he finished the game with two for 41, but he too was not targeted in the second half. Adam Humphries did catch five passes, but he gained just 11 yards. As for the tight ends, they were targeted once and that came in the fourth quarter.

Offensive line: D

In the first half the Tigers rushed for 102 yards on 31 carries and Stoudt and Watson were sacked just once. Centers Ryan Norton and Jay Guillermo both had issues with their snaps. In the second half Stoudt and Watson were sacked four more times, while the O-line was called for two holding penalties. The Tigers ran the ball 13 times for no yards in the second half. The Clemson coaches were mixing and matching players such as Norton at guard just to see if they could find the match on the line. Tackles Isaiah Battle and Joe Gore did okay until Georgia knew Clemson was in obvious passing situations and came at the Tigers’ quarterbacks.

Defensive line: D

Look, in my opinion, this loss is on the offense. The defense was on the field for 19 minutes in the second half and it was hot, humid and sticky and they just wore down up front. It was obvious how tired the defensive front was as they got pushed around by a very physical offensive line in the fourth quarter. Georgia running back Todd Gurley and his other partners in the backfield were busting through gaping holes on the left side of the line and then running over people on the toss sweep to the right. Also, defensive end Vic Beasley and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett were held in check all night long and seldom had their names called.

Linebackers: D

It’s hard of the linebackers to have a good game when the defensive line does not have one. Though Stephone Anthony had eight tackles and he made some good ones at times, he also had some missed tackles. He also got schooled on Gurley’s 18-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Tony Steward also had eight tackles, but he also missed a few tackles as well. Steward and Anthony combined for only tackle for loss. Georgia rushed for 211 yards in the fourth quarter alone and had touchdown runs of 18, 47 and 51 yards on consecutive offensive plays.

Secondary: C

In all fairness, the secondary did not have to do much because Georgia did not pass the ball much. Hutson Mason did not really go deep as he completed 18 of 26 passes for 131 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. However, Martin Jenkins and safety Jadar Johnson were called for pass interference penalties on back-to-back plays in the second quarter. Safeties Robert Smith (10) and Jayron Kearse (8) led the Tigers in tackles. Smith also had a tackle for loss and broke up a pass in the end zone.

Special Teams: F

Georgia returned a kick 100 yards for a touchdown. Ammon Lakip missed a 35-yard field goal that cost the Tigers three points and Bradley Pinion struggled with his punts in the first half, which allowed Georgia to win the battle of field position. In all, Georgia started at its own 43 Saturday night, while Clemson started at its own 19. Gurley’s 100-yard kickoff returned really flipped the momentum because it came right after Clemson fought its way back in front, 21-14, midway through the second quarter.

Coaching: C

It was obvious in the first half, the Tigers came out ready to play and were focused and dialed in as the took the opening possession and marched 70 yards in 12 plays to take an early 7-0 lead. The defense then got a three-and-out. Clemson stayed focused for the most part the rest of the half and that goes to the coaching. But special teams breakdowns is a part of coaching, too and Lakip’s missed field goal and Gurley’s 100-yard kickoff return was a 10 point difference in the score and it’s one that has to fall on the coaches’ shoulders. In the second half, the Tigers played awful on offense and on defense and it showed as Georgia scored 31 unanswered points to get the win. It was obvious, the Tigers wore down both mentally and physically in the second half and that is a reflection of coaching. After the way the game ended, it’s hard to imagine that Clemson trailed 24-21 with a little more than 13 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.