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 73-7 victory over South Carolina State.
Quarterback: A
Clemson’s quarterbacks combined to throw for 467 yards, one shy of the school record 468 set at Syracuse last year. Cole Stoudt completed 22 of 31 passes for a career-high 301 yards and a touchdown, while backup Deshaun Watson threw for 154 yards and threw three scores as he completed 8 of 9 throws. Even third-string quarterback Nick Schuessler got in the act with a 2-for-2 day for 11 yards. Stoudt’s touchdown pass was a 37-yard throw to wide receiver Artavis Scott, while Watson threw a 34-yard pass to Jay Jay McCullough for one of his three scores. The freshman also had touchdown passes of seven and eight yards to Charone Peake and Scott.
Running back: A-
The running game was solid and very efficient as four runners had at least 43 yards, while four different players scored a touchdown in the blowout victory. Freshman Wayne Gallman led the way with 77 yards, while true freshman Adam Choice had 74 yards. Choice, D.J. Howard, C.J. Davidson and wide receiver Adam Humphries all scored touchdowns. Backup running back Kurt Fleming rushed for 49 yards and had a nice 30-yard run, but his fourth quarter fumble led directly to a touchdown by S.C. State.
Wide receivers & tight ends: A
Scott set a freshman record with 164 yards and two touchdowns off six catches to lead all wide receivers. The freshman had a 37-yard touchdown catch from Stoudt and took a screen pass from Watson and turned it into a 69-yard catch and run that set up a field goal. He later caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Watson. Mike Williams continues to be the most consistent receiver as he had four catches for 83 yards, including a 39-yard catch-and-run. Peake made a nice one-handed catch for his second touchdown this year and had four catches overall. Tight end Jay Jay McCullough caught three passes for 61 yards, including his down the side line catch from Watson in the third quarter. Fellow tight end Jordan Leggett also had two catches for 25 yards. There were no dropped passes charged to a wide receiver or tight end.
Offensive line: A
It’s hard to tell until watching the film exactly how well the offensive line did on Saturday, but from the naked eye, they looked much better than they did the week before. Jay Guillermo got the start at center instead of Ryan Norton and the sophomore played well. Right tackle Joe Gore looked more comfortable as well. At one point, line coach Robbie Caldwell mixed and matched his lines as he put Kalon Davis at left tackle, David Beasley at left guard, Norton at center, Guillermo at right guard and Eric Mac Lain at left tackle. The Tigers averaged 5.3 yards per rush and 7.9 yards per play. The quarterbacks were sacked one time and there was no real pressure put on Stoudt or Watson other than that.
Defensive line: A
Clemson got Corey Crawford back this week and started DeShawn Williams at the other defensive tackle position. The defensive line was responsible for six of the Tigers’ 14 tackles for loss, including two by reserve defensive end Shaq Lawson. The Tigers had four sacks overall with Lawson and Vic Beasley having one each. The defensive line played a big role in why the S.C. State averaged only 0.2 yards per rush.
Linebacker: A
The tackling was much better this week from all the linebackers that got to play. Five of the Tigers top six tacklers came from the linebacker position. Stephone Anthony led the way with four tackles and had two tackles for loss, while B.J. Goodson recorded one. Korrin Wiggins, Tony Steward and T.J. Burrell also had a tackle for loss.
Secondary: A
We still don’t really know anything about the secondary after two games because Georgia’s and S.C. State’s quarterbacks are not exactly Peyton Manning, and there was no Jerry Rice at wide receiver. But what we do know is what we have seen and so far this group has played well. S.C. State’s quarterbacks combined to go 12 of 25 for just 37 yards on Saturday. Free safety Jayron Kearse had two passes broken up, while fellow free safety Jadar Johnson intercepted a pass and returned 60 yards for a touchdown.
Special Teams: A-
There were no punts, the kickoff coverage was very much improved, especially the tackling, and kicker Ammon Lakip made all three field goal attempts, including one from 38 yards. The only blemish came when backup kicker Corbin Jenkins missed an extra point following Choice’s four-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Coaching: A
Granted it was South Carolina State so let’s keep things in the proper perspective. But what you liked seeing from the Clemson team on Saturday was its attitude. They came out mad and they took out all of their frustration on S.C. State and beat an inferior team the way they should have. If you really watched the game, you saw improvement at every position. The offensive line’s effort was much better and there did not seem to be many missed assignments. The defense also played much better as there were few missed tackles. The hunger was also there on offense and defense. The offense was determined to score on every possession and was never forced to punt the ball, while the defense did not allow an offensive score and scored themselves as well. The coaches really put it on the players last week in practice as a lot of guys said the intensity was much higher than it has been in other weeks.