By Will Vandervort.
We take a look back at what the Clemson Tigers did right and what they did wrong in their 50-35 victory over North Carolina on Saturday night in Death Valley.
Quarterback: A
Deshaun Watson threw for six touchdowns in his first career start. He is the first quarterback in Clemson history to throw six touchdowns passes in a game. He is also the first freshman quarterback in ACC history to throw for six touchdowns. Watson threw for a freshman-record 435 yards in the game. The total ranks second in Clemson history for single-game passing yards, regardless of class, to only Tajh Boyd, who threw for 455 yards at Syracuse last season. Additionally, it is the second-most passing yards in a quarterback’s first start in ACC history. By the way, Watson completed 27 of 36 passes.
Running backs: D
North Carolina dared Deshaun Watson and he did. The Tar Heels were content to sell out on the running game and see if the freshman quarterback would make mistakes. But with that said, the Tigers need to get more production out of their running game. No running back ran for more than 31 yards and the longest run of the day by a Clemson running back was 12 yards.
Wide receivers and Tight ends: A
I can’t remember a pass that was dropped, plus there were two guys—Germone Hopper and Mike Williams—that had over 100 yards receiving and three different guys caught touchdown passes. Hopper finished the game with a game-high 139 yards on three catches with two touchdowns. Williams finished the game with six catches for 122 yards and two scores. Artavis Scott had a game-high eight catches for 66 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown. Tight ends Stanton Seckinger and Leggett also got involved with two catches for 32 yards, including Leggett’s five-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Offensive line: C
The Tar Heels sacked Watson—all in the first half—and held the Tigers to 2.1 yards per rush. It was not a good day for the offensive line overall, but the good news is they adjusted to what the Tar Heels were doing in the first half and did not allow Watson to be sacked in the second half. Clemson started the game with Isaiah Battle, David Beasley, Ryan Norton, Reid Webster and Kalon Davis on the offensive line. Norton was replaced at times in the game by Jay Guillermo, who played a lot in the second half. Dabo Swinney said Sunday afternoon that when he went back and reviewed the film, the offensive line played very well at the point of attack and did a better job in the run game then he thought. He said the problems in the running game were due to how bad the tight ends blocked and the running being inexperienced and impatient at times.
Defensive line: A
Vic Beasley had two sacks and despite UNC quick passes, the Tigers were getting up field and pressuring the quarterback all night. Also, the Tar Heels ran for just 84 yards. Clemson also had nine tackle for loss with Shaq Lawson, Corey Crawford and Grady Jarrett joining Beasley with tackles behind the line of scrimmages.
Linebackers: B
Stephone Anthony and Tony Steward were again all over the field and in the backfield for Clemson. Steward had seven tackles and tackle for loss, while Anthony had six tackles and two tackles behind the line.
Secondary: C
It was not a good day by the Clemson secondary as they were smoked with blown coverages and missed tackles in the second half. North Carolina threw for 394 yards and four touchdowns and most of that came in the second half. At one point Ryan Switzer made safety Robert Smith go flat footed as he took it for a 75-yard touchdown. Smith did make up for that later with an interception in the end zone. Jayron Kearse led the Tigers with 10 tackles. Cornerback Garry Peters had eight tackles, two tackles for loss and two passes broken up.
Special teams: B
Ammon Lakip made two field goals of 27 and 45 yards, punter Bradley Pinion had his 30th kick downed inside the 10-yard line without having a touchback, while also averaging 46.6 yards per punt, with a long of 52 yards. He finished the game with three downed inside the 20. Adam Humphries had a 23-yard punt return. The Tigers also held the Tar Heels dangerous punt and kick return teams in check for much of the game.
Coaching: A
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and his staff did a great job getting this team ready to play after such an emotional loss in Tallahassee the week before. The defense played great in the first half while the offense was even better in the second half.