By Will Vandervort.

So how did Clemson grade out in its 40-6 victory over Oklahoma? TCI breaks down each position and what went right and what went wrong in winning the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl.

Quarterbacks: A

If you said Cole Stoudt would throw for 300 or more yards and three touchdowns before the Russell Athletic Bowl, then you are lying. No one saw Stoudt’s MVP performance coming. Playing in his last game, Stoudt was magnificent. He completed 26 of 36 passes for a career-high 319 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for another score. His 24-yard touchdown pass to Germone Hopper in the third quarter proved how confident he really was as he stood in the pocket and delivered a perfect pass, while taking a hit by inside linebacker Dominique Alexander in the mid-section and a hit high by outside backer Eric Striker.

Running back: C

Wayne Gallman ran the ball hard and lost just two yards all night. He finished the game with 55 yards with a long of 14 on 19 carries. That is just an average of 2.9 yards per carry. Gallman struggled in pass pro at times, too, as he failed to pick up the blitz. Tyshon Dye rushed for 13 yards on six carries, while C.J. Davidson had five yards on four carries. D.J. Howard rushed one time for one yard and caught it one time for another yard.

Offensive line: D

Stoudt was sacked four times and three of them came in the first half. Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott did a good job masking the issues up front with quick screens to get the ball out of Stoudt’s hands. Clemson’s tackles were beaten all night by Oklahoma’s outside linebackers, while the Sooners also got pressure at times up the middle. The Tigers 1.6 yards per carry average wasn’t too good either. Clemson finished the game with just 68 rushing yards. But give them credit for holding off a very talented front seven long enough to get a few deep balls so Stoudt could exploit, as we expected, a very bad Oklahoma secondary.

Wide receiver: A

From the beginning it was obvious Oklahoma’s secondary was no match for Clemson’s speed and athleticism at wide receiver. Artavis Scott took a screen on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage and made two defenders miss before racing 65 yards for a touchdown. Later in the first quarter, Mike Williams took a short pass on the sideline, made one man miss and then out ran the Sooners to the end zone while diving for the pylon. Scott finished the game with 8 catches for 114 yards, while Williams had nine receptions for 112 yards. Charone Peake also looked healthy for the first time this year as he made a good block on Scott’s touchdown and then made a nice catch along the sideline for a first down. He finished the game with two catches for 40 yards.

Defensive line: A

On the game’s first play Grady Jarrett introduced himself to Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine and the senior defensive tackle threw him for a two-yard loss. That’s the way it was the rest of the night. Clemson’s defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and dominated the Sooners’ offensive front.  Perine finished the game with 134 yards on 23 carries, but 59 of those yards came in the fourth quarter when the game was all but over and Clemson’s first-team defense was on the bench. Jarrett finished the game with four tackles, including a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss. Defensive end Vic Beasley had five tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and one pass deflection. Defensive end Corey Crawford and defensive tackle Josh Watson had a tackle for loss as well.  DeShawn Williams also did a great job chasing down wide receivers and running backs on a couple of slip screens.

Linebackers: A

A lot of people wondered how good the Tigers’ linebackers would be without Stephone Anthony in the first half. Well, they were just fine. Ben Boulware seemed to be living in the Sooners’ backfield, while also taking an interception 46 yards for a touchdown and recovering a fumble. Boulware and Tony Steward finished the game with four tackles each. Anthony returned in the third quarter, but they really did not need him by that time.

Secondary: A

Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight completed just 17 of 37 passes for 103 yards, while being picked off three times. Nickel back Korrin Wiggins, who led the Tigers with seven tackles, made a great interception when he anticipated a screen pass and broke on the ball. He tipped it up in the air and returned it to the Oklahoma 20-yard line. Garry Peters and Mackensie Alexander did a great job limiting wide receiver Sterling Shepard. Safety T.J. Green made a diving interception in the fourth-quarter, too. Clemson’s defensive backs also put on a clinic on how to tackle in space.

Special Teams: C

Ammon Lakip did make a career long 49-yard field goal as well as a 34-yard kick. But he had a 42-yard attempted blocked because the kick was low. He also missed an extra point, too. Bradley Pinion had just two kickoffs returned and sent the other six out of the end zone. He averaged 43.3 yards on six punts, including two downed inside the 20 and inside the five-yard line. Defensive end Shaq Lawson also blocked the Sooners’ lone extra-point attempt.

Coaching: A

It seems Dabo Swinney has figured out this whole bowl thing. He became just the second coach in Clemson history to win at least three consecutive bowl games. In the last three years he has outcoached LSU’s Les Miles, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops in bowl games. Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott did a masterful job of play calling and having the offense prepared to play. The goal was to get the ball out of Stoudt’s hands as fast as possible and let their playmakers make plays in space against an Oklahoma secondary that was not very good at tackling in the open field. New quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter also did a good job having Stoudt prepared as well, while redefining his mechanics and his fundamentals. Then there is Brent Venables. He called a masterful game against his old school as his defense forced five turnovers and limited the Sooners’ to a season-low 275 yards and six points.