The last time 12th-ranked Clemson played Wofford, it did not take long for the Terriers to suck the linebackers and safeties in before hitting them over the top of a 66-yard touchdown pass on the second series of the game.
That one play was all they needed to execute to keep the Tigers from crowding the line of scrimmage, and to respect the threat of the pass the rest of the afternoon.
Wofford, who will visit Death Valley in the season-opener for both teams on Saturday, completed just two of eight passes that day, but the other one went for 61 yards and set up another score. The two completions were good enough to allow the Terriers to rush for 272 yards on 57 carries.
This is just another example of why the triple option is such a headache for defensive coordinators. Though it is simple to defend in theory, making sure every is staying disciplined and is only doing their job makes it tough to defend. If one guy makes a mistake, the end result is usually a long gain or a touchdown.
“It’s about discipline. Putting your eyes where they need to be and trusting your key,” said linebacker Dorian O’Daniel. “This game is really simple. Once players simplify it and understand what they need to put their eyes on and reading their keys, everything else falls into place. You start making more plays, you are sure of yourself. You are not worried about too much. It just kind of comes to you.”
It came to O’Daniel the last time he and the Tigers played against a triple option attack. The junior was thrown into action last year in Atlanta after starter B.J. Goodson went down with an injury in the first quarter.
O’Daniel responded with a career-high 10 tackles, including one sack as Clemson held the Yellow Jackets to a season-low on the ground.
“I was the next man up. Granted, I was very nervous, but at the same time I was confident in how I prepared for the game, and because of that I feel like I was able to play the way I did,” he said. “Obviously, I made a few mistakes, but once I made a few tackles, I just kind of got in the rhythm of things. I was just playing football, really.
“A lot of it was kind of going on my instincts and half of it was knowing the game plan.”
It’s important the Tigers know the game plan on how to defend Wofford, if not they could be in for a long afternoon and another nail biter. Offenses like the Terriers feed off mistakes while also getting in the head of its opponents, especially inexperienced defenders. Cut blocking plays a big role as it wears on a young player’s psyche and makes them think of everything except their assignment.
Clemson could play as many as nine freshmen on the defensive side of the ball in Saturday’s game, including four freshmen linebackers.
“With the triple option it is the smallest thing as far as fitting your gap. If you are out leveraged by a step, all they have to do is pull it or give it to the trap man or pitch it to the option man and it is gone for twenty yards,” O’Daniel said.
So what is the key? How do the Tigers prevent the big plays Wofford got in the 2011 game?
“Studying that film and going off the game plan, and knowing where to be at all times is definitely going to help put us in a successful position,” O’Daniel said.
“Reading the guard, the tackle, the wing, whoever it might be on that certain formation. On different formations, I’m keying different people,” he continued. “Once I see something, I just go with what I have been studying and what I have been game planning. That comes with discipline, alignment and studying a lot of game film.”