Here are my grades by position group from Saturday’s 37-27 win at Syracuse…
Quarterbacks: A-
Deshaun Watson had an amazing day, setting career highs for total yardage and completions in a big time performance. He did have an interception in the game, but his overall play more than atoned for that mistake. Kelly Bryant’s fumble was a critical play in the game, but that wasn’t really his fault. In fact, replays seemed to suggest there was no fumble, but the play wasn’t reviewed for some reason.
Running Backs: B
There’s no shame in taking what the defense gives you. For Clemson, that meant minimizing the traditional run game in favor of more unconventional options. Wayne Gallman only ran the football 15 times for 66 yards and only had one simple catch in the game. Zac Brooks ran well in a handful of carries, picking up 38 yards. Other than that, though, the role of the tailbacks was minimal throughout the game.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A
There were multiple career days that came out of Saturday’s win for the pass-catchers. Artavis Scott caught a dozen passes, while Charone Peake had seven catches for 120 yards. Deon Cain had a long scoring catch, too, and Germone Hopper had five catches in a solid performance. With that said, there were some issues: Jordan Leggett dropped a potential touchdown pass in the red zone, while Hunter Renfrow fumbled the ball on his only catch. Still, an impressive day on the perimeter should be treated as such.
Offensive Line: B-
It wasn’t a terrible performance up front for the Tigers, but it seemed to be an uphill battle. Mitch Hyatt had his worst game of the season, by far, with a couple of penalties and some issues in run blocking, then he went out with an injury. The loss of Tyrone Crowder clearly impacted Clemson’s ability and confidence to run the ball with force between the tackles against the Orange. Pass protection was fairly consistent.
Defensive Line: B+
The line was actually not bad in the game. It just did not impose its will on Syracuse, which always has stout lines of scrimmage, play in and play out. Shaq Lawson was a man possessed on the edge, as his three tackles for loss led the defense. The interior of that defensive line had its moments, particularly for Carlos Watkins. The veteran made some strong tackles inside. Syracuse’s ability to run the ball effectively can’t be primarily pinned on the front four, but there is some blame there.
Linebackers: C-
It just felt like this entire group was out of position and out of sorts from start to finish. Clemson’s backers were plagued by overpursuit in the running game all night long, much like each of the past two weeks. The biggest issue was tackling. The Tigers tackled horribly throughout the game, but it seemed the most prominent offenders were in this group. Persistent coverage issues exasperated the aforementioned issues, making this a miserable showing for Clemson’s linebacking corps.
Defensive Backs: C
The defensive backs in coverage were fine. Sure, there was some good and bad, but there really weren’t significant issues that popped up all over the place. However, the run support coming from the back of Clemson’s defense seemed weak all afternoon. Safeties designed to be the last line of defense simply weren’t there. Syracuse gashed the Clemson defense on plays where it seemed one of the nation’s top defenses was inexplicably totally flat. The Orange used creative motion and misdirection to make it happen, but the blame falls on Clemson for falling for it time and time again.
Special Teams: B+
Greg Huegel was a monster in this game. He knocked home three field goals in the game and accounted for all nine of the Tigers’ second-half points. His kicking has become a constant for this team, providing a security blanket when things don’t go according to plan on either side of the ball. Andy Teasdall did a good job punting the ball and continues to quietly have a solid season. The return game was bad, as usual, but the coverage game actually did a pretty good job of limiting a potentially explosive group of returners for Syracuse.