All week, ESPN and other national media outlets have sent out warnings to Clemson’s defense. The message, “Clemson’s defense should be nervous,” when the top-ranked Tigers taken on No. 8 North Carolina on Saturday night in the ACC Championship Game.
“They’re a great team. They’re very explosive. They like to move the ball at a fast pace, so it’s going to be a challenge,” Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson said. “But really it’s not going to be too challenging because we played against them last year, so we have a great feel for how they will come out and play.”
The Tigers get it. The Tar Heels are great on the offensive side of the ball. UNC ranks 11th in scoring offense (41.2 ppg) and 16th in total offense (495.7 ypg). It has run over just about every opponent it has played.
But does the phrase, “Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships,” mean anything? Granted spread offenses are all the rage in college football these days, but the game ultimately comes down to who stops whom the most. And in Saturday’s ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, N.C., at least on paper, Clemson clearly has the better defense.
That doesn’t mean North Carolina isn’t going to score points and move the football because it will. After all, the Tar Heels did amass 478 yards and score 35 points on what turned out to be the nation’s best defensive football team last year.
But what people forget about in that game is how Brent Venables unit shut out UNC in the first quarter and held it to seven points in the first half. Clemson actually led 22-0 in that game before the Tar Heels got on the scoreboard.
So has anyone sent North Carolina a warning about Clemson’s defense? The Tigers rank seventh nationally in total defense (288.5), and lead the country in four different categories overall. They also rank in the top five in four more.
But the pundits have said Clemson looks sluggish on defense, fatigued, and it has not played up to its standards the last three weeks. There is something to that as the Tigers did look sluggish in wins over Syracuse and South Carolina.
“We’ve just got to come in and play four quarters,” Lawson said. “The last couple of weeks we just haven’t been playing the whole four quarters on defense. But we’ve been waiting for this game. We know it is championship time, and we’ve just got to be ready to play.”
If North Carolina is the best offense the Tigers have faced all year, then clearly Clemson’s defense is the best the Tar Heels have seen, too.
In fact, the best defense UNC played this season saw its statistics inflated due to playing such weak non-conference competition. Statistically, NC State ranks as the best defense the Tar Heels have faced. UNC racked up 553 total yards, including 374 on the ground in a 45-34 victory.
Impressive numbers indeed, especially considering the Wolfpack rank 22nd nationally in total defense. But when breaking down NC State, how good is it defensively? In their eight conference games, the ‘Pack allowed 29.6 points (10th in the ACC) and 395.9 yards per game (9th in the ACC).
By the way, Clemson ranks first in total defense inside the conference (264.8) and third in scoring defense (19.0). In fact, during the regular season, the Tar Heels did not face the top four defenses overall in the ACC (Boston College, Clemson, Louisville and Florida State), nor the top three defenses in conference games (Clemson, Boston College and Louisville).
“This is the best defense we’re going to face,” North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams said. “Maybe one of the top five defenses in the country … they’re big guys, physical, very fast and run to the football.
“They have done a tremendous job of routing the football and executing the game plan and what they need to do to be in position to make plays. It’s going to be exciting, getting that opportunity to go against one of the best defenses in the country.”
And according to the national media’s logic, it should make the Tar Heels nervous.
“They’re a typical Venables team on defense. They’re very stingy and tough to move the ball against,” said North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora.