CLEMSON — Head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley have both said the same thing when it comes to their offense – it’s been inconsistent.
No better word explains the Clemson offense in 2023 than the word inconsistent.
“Big picture is we’ve just been inconsistent too much,” Riley said. “Especially with the other day’s performance (vs. Wake Forest). I just feel like we’re too inconsistent, and that’s probably the biggest thing.
“So, this is the perfect time to have a bye week for us, kind of recalibrate, regroup, get some guys back, all that sort of thing.”
Here’s my opinion on how Clemson graded in the first half of the 2023 season:
Quarterback: C+
Cade Klubnik has had his moments. He did not play well in the Tigers’ loss to Duke but played really well in their loss to Florida State. He took major strides in a positive direction against Syracuse in Week 5, but he was just average against Wake Forest last Saturday. Overall, Klubnik is having a good season from a throwing standpoint. He has completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 1,370 yards, 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Clemson has now gone four straight games without throwing an interception for the first time since the final four games of the 2019 season. Since a first-quarter pick-six against Charleston Southern, Clemson has thrown 165 consecutive passes without an interception (29 against Charleston Southern, 33 against Florida Atlantic, 38 against Florida State, 37 against Syracuse and 28 against Wake Forest). Klubnik has thrown 151 of Clemson’s 165 passes in that stretch. One area Klubnik needs to improve is with the mesh-point. He has fumbled a few times when either trying to pull the ball or give it to running back Will Shipley. The Tigers have lost the ball twice, which includes a wasted scoring opportunity inside the five-yard line against Duke.
Running Back: B-
Clemson is running the football okay, but not as well as I think they should be doing. Some of that has to be placed on the loss of Walker Parks at right guard. Parks is perhaps the best offensive lineman on the team, and he is out for the season with a foot injury. The Tigers are averaging 188.2 yards per game on the ground. They are averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Those numbers are not bad, but they are not great either. Shipley leads the team with 450 yards and is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and has three rushing touchdowns. However, his longest run is just 21 yards. Phil Mafah has run for 341 yards and four touchdowns and is averaging 6.6 yards per carry. His longest run is 49 yards. Shipley has 18 catches out of the backfield for 100 yards and two touchdowns. He is much more reliable in pass protection than Mahah, who gave up two sacks in the FSU came, including the one that led to a costly scoop-and-score fumble. He also lost a critical fumble at Duke that set up the Blue Devils’ game clinching touchdown.
Pass catchers: C+
From Weeks 2-5, Clemson’s wide receivers showed a great deal of improvement, though they had a setback against Wake Forest. With Antonio Williams missing the last three games with a foot injury, it would have seemed the passing game might be in trouble. Instead, freshman Tyler Brown took it to a new level against Florida State and then turned it up a notch against Syracuse the following week. However, Brown had setback against Wake Forest, as he dropped two passes. The wide receivers’ blocking in the run game needs improvement. There were a few instances when Brown was blown up or did not even block anyone. Beaux Collins has improved with his run blocking, but he needs to hold on to blocks for about a second longer. Collins and Brown both lead the Tigers with 24 catches and two touchdowns each, while Collins has one more yard (339) than Brown (338). Tight end Jake Briningstool has 18 catches for 125 yards but he is averaging just 6.9 yards per catch and has only one touchdown. The surprise of the group, other than Brown, was the emergence of Troy Stellato. He has 16 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown. No receiver is averaging more than 14.1 yards per catch.
Offensive Line: B-
I know some of you might think that grade is being generous, but keep in mind the Tigers are playing without their best lineman in Walker Parks. After getting off to a good start when filling in for Parks, Mitchell Mayes has digressed the last few weeks. Mayes’ digression has led to freshman Harris Sewell having his redshirt burned. Mayes will likely still be in the mix at right guard, but Sewell will likely get the start when the Tigers travel to Miami on Oct. 21. As a whole, the offensive line’s numbers are not too bad. Clemson is averaging 188.7 yards per game on the ground and 4.9 yards per carry. They have allowed just nine sacks in six games, though four of those sacks were charged to the running backs and quarterbacks and are giving up 5.5 tackles for loss per game. Again, not bad, but not great either. The biggest area for improvement on the offensive line is on third-and-short situations. The Tigers have been getting pushed around up front all year long in short-yardage plays.
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