After opening the season with a lopsided loss to top-ranked Georgia, Clemson looks to get things back on track in the home-opener on Saturday as App State visits Death Valley for an 8pm kickoff (ACCN).
After playing the Bulldogs tough in the opening half, the Tigers were boat-raced over the final two quarters, with Georgia scoring touchdowns on four of their first five possessions after halftime en-route to a 34-3 victory.
The No. 25 Tigers, who opened as a 16.5-point favorite over App State, must quickly flush what happened in Atlanta and not overlook a dangerous Mountaineers team that won its opener 38-10 over ETSU.
5 Things to Watch For
– Where’s the Offense: Throughout fall camp and in the leadup to the Georgia game, much was made about how much Garrett Riley’s offense had improved from a season ago. However, against Georgia, things looked awfully similar to what was seen a season ago. Struggles in the passing game were the story, as Cade Klubnik threw for just 142 yards. Clemson averaged just 4.9 yards per pass attempt, once again showing an inability to push the ball down the field. The Tigers had just one play that went more than 20 yards in the contest. If this team is going to have the kind of season that was envisioned,, this offense has to get on track and it needs to start on Saturday.
– Wide Receiver Rotation: Dabo Swinney has already hinted that changes are coming to the rotation after freshmen Bryant Wesco and TJ Moore combined to play just 18 snaps against Georgia. Moore only got six and didn’t even see the field until late after the game was already decided. With Adam Randall and Cole Turner basically being non-factors in the opener, it feels like now is the time to get the freshmen more heavily involved. It was talked about ad nauseum in the offseason how both former 5-stars added a dynamic that had been missing from the offense, an ability to stretch the field, but they have to have the opportunity to showcase that talent.
– Defense Needs to Bounce-Back: After what happened in the second half against Georgia, Wes Goodwin’s unit needs to go out and play to its potential in this one. While it was against a lesser opponent, App State racked up 500 yards of offense in its win last weekend. Quarterback Joey Aguilar passed for 326 yards with two touchdowns. The Mountaineers also rushed for 174 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per play. A fast start on this side of the ball, maybe some three and outs, would go a long ways towards helping an offense that struggled to find its footing a week ago.
– Dominate Line of Scrimmage: Typically, these kind of games come down to talent, and this Clemson team has much more of it, particularly along the lines of scrimmage. The effect Matt Luke is already having on the Tigers’ offensive line was apparent against Georgia, but this is a defensive front this group should have its way with. App State allowed 183 rushing yards last week, with ETSU averaging 4.6 yards per carry, meaning Phil Mafah should have plenty of room to run. On the other side, there is no reason why the Tigers’ defensive front should not own the point of attack against that Mountaineers offensive line. Shut down the running game and make like difficult on the quarterback.
– Sell Out Crowd: This one is officially sold out. After the way the opening contest played out, emotions reached a fever pitch with a faction of the fan base. What happens if this offense comes out and continues to struggle against a team from the Sunbelt conference? What happens if this game is still close after halftime, or even into the fourth quarter? The Tigers have lost at home just three times in the College Football Playoff era, but it would be naive to pretend there aren’t currently some frustrations.
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