CLEMSON — A large part of Clemson’s recent struggles has been missed opportunities.
Whether it be on offense, defense, or special teams, the Tigers have came up short so many times in places where they could have shined. Think back to last season, when a missed block, fumble and a missed field goal led to a brutal loss to Florida State.
The Tigers missed two field goals and fumbled twice inside the 5-yard line in a loss at Duke to open last season. They also made critical mistakes that led to their demise in losses at Miami and at NC State.
A situation of similar vain occurred during last week’s game against Georgia in Atlanta.
Down 13-0 with around seven minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Tigers ran a quarterback counter-run, with Cade Klubnik faking a handoff right to Antonio Williams in motion and taking the ball forward himself. However, Klubnik took the ball too wide and did not follow left tackle Tristan Leigh into the hole. Right guard Collin Sadler didn’t make a full block, and the poor pull caused Klubnik to be tackles for a loss.
“The second worst play to me was the first play [of the game] and then the quarterback counter,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. “He looked like C.J. Spiller back in the day out in front of the puller… It was really well designed.”
Leigh said the mistake was more on him than his quarterback.
“I take responsibility for that play because I feel like, if I was tighter off the double team, it would have been easier for Cade to turn up quicker,” he said. “I take that one, but I watched it and learned from it and I’m going to practice better habits so we can execute that play better next time.”
On the next play, Williams lost the ball in the lights on a pass to the corner that would’ve been a touchdown. The Tigers settled for a 26-yard field goal for their only points of the afternoon.
“Two plays in a row, and we just didn’t execute,” Swinney said.
The 25th-ranked Tigers will certainly look to execute better on Saturday when they host App State Saturday (8 p.m., ACCN) in their home opener.