CLEMSON — It might have taken a half for the Clemson offense to wake up and get out of its own way finally, but better late than never.

The eighth-ranked Tigers scored 24 second-half points to rally from a double-digit halftime deficit to knock off Troy 27-16.

Offense Much More Efficient In Second Half

Whatever Dabo Swinney said to his team at halftime worked. The Clemson offense was rather listless in the first half, scoring just three points over the first two quarters. The Tigers came out with their hair on fire after the break.

After totaling just 114 yards of offense in the first half and only three points, Cade Klubnik and Co. responded with more than 200 yards over the final two quarters and 24 points. Klubnik averaged only 5.43 yards per attempt in the first half. In the second half that number jumped to 11 yards per attempt.

The Tigers were 2-for-8 on 3rd down in the first half and 3-for-4 in the second.

Adam Randall Wasn’t Going to Be Denied

The converted wideout was bound and determined to get the Tigers into the end zone on that opening drive of the third quarter. He had five carries for 59 yards on that drive, finishing it off with a one-yard scoring run. Randall finished the night with 112 rushing yards, his first time going over the century mark, and he averaged 5.3 yards per carry.

Big Night for Wesco

The sophomore receiver turned out to be a matchup nightmare for the Troy secondary. Wesco had seven catches for 118 yards, with two touchdowns. He caught all seven passes intended for him.

How About Jack Smith

After all of the hand-wringing about the punting during the preseason, Smith has gotten off to a pretty solid start to the season. He averaged 45 yards per punt against Troy, with one going more than 50 yards and one being downed inside the 20.

Defense Did Its Part

While it certainly wasn’t perfect, the defense did its part in the win, with Tom Allen’s unit forcing three turnovers on the night. There was a lot of rotating going on along the interior of the defensive line, but when any combination of Peter Woods, DeMonte Capehart or Stephiylan Green were in there, that group was pretty dominant.

Still some things to clean up for sure, but Troy only managed 95 yards of offense and 3.3 yards per play in the second half.

Missing Identity

Even after the productive second half, it’s still not clear what the identity of the offense is. However, with a road trip to Georgia Tech up next, it is a question that needs to be answered quickly.