By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
Each week we take a look back at what the Clemson Tigers did right and what they did wrong on the gridiron as we grade the Tigers’ performance at every position in Saturday’s 56-20 victory over Duke.
Quarterbacks
Grade: A
Tajh Boyd continues to shatter records, again throwing for five touchdowns in one half, while running for another. He now owns the touchdown responsibility record for a career with 73, five more than Woodrow Dantzler’s 68. Boyd was very efficient throwing the ball, completing 16 of 23 passes for 344 yards. Though he did throw three interceptions, two really can’t be on him. Sam Cooper had one pass taken from his hands and the other interception was the Hail Mary throw at the end of the first half. His only true mistake was a pass to Jaron Brown where he should have put air under the ball, but instead tried to zip it in there. Had he thrown it correctly, Brown would have scored easily. Cole Stoudt was 5 for 6 for 35 yards and threw a nice touchdown pass to Charone Peake in the fourth quarter.
Running backs
Grade: A
Andre Ellington went down with a hamstring injury on the first play of the game, but reserve running backs Roderick McDowell and D.J. Howard combined for 148 yards on 26 carries. McDowell rushed for 83 yards, while Howard had 65 yards, including a one-yard touchdown run. The two also did a good job in pass protection which has been a problem in the past. Freshman Zac Brooks rushed for 67 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry.
Wide receivers/ Tight ends
Grade: A
Nine different players caught a pass with DeAndre Hopkins catching four passes for 128 yards and scoring three touchdowns all in the first quarter. Hopkins set the career (22) and the single-season record (13) for touchdown receptions. Sammy Watkins continues to get back to his old ways with six more catches for 97 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.
Offensive line
Grade: A
Offensive coordinator Chad Morris challenged the offensive line to step up and carry the offense this week. They accepted his challenge and guided the offense to 718 yards, including 339 on the ground. The two sacks charged to the offensive line were actually Boyd’s fault. The quarterback in both instances hung on to the football too long and could have thrown them both away. Clemson averaged 6.5 yards per carry as well.
Defensive line
Grade: A
For the second week in a row, the Clemson defense held its opponent to under 100 yards rushing. This week Duke rushed for only 85 yards on 33 carries. The Tigers also had four more sacks and several more pressures. All four sacks came from the defensive line as Grady Jarrett, Tavaris Barnes, Vic Beasley, and Josh Watson got to the quarterback. Malliciah Goodman also got pressure on the quarterback and drew a holding penalty for another negative play.
Linebackers
Grade: B+
Clemson played a lot of nickel against Duke, but middle linebacker Spencer Shuey still led the team with 11 tackles. Tig Willard had five this week, but two were for a loss. Though the linebackers did not make any big plays that stood out, they also did not make any mistakes. Plus, Shuey continues to direct the defense to perfection. The Tigers only gave up 342 total yards to a Duke team that was averaging more than 400 yards and 31 points a game coming in.
Secondary
Grade: B-
The secondary looked bad early on as Duke quarterback Sean Renfree threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder and picked them apart for the first 17 minutes of the game. But, after a few adjustments, those opened receivers became covered and a couple of times they were credited with coverage sacks. The secondary also did a good job tackling after receivers made catches in open space.
Special Teams
Grade: A
Clemson had nine kickoffs and five were touchbacks. When Duke did bring a kick out, it averaged just 18 yards on returns. Clemson punted just once and there was no return. That negated Duke’s Lee Butler, who ranks fifth in the nation in punt returns. Also, Boyd got his wish. The only time he saw Chandler Catanzaro come on the field was to kick PATs and not field goals.
Coaching
Grade: A
Clemson scored on its first five possessions. The offense was very balanced, getting 339 yards rushing and 379 passing. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables also did a good job adjusting in game to what Duke was doing, shutting the Blue Devils down. Duke had 17 points with 13 minutes to go in the first half, but it finished the game with only three more points and had just 102 total yards in the second half.