No ones care’s about an offensive line until they don’t have one, at least that’s what Clemson offensive lineman Joe Gore thinks.
“We take all the blame when everything is going bad and take none of the success when it’s going good. It’s part of it. It’s a thankless job. Nobody thanks us but the quarterback and the running back,” the senior said.
Clemson running back, Wayne Gallman, shared a lot of praise with the offensive lineman in the locker room after rushing for 139 yards on 24 carries during the 10th-ranked Tiger’s win over Louisville.
“When we were in the locker room celebrating he (Gallman) pointed at us and was like, ‘It was all ya’ll. It was all ya’ll,’” Gore said.
The Clemson offense accumulated a total of 199 passing yards and 202 rushing yards in the victory. Gore was pleased with their performance considering Louisville’s front seven is consider one of the best in the ACC.
“They’re a really good defense and the way they structure their defense was to stop us from running the ball. Being able to have that many rushing yards, that’s a big deal,” the right tackle said.
Gore actually got hurt in last Thursday’s game, but it happened to only be a minor ankle injury and eventually returned. He said he wasn’t even sure what happened.
“It was kind of painful when you put pressure on it. It turned out to be nothing really. I went inside, got a little treatment, and came back out,” he said.
Gore will be ready to go in next Saturday’s game against number sixth-ranked Notre Dame in Death Valley. He said he believes they are prepared to take on the Irish’s stout defensive line. However, he knows it is going to be a challenge.
Notre Dame limited Georgia Tech triple-option rushing attack to 216 rushing yards last week, which was well under the Yellow Jackets’ season average to that point.
“They rotate a lot so it’s going to be kind of hard to judge who we are going up against. It will be a good challenge, whoever it is,” Gore said.
Gore says he noticed Notre Dame has a very active defense, maybe one of the most active he has seen.
“They are really good at using their hands. A lot of them have a really good get off,” he said.
Notre Dame and Clemson will kick off next Saturday at 8 p.m.