By Wil Vandervort.

When you can score 40 or 50 points at will like No. 20 Clemson did the previous three years, it really didn’t matter if the defense struggled to slow people down.

The 2011 Clemson Tigers won an ACC Championship by basically outscoring their opponents. But times have changed in Tigertown and through the first seven games of the season 2014 season, it’s been mostly the defense that has carried the Tigers.

Injuries at quarterback, running back, tight end and on the offensive line have derailed Chad Morris’ face-paced spread offense to the point where scoring three touchdowns would be considered an offensive explosion right now.

But the good news is that seems to be all they need. Thanks to a defense that ranks fifth nationally in total yards allowed, Morris and the offense can rest assured most weeks knowing 23 or 17 points in most games is enough to get the job done.

“It is extremely gratifying to know we have a group of guys on that side of the ball that are playing as well as anybody in the country,” Clemson’s offensive coordinator said on Monday. “We see them every day, every day so I know what other teams have to go against. I’m just glad they are on our team.”

So is quarterback Cole Stoudt.

“It is extremely comfortable knowing that if we have a three-and-out or something like that or we are a little behind, we have a very strong defense that can get the ball back for us,” the senior said. “I knew after we scored that touchdown to go back on top of (Boston College), I knew our defense was going to stop them, even if they got it down to the one because they have done it before.”

Clemson (5-2, 4-1 ACC) stopped Louisville on the one-yard line in the final seconds of its 23-17 victory on Oct. 11 and against Boston College this past Saturday the defense stopped the Eagles, in the last minute, after they got to the Clemson 26 to preserve a 17-13 victory.

“We thrive on those moments,” safety Jayron Kearse said. “Having us on the field to save the game or keep the game in our favor, we like those types of things because that is what makes us a great defense.

“If we are in those situations and a team is able to drive down the field and score the game-winning touchdown on the defense that would show we are not really as good as we think we are. But the last two weeks we have been able to go out there and get a stop and give our offense the ball so we can go take a knee to end the game. That says a lot about what Coach (Brent Venables) puts into practice and our confidence on defense.”

As well as the confidence the offense has in the defense to make the stop.

After grabbing the lead with 9:35 to play, following a C.J. Davidson touchdown, the Tigers stopped the Eagles short of the end zone on their last two drives. Even when things got dicey near the end of the game—when BC running back Tyler Rouse dropped what would have been a sure touchdown—Stoudt said he never doubted the defense’s ability to make the stop.

“We had full faith in them and I really wasn’t nervous at all,” he said

“Not even a little,” one reporter asked.

“Okay, maybe like one percent,” Stoudt laughed. “But I was fully confident and I knew the whole team was too because we have seen how our defense prepares in practice and plays. We have full faith in them.”

Morris tells the offense before it heads out on to the field to make sure it does not do anything too crazy that can put the defense in a bad situation.

“We tell our guys, ‘Hey, we don’t have to be perfect. We have a good defense. We just can’t make stupid mistakes that put these guys in bad situations,’” Morris said. “Because of that, there are different trains of thought that come into play as you call plays. Where in the past you might be a little more aggressive, but given some of the circumstances we have been dealing with you try to play the odds and play the game in that regard.”

And that means, for right not anyways, that Morris is turning the game over to the defense. He is going to let the defense go when the game.

“We are going to be who we are, but we are fortunate enough to have a really good defense,” Morris said. “Those guys take great pride in what they are doing.”