Clemson Dominates First Half Against The Citadel

CLEMSON – While it hasn’t been all pretty, at least on one side of the ball, No. 17 Clemson has dominated the first half against The Citadel, taking a 35-0 lead into halftime.

Halftime Analysis

– This defense has had its share of struggles in the first half, as the Bulldogs basically ran it at will in the first quarter with 95 rushing yards over the first 15 minutes. The Citadel had the ball more than 13 minutes in the opening quarter. The tackling was pretty abysmal. The linebackers weren’t very gap sound and some of the guys on the backend were taking some poor angles.

The second quarter was not much better. The Bulldogs broke off one 48-yard run and had 101 yards on the ground in the quarter. Credit to Aveion Terrell for chasing the runner down from behind on the long one and stripping the ball away.

– The defense started out in a 4-3 look with Jamal Anderson at the SAM. It wasn’t long before they were back in a 4-2-5 with freshman Ricardo Jones in the game. Jones threw the final block on the Payton Page pick six. Late in the half they went back to the 4-3 with Anderson back in the game.

– On the other side, the offense has had no issues moving the ball. Well over 300 total yards over the first two quarters. And behind the same patchwork offensive line we saw a week ago. The Tigers are averaging 14.5 yards per play. That is pretty explosive. Cade Klubnik is 10-of-13 for 170 yards with two touchdowns and has added another 34 yards on the ground.

– Fans have been wondering why they’ve not seen more of Jay Haynes over the past three weeks. His whiff on a key block that got Antonio Williams lit up might have a little to do with that. The redshirt freshman did bounce back on the very next play breaking off the longest run of his career, a 70-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game. He finished the half with four carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!