Clemson and Cal are locked in a low-scoring battle as the Tigers have taken a 10-7 lead into halftime.

The Clemson offense has once again been up-and-down, as freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds turned it over twice early, with one of those resulting in the Golden Bears’ only score.

Tom Allen’s defense has limited Cal to just 93 yards of offense, with standout quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele going just 6-of-13 for 47 yards with one interception over the first two quarters. The pass defense has been particularly strong, with Ahston Hampton shining in the first half. Elliot Washington Jr. had the pick.

TB6

Tyler Brown is doing his part to add some explosiveness to an offense that has really struggled to pick up the chunk plays. Brown has the longest run of the night, which was 27 yards, and he was on the receiving end of the longest pass play, which went for 24 yards. The junior is starting to resemble the player who earned freshman All-American honors in 2024.

Freshman Miscues

Reynolds’ first road start did not go well early. Reynolds turned it over twice on the first three possessions, and both instances could be chalked up to freshman mistakes. The first came on a flea-flicker on a first-down play call. With a defender dead in his face, he just threw the ball up for grabs. That is one where he probably should have just eaten it and taken the sack.

The second turnover came on a first-down play where Reynolds was escaping pressure and running to his right. The ball came out, and it was returned for a touchdown. On that one, he should have airmailed it into the stands and lived to fight another day.

Reynolds appears to have started to settle in a little in the second quarter, though. He is currently 9-of-12 but for just 70 yards, as the offense just hasn’t been able to get anything going in the downfield passing game.

Paper Thin at DT

Clemson was already extremely thin on the interior of the defensive line before Devarrick Woods was injured and had to miss this game. It has gotten to the point that third-year end Darien Mayo is logging snaps at defensive tackle tonight. At 6-foot-7, 270 pounds, Mayo isn’t your prototypical interior guy, but his length surely helped on the fourth-down stop midway through the first quarter.

Mayo then came back late in the half and missed a TFL in the backfield. Tackling has been a consistent issue for this defense, and not just in this game.

Red Zone Struggles Continue

After having to settle for a field goal late in the first quarter on the team’s 10th trip inside the red zone this season, the Tigers had scored just three touchdowns on those opportunities. It is just one more facet of this offense that has struggled mightily. On a positive note, Nolan Hauser stayed perfect on the season with the chip-shot field goal, his 10th of the season.

Clemson had another red zone opportunity late in the second quarter, and that time they were able to cash it in, as running back Gideon Davidson scored his second touchdown of the season, capping off a 17-play drive. The Tigers are currently 4-of-11 on touchdowns inside the red zone this season.

3rd and 4th Downs

The Tigers have gone for it twice on fourth down in the first half, converting both times. Third downs have been a little bit of a different story. The offense was just 2-of-8 on third down. You never want to have as many fourth-down conversions as third-down conversions after two quarters of play.

Cal did not convert its first third down until late in the second quarter. It was the Bears’ only third-down conversion in the first half.

Flag Fest

These two teams have combined for 11 penalties so far, with the Tigers being called for six. Four of those came in the first quarter.