Throughout the offseason, the Cal game, out west on a Friday night, was pointed to as one Clemson needed to be wary of.

With the Bears having a budding star in quarterback Jaron-KeaweSagapolutele, and the contest taking place a week ahead of Miami visiting Death Valley, some thought this one could be a trap game.

However, even with an offense that is still finding its way, the Tigers went into Berkeley and came away with a 24-10 victory, extending the team’s winning streak to three games.

For the second consecutive week, Clemson found a way to overcome a young, inexperienced freshman at quarterback by leaning on the running game and allowing it to take over in the third and fourth quarters.

Ground and Pound

Just like it did against North Carolina last weekend, this offensive line took over in the second half, imposing its will on the Cal defensvie front over the final two quarters. The Tigers averaged a mediocre 3.9 yards per carry in the first half, but in the second half, that number changed dramatically, with the ground game picking up 7.3 yards per attempt.

Gideon Davidson’s 75-yard score late in the contest played a big part in that second half number looking so impressive, but that is getting to the point trying to be made here. The deeper we got into the game, the stronger the offensive line played, at least in the run game.

Clemson’s ground game produced 255 rushing yards, picking up more than five yards per clip.

Make no mistake, there is still some work to be done with the pass protection, but there are definitely signs of improvement.

Sagapolutele Who?

Sagapolutele came into the season as one of the most hyped up young quarterbacks in the country. He was overly impressive as a freshman last year, but that success has not carried over into the current season under the new coaching staff.

You can see the arm talent, it is certainly there, but the Clemson defense made him look rather pedestrian on Friday night. Ashton Hampton, Elliot Washington Jr. and the rest of those defensive backs locked the Bears’ pass catchers down, with Washington picking off two passes.

The pass rush also put just enough pressure on Sagapolutele to keep him from getting comfortable, as the sophomore finished 16-of-29 for just 117 yards, with no touchdowns and the two interceptions. That is the lowest passing total of his young career. All in all, not a bad night at the office for the retooled secondary.

Locked Down

Tom Allen’s unit was pretty stout most of the night. The Bears only had 231 yards of offense while averaging just 4.1 yards per play. The defense only had one QB hurry on top of the two sacks, but Sagapolutele was feeling pressure and was never allowed to fully settle in. It was a good next step for this group with Miami’s explosive offense coming to town next weekend.

Passing Game Woes

One area in which this team is still experiencing a lot of inconsistency is the passing game. Especially when Tait Reynolds tries to push the ball down the field. The freshman just hasn’t found the accuracy on his deep ball yet.

Watching Reynolds over his first two starts, you see how missing basically his whole senior season had an impact on his development. He is still very much a work in progress, and probably will be throughout the season.

As the game continues to slow down for the freshman, he will continue to progress. He just needs reps.

Maybe the best path was actually taking an experienced quarterback from the portal and letting Reynolds sit and learn for a season. But that is beating a dead horse at this point.

Next Test On Deck

After LSU totally dismantled the Tigers in the season-opener and the team continued to struggle the following week against Georgia Southern, not many believed Clemson would be 3-1 at this point, including yours truly. Yet here we are.

With the win over Cal, this team has now won three straight, setting up what could be a crucial ACC matchup against Miami this weekend. FanDuel currently lists the ‘Canes as a 17.5-point favorite, so that gives you an idea of exactly how much of a gap there is between these two teams. ‘

Can be the Tigers be more competitive against a Miami team that played in the national title game last season? The answer to that needs to be yes.

Photo courtesy of Clemson Athletics Communications