Quick Reaction: Clemson's offense exposed again, tracking toward abysmal numbers

Justyn Ross misses a pass in the loss to NC State.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Sep 25 20:36:19 GMT-04:00 2021

RALEIGH, NC – NC State fans, players, and coaches let out several years of pent up frustrations in the second half and overtime Saturday afternoon, and when the final gun sounded more than one Wolfpack player ran towards the Clemson sideline, removed as helmet, and unleashed a torrent of exuberance. Face it, they deserved it. Every bit of it.

Clemson had won eight in a row in the series and 15 of the last 16. And when NC State’s kicker missed his third field goal of the night at the end of regulation, it looked like Clemson had a shot to escape with another miraculous win. Instead, it was the Wolfpack that got to celebrate, NC State dictating the terms of the game on defense most of the game and doing enough against an injured Clemson defense late to pull out the victory.

Clemson is, at this point, not elite. Not even close. The defense is still playing well, but the loss might come with too high a price with injuries. The offense is, in a word, bad. The Tigers had 127 yards in the second half, just 87 in the first half. At the end of regulation, they were 1-of-9 on third down. The Tigers entered the game 115th nationally in total offense and will probably fall further after Saturday’s defeat.

If you’re keeping score, Clemson had 180 yards against Georgia in the opener. Then there was 504 yards against SC State in game two. Just 284 against Georgia Tech's defense, and then 214 against an NC State defense missing three starters. That means Clemson has 678 total yards in three games against Power 5 teams, for an average of 226 yards per game. In the past, we’ve seen them put up those numbers in a quarter.

The two worst teams on offense last season, that played more than five games, were Syracuse and Kansas. Syracuse averaged 265 yards per game and Kansas averaged 259. Those are abysmal numbers, and Clemson is on a steady heading towards that type of season.

So what’s wrong?

It appears to be a litany of issues. The offensive line still has its ups and downs. The wide receivers fail to get separation. The quarterback stares down receivers and then panics if the first read isn’t open. The play calling, especially during a stretch where the offense went eight straight drives with three plays or less (including the kneel down at the end of the half), was too predictable. A middle or off-tackle run, followed by a pass to flat or hash, followed by a third-down misfire.

Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott told us after the game that they will go back and do more self-scouting, but even that rings hollow when you see so many issues across the board. The offense lacks an identity – tempo appears at times to be a thing of the past, the eye candy that kept defenses guessing isn’t seen as much, and there aren’t very many throws down the field. Add in what looks to be personnel issues across the board, and this doesn’t appear to be an easy fix.

There is no doubt that head coach Dabo Swinney and Elliott face tough decisions this week and beyond. What are the answers? I don’t know. Television analyst Robert Griffin III blasted the offense for a lack of creativity, saying the play calls didn’t help Uiagalelei. He called the routes basic. And if they are basic, is that because the players aren’t responding to more complex routes? Is that because the offensive line or quarterback aren’t trusted?

Clemson has a long remainder of the season to find out. But I do know there is too much talent on the offense for Clemson to stumble along the same track as Syracuse and Kansas.