The Clemson football defeated Wofford Saturday in the season opener. We conclude our post game coverage with grades for the offensive side of the ball.
The Clemson football team picked up their first victory of the season when the Tigers defeated the Wofford Terriers by a score of 49-10. We have reviewed and covered this game, so let’s conclude our post-game coverage by giving grades to each side of the ball. Now, we look at the offensive side of the ball.
More from Rubbing the Rock
- Clemson Football: Q&A with Florida State experts at Chop Chat
- Clemson Tigers News: New commitments, Ian Schieffelin and Jonathan Weitz
- Clemson Football needs their biggest stars to shine against Florida State
- Clemson Football: Receiver by committee could work for the Tigers
- No reason for Clemson Football to fear a Seminole takeover
The Tigers put up 49 points on the Wofford Terriers while getting a lot of different guys into the game. There looked to be a lot of confidence on this side of the ball and many different guys touched the ball in both the running and passing game. Let’s take a look at each position and give them a grade.
Quarterback:
Deshaun Watson looked spectacular in his return to the football field. He looked crisp and spread the ball out to many different receivers. He didn’t get a chance to throw the ball down the field very many times, but he took what the defense gave him and ended up throwing for 194 yards and two touchdowns in limited action.
Behind Watson, Nick Schuessler and Kelly Bryant both saw action. When Schuessler was in the game, the offense took a step back, but he was still serviceable. He made a couple of bad decisions, but that is to be expected out of a second-string guy. He did do some good things though and showed he is capable of being a backup.
In my opinion, Kelly Bryant looked a bit better than Nick Schuessler. This may just be the “eye test,” but I loved what he brought to the table in the running game and he got to complete a couple of short passes. Overall, though, neither got a ton of action throwing the ball and were mostly used for managing the offense.
I give the quarterbacks a good grade, overall. I do take in to account the fact that both the backups played and that hurt the overall grade, but still a good day from Clemson quarterbacks.
Quarterbacks Grade: A
Running Back:
The running backs were spread out in totals carrying the ball. They each did different things when they were in the game, but Wayne Gallman carried the group. Gallman rushed for 92 yards on 14 carries and had two touchdowns. Tyshon Dye also had two touchdowns rushing the ball. All of the running backs ran the ball north-to-south and I think they had a great overall day.
Betsided
Running Backs Grade: A
Wide Receiver:
The Clemson wide-outs saw a ton of snaps Saturday. Lots of guys got in on the action and no one guy stood out. Artavis Scott and Freshman Ray-Ray McCloud were the leading receivers, but because everyone saw limited action, there were not a ton of mind-blowing stats. I also believe the coaches decided to limit the playbook and not go deep. There were a lot of screens and short passes and I think that was by design. Overall, the wide receivers were good and they did a great job getting open and doing what they could with a limited playbook.
Wide Receivers Grade: A
Offensive Line:
The offensive line showed a “nasty streak” for the first time in years. I know it was Wofford, but they were getting a push off the line. They were opening up holes and the Clemson offense scored a few goal line touchdowns because of their physicality. I loved what I saw out of freshman Mitch Hyatt and the offensive line allowed no sacks on the day.
More from Clemson Football
- Clemson Football: Q&A with Florida State experts at Chop Chat
- Clemson Football needs their biggest stars to shine against Florida State
- Clemson Football: Receiver by committee could work for the Tigers
- No reason for Clemson Football to fear a Seminole takeover
- Clemson Football: One Quick Thing – The Tigers don’t see cupcakes
Overall, they did a great job man-handling the Wofford defensive line all day and I like what we saw out of the group.
Offensive Line: A+
Overall Offensive Grade: A
The Clemson offense performed well and were certainly capable of doing whatever they wanted with the Wofford defense. Don’t read too much into this because it was a FCS opponent, but a great day from the offense in my opinion and there was little to no rust from the beginning to end. I like what they bring to the table this season and it’s going to be fun watching them grow together over the next few games.