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Clemson Football vs Wofford Analysis: Reese’s Piece

By Tyreese Ingram

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Each week, I will take a look back at Clemson football’s last game and give my take on a little of the college football scene. I will expand my coverage and topics from week to week as things start to unfold and become more interesting in the college football world.

It was such a exhilarating feeling to see the balloons flying and the players running down the hill. Football is back and the Tigers young and old were on full display Sept. 5th.

Here’s a brief summary of the Tigers dominating 49-10 victory over the Wofford Terriers.

Offense: The Tigers were very efficient on offense and the offensive line did a great job of protecting Deshaun Watson and making holes for the running backs. The passing game totaled 311 yards and averaged 8.4 per completion and the running game produced 222 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per carry. Each quarterback and running back had their moments and fans have to excited about their futures.

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Receivers: With the potential loss of Mike Williams for the season, this group will have to grow up in a hurry. They were lead in receptions by true freshman Ray Ray McCloud with eight and sophomore Artavis Scott was second with six. Senior Charone Peake had two receptions but that total will have to increase for this team to be able to beat the tough competition on their schedule. Coaches loved the depth of this unit coming into the season but now with their best receiver out indefinitely. They will have to adjust their lineups and schemes to fit what they have going forward.

Defense: How do you judge this unit? They played against an option team from the FCS, so the defensive assignments are different from normal games. Let’s take a look at the numbers from Saturday’s game and compare them to Wofford’s last two FBS opponents.

  1. In 2013, Wofford had total yards of 233 and rushing yards of 173 in a 69-3 loss to Baylor.
  2. In 2014, they had 326 total yards and 271 rushing yards in a 38-19 loss to Ga Tech.
  3. And the Tigers held them to just 213 total yards and 123 yards rushing.

I think it’s safe to say that they played well against a difficult offense and the first impression of Venables 2015 unit was a great one.

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Special teams: Kicker Greg Huegel was 6/6 on extra points and Artavis Scott gave fans a glimpse of what he can do in open space. Those were the positives but now for the negatives.

The coverage on the kickoffs yielded only 21 yards per attempt but at times seemed slow to get to the returner and we must find someone besides Scott who can also field punts. Although Wofford used the rugby technique which makes the trajectory of the ball change, there is still no excuse for having two fumbled returns in one game. I’m sure they were coached on how to approach the ball and they have to make better decisions in the future. Special teams mistakes can definitely determine the outcome of a ballgame. Andy Teasdall’s debut as the punter wasn’t a great one either. He only averaged 33.8 yards a punt and that has to improve.

Play of the game: Wayne Gallman’s dazzling 35 yard run. He made a couple of nice cuts at full speed and showed why he is the best of a group of strong runners.

Player of the game: T.J. Green. Green lead the team in tackles and showed that he can run and hit well.

Best quote from the commentators: Dave Archer commenting on The Tiger’s pushups after Clemson scored to go up 49-10, “I’m not sure that’s a pushup, that’s a head bob-that’s a penalty for The Tiger.”

I also want to take a brief look at four future Tiger opponents:

Louisville lost to Auburn 31-24 but displayed overall athleticism on both sides of the ball. Their quarterbacks, receivers, and secondary better be high on the Tigers scouting report because they are talented. Louisville plays Houston on Saturday.

Notre Dame blasted Texas 38-3 and confident quarterback Malik Zaire showed why Brian Kelly chose him to be the signal caller. Zaire ran the ball like a seasoned running back and delivered smooth left handed passes to his bevy of talented receivers. He finished the game 19-22 for 313 yards. Notre Dame’s leading returning rusher Tarean Folston went down with an injury but C.J. Prosise filled in with 98 yards and true freshman Josh Adams scored two TDs. The receivers were led by the explosive Will Fuller who had 142 yards on 7 catches.

The defense wasn’t too chabby either because they held the Longhorns to 163 total yards. The Irish play at Virginia on Saturday.

Ga. Tech routed Alcorn State 69-6 and was led in rushing by true freshman Marcus Marshall(8/184/2TDs). Marshall and the Jackets will look to continue to prove that the buzz about their team is not just hype when they face Tulane on Saturday.

The Gamecocks survived and beat UNC 17-13 or did UNC beat UNC. Marquise Williams passed for 21 touchdowns in 2014 but he looked like he forgot how to score on last Thursday night. Maybe, he was mistaken the redzone for the garnet of the gamecock defenders because each one of his interceptions were right on target.

Spurrier adjusted his offense and let Connor Shaw,oops-Connor Mitch run the ball. Spurrier’s emphasis on the running game prove to be the difference in the game and maybe what gets them through this season with a winning record. Next up for the Gamecocks is Kentucky at 7:30 on Saturday.

Gametime: Clemson plays Appalachian State at 12:30 pm tomorrow and they better be ready for an athletic team that his hungry for an upset of a FBS team from a power conference. Here is a look at the Mountaineers highlights from their victory over Howard.

Next: Clemson Football vs App State: Yes, I do mean disrespect

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