Clemson Football: Tigers’ offense night and day from last season

Under Dabo Swinney, Clemson’s offense has consistently ranked among the best in the country. 2017 has been no different for the Tigers, however, they are putting points on the board in ways we haven’t seen in some time.

In the past, Clemson’s offense was centered around their ability to throw the football. This season, the Tigers’ are bullying opponents on the ground.

Surprisingly, Clemson has only thrown four touchdowns at this point in the season. That is the least amount of passing touchdowns the Tigers’ have had in their first five games since 2008. Good news is, Clemson has 19 rushing touchdowns on the season, the most any team has had through the first five games in Dabo Swinney’s 10 years with the program.

Thoughts

It doesn’t matter how Clemson puts points on the board. At the end of the day points are points. Clemson’s new style of play has ended in the same results, wins. The Tigers have dominated in nearly every contest this season, the exception being a 14-7 victory over Auburn.

It’s important to remember Kelly Bryant is more than capable of throwing the football. Clemson’s running game has simply worked to well to go away from it. There’s no need in getting cute with the play-calling, when you are hanging 30+ points on opponents.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Tigers’ running game works against Wake Forest, NC State and Florida State. All three programs have defenses that rank among the best in the nation. As such, we will see how Clemson’s offense responds to being tested.

Next: Updated Week 5 ACC Power Rankings

From the looks of it, the Tigers have a shot at returning to the College Football Playoff. As such, it helps to have stiff competition down the stretch to serve as a measuring stick. In the past, the Tigers had Deshaun Watson to lean on in big games. Now they must figure out how to put up points on a defense like Alabama’s without him.