The Clemson football offense had some bright spots Saturday, but there were a few areas of concern going forward. One of which involves Travis Etienne.
The Clemson football offense had some bright spots Saturday evening when it took on Texas A&M, but there were several areas of concern.
The biggest of which we mentioned following the game that the Tigers need more consistent offensive line play.
Other than offensive line play, the play-calling must do a better job of catering to each quarterback’s skill set. It seemed like they were calling plays that should’ve been called when Kelly Bryant was in the game when Trevor Lawrence was in. And then vice versa for Kelly Bryant.
Lawrence needs to throw the ball more, even on the run. Kelly Bryant needs to run for RPOs, take a few shots down field to keep the defense honest and things of that nature.
But, other than those things, the most disappointing part of the night involved Clemson’s most explosive play maker- Travis Etienne.
Etienne had just eight carries and three catches. That’s 11 touches.
When he did carry the ball, despite the inconsistent offensive line play, Etienne averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
The Tigers’ leading rusher- Kelly Bryant- carried the ball 15 times for 54 yards (3.6 yards per carry).
You can’t have your most explosive running back only carry the ball eight times. Those carries have to be spread out better. I understand that Bryant is going to run the ball, but you have to involve Etienne in the offense.
After all, he was the only runner of the football that had success against A&M’s defense other than Kelly Bryant.
Going forward, that is an area of concern. So many times, it seems as if Clemson gets away from the running game or forgets about a guy like Etienne, who should be carrying the ball 15-20 times a game.
I can pretty much guarantee you, as well, that if Etienne had gotten 15 carries, you’d probably have seen another touchdown on the board.