The Clemson football defense absolutely shutdown the Syracuse offense Saturday night. Here’s a look at our grades for the defensive unit.
Who would’ve thought through the first three games of the 2019 Clemson football season that it would be the defense who was carry the Tigers?
The Tigers’ defensive unit has been lights out through these first few match ups and they’ve posted some impressive stats and highlights during that time.
Following a 41-6 victory over Syracuse Saturday night, here’s a look at our defensive grades for Clemson football.
Rushing Defense Grade:
The Clemson defense held Syracuse to just 15 yards rushing on 42 carries. That’s an average of 0.4 yards per carry.
Even if you take the sacks out of the equation, the Tigers gave up less than 70 yards on the ground the entire night to Syracuse. Brent Venables has done an excellent job putting his linebackers in position to make plays and blitzing at the right time.
Though a 3-man front doesn’t typically perform well against the run, the Tiger defense has certainly been an exception to the rule at this point.
Grade: A+
Passing Defense Grade:
Clemson’s secondary looks so much more experienced this year compared to last year. The Tigers have stepped up and look to have one of the best defensive backfields in the nation.
This group gave up 172 yards passing against Tommy DeVito Saturday night. DeVito threw the ball 27 times, averaging 6.4 yards per attempt. That’s pretty salty for a defense going up against an up-tempo spread attack.
Not only was the secondary good in coverage minus a couple of blown assignments or good plays by Syracuse, the pass-rush was elite. The Tigers sacked Tommy DeVito eight times and put pressure on him the entire night.
From defensive linemen beating their man to clever blitzing schemes from Brent Venables, DeVito was constantly having to evade pressure.
Grade: A+
Overall Defensive Report Card vs. Syracuse:
You’ve got to tip your cap to Brent Venables. He absolutely exploited that Syracuse offense and did an excellent job putting pressure on Tommy DeVito, as well as stopping the run. The Tigers are excelling at mixing up 3-man looks with exotic blitzes while also mixing in the typical four down linemen sets.
Tyler Davis, KJ Henry, Xavier Thomas and Logan Rudolph were extremely impressive along the defensive line. All three starters at linebacker- Isaiah Simmons, James Skalski and Chad Smith- had superb performances. The secondary was solid all night and I really like the help in run support from the safeties.
Overall, this unit looks really good. They haven’t missed a step from last year to this point and that’s really surprising, but it’s all a credit to the personnel and to the mastermind that is Brent Venables.