Clemson football fans should expect big things in October from the running game
Through the first two games of the season, Clemson football fans haven’t gotten the stats that they wanted to see from Travis Etienne.
It’s not to say by any means that Etienne has been disappointing or anything less than spectacular. It’s more to say that he’s just been quiet and both Wake Forest and The Citadel (who he played sparingly against) did an excellent job of keeping him in front of them and not allowing the big explosive run.
After all, Etienne’s long run on the season is just 29 yards. To this point, he has rushed 25 times for 170 yards (6.8 YPC) and one touchdown.
But that doesn’t mean the Clemson football RB won’t be exploding soon
An average yards per carry of 6.8 is nothing to scoff about. It’s just the fact that we’ve grown so accustomed to seeing Etienne reel off big run after big run and come away with explosive plays that when we don’t see them, we think something’s wrong.
In all reality, Etienne is still putting up big-time numbers in limited playing time and he has done exactly what has been asked of him. In addition you’ve got to give credit to opposing defenses for keying in on him and not allowing him to break free.
That being said, you can’t hold that pattern forever.
Expect the Clemson football running back to absolutely explode during the month of October. Opposing defenses are going to have to start showing more respect to the passing game with Trevor Lawrence‘s elite accuracy (he’s completed 81.1 percent of his passing attempts so far) and that will lend itself to Etienne having more opportunities for big plays.
There’s a reason that Travis Etienne is the best running back in the country and, while it has been quietly still on display, it’s about to be amplified for the rest of the nation to see.