The Positives & Negatives for Clemson football against the Virginia Cavaliers
Things didn’t go as smoothly as many Clemson football fans would’ve wanted to see Saturday evening against the Virginia Cavaliers.
Though the Tigers were favored by 30 points coming into the matchup, Clemson was able to come away with a 41-23 victory over the Cavaliers that certainly had its frustrating moments throughout the night.
As we continue to breakdown the victory that allowed Clemson football to improve to 3-0 on the season, here’s a look at the positives and negatives for the Tigers.
A look at the negatives for Clemson football
- The offensive line play was atrocious for much of the night.
- The defensive line was held silent far too often.
- Clemson’s offense was forced into way too many 3rd down-and-long situations.
- Tigers had multiple opportunities to take complete control of the game and put this one well out of reach and never capitalized.
- The offense had far too many 3rd-and-long situations
- UVA had 417 yards of total offense.
- Had it not been for two interceptions, Virginia may very well have scored more points.
- The secondary had too many times where it was out of position in coverage, especially in zone.
- The defense couldn’t contain Brennan Armstrong and his running ability. That has to be solved before D’Eriq King comes to town.
There’s no doubt that the offensive line has to be better. The unit didn’t get a push all night long and there were several times that Trevor Lawrence was sacked and pressured even when we saw him throw the ball away or escape.
A look at the positives for Clemson football
- Trevor Lawrence was efficient and still showed great accuracy for the vast majority of his passes.
- Travis Etienne was explosive and a one-man wrecking crew.
- Amari Rodgers was dominant in the receiving game.
- The Tigers forced two turnovers, including a spectacular one-handed grab from Andrew Booth Jr.
- Speaking of Booth Jr., he had a much-improved game and was one of the best graded players in coverage.
There’s no doubt that this team has the talent and skill to compete for a championship, but they’ve got plenty of room to grow.
We’ve got to see this Clemson football team grow up and the good thing that is that it’s always easier to learn from a win than a loss.
The Clemson football team will take on the Miami Hurricanes next Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised on ABC.