After a 6-0 start, the Clemson football midseason report card is here!
Clemson football posted their sixth win of the season last Saturday after defeating Syracuse 47-21 in Clemson. The fact the Tigers have played six games this season without cancellation is worth an A+ before we even get started.
The Tigers have won their first six games by an average score of 48-14.
On September 17th I penned my 2020 wish-list for Clemson football. These were nine tasks I wanted to see from the Tigers this season and if they were able to accomplish these tasks, it would likely have them in Miami on January 11, 2021.
Clemson football has had its spectacular moments as well as some head-scratching ones. Given the offseason that these guys experienced, they are much further ahead than most people expected them to be at this point.
We all knew they were among the most talented team in the country, but given the youth of this football team at some very important spots, they have outperformed even the most insane preseason predictions.
Let’s take a look at these nine areas and see just how well the Tigers have lived up to these expectations amid their 6-0 start to the 2020 college football season.
Going into the season I felt it was important that Clemson start fast. I wanted to see the Tigers jump on their opponents early. Clemson scored 177 first-quarter points in 2019. So far the 2020 team is averaging 15.5 points in the first quarter. At this pace assuming they play 14 games, they will score 217 first quarter.
After six games, Trevor Lawrence has been as good as any quarterback in the nation. He is completing 70.7 percent of his passes along with 17 touchdowns. Lawrence was a career 65 percent passer coming into the 2020 season.
The 70 percent plateau was a logical next step in his development as a passer.
After watching Joe Burrow abuse defenses checking the ball down to Clyde Edwards-Helaire last year, there was no reason with Eitenne’s elusiveness he could not be a big factor in the passing game.
Through six games Travis Etienne is the second leading receiver on the team with 22 receptions. The more ways you can get Travis the ball the better. He will continue to be counted on in the passing game as we await the development of a reliable number two from the wide receiver group.
Two weeks ago it seemed like if Trevor continued to play at the level he has been playing it was going to be a foregone conclusion. In recent weeks Mac Jones turned in an exceptional performance against Georgia.
Justin Fields made headlines last Saturday throwing one incomplete pass in his debut. Trevor has played about as well as he could through six games with the exception of a couple of throws.
I have the feeling Lawrence is going to have to have a spectacular performance against Notre Dame and be great down the stretch to beat out Fields and Jones.
If my research is correct, Clemson has not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Sammy Watkins returned a kickoff 89 yards against Maryland in 2011 in a 56-45 Tiger win in College Park.
The Tigers have come close as Lyn-J Dixon has two long returns of 52 and 49 yards in the first six games. Anytime the Tigers can create pressure on an opponent the better.
Hopefully, Lyn-J can take one to the house before the end of the season.
There were high expectations for junior kicker BT Potter coming into the season.
He started the 2020 season five for five including makes from beyond 40 yards and a 52 yard make against Wake Forest. Then the Miami game happened, a school-record three field-goal attempts were blocked.
While all three blocks came from protection issues, that is not the way to keep a kicker confident. Since his five for five start to the season, Potter has hit just three of his last seven field-goal attempts for a 66.7 percent season average.
Will Spiers has kicked the ball well this season. While his net is 39.9 which ranks in the 40s. Spiers average punt this season is 47.7, a 5.2-yard improvement from last season.
By the standard set in my tweet, Spiers is not meeting expectations but there is not a more improved player on this roster than Will Spiers through six games.
He has been able to flip the field consistently and even pulled off a well-executed fake against Syracuse.
Currently, the Clemson defense ranks 14th in the country in average takeaways at 2.1 per game. The Tigers rank ninth if you removed the Big Ten teams that have only played one game. The Tigers are tied with several teams for third in overall takeaways with 13.
No matter how you slice it, Clemson is doing a great job creating turnovers in 2020. The Tiger defense took control of last week’s game by forcing three second-half turnovers that led to 21 points.
Through six games, the Tigers rank third in the nation in tackles for loss trailing only Tulane and Pittsburgh. The ability to create negative plays for the opposition has been a hallmark of Brent Venables’s defenses.
Things have not changed up to this point in 2020. Keep an eye on this statistic as the Tigers deal with some key injuries on defense during the middle part of the season.
Overall thoughts
You have to be pleased with where this team is overall through six games. Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne have lived up to the hype. Amari Rodgers emergence as a number 1 receiver has been a surprise.
Clemson needs Frank Ladson and Joseph Ngata to become factors down the stretch.
Shout out to the Clemson tight ends who have combined for 29 catches and six touchdowns so far this season. This is compared to 2019 when the tight ends collected 26 catches and zero touchdowns.
Injuries are starting to become a concern on defense with the announcement that James Skalski will be out for several weeks after having his knee scoped. Tyler Davis is banged up and is someone the staff would ideally like to have healthy going to South Bend next week.
Derion Kendrick was out last week with a knee.
Defensive end Xavier Thomas is working his way back and flashed last Saturday against Syracuse. Preseason starter at defensive end Justin Foster is still not available. We have reached the part of the season where injuries can start to add up, it will be important for guys to step up and play well.
Clemson needs BT Potter to find his early-season confidence for the stretch run. Will Spiers can be a weapon changing field position.
The offensive line has to continue to improve if the Tigers are going to be a factor in the postseason.