Clemson Football: 5 biggest surprises (so far) during the 2020 season

2. The struggles of both the offensive & defensive lines

This part is two-fold and we’ll begin with the offensive line.

Obviously, everyone had questions about an offensive line that was going to be replacing four starters, but I don’t think anyone realized they’d have this much trouble. Clemson hasn’t been able to run the ball on basically anyone despite having the best running back in the country.

That’s mostly due to the struggles that the offensive line has had, in particular the interior OL. That group has to get better and it’s been a surprise, at least in my opinion, to see them pushed around by some of the other lower-level defensive lines that they’ve faced.

Speaking of the defensive line, do you remember the billing of this group coming into the season? They were as deep as any Clemson football DL we’ve ever had- including the Power Rangers.

Unfortunately, this group hasn’t been able to get to the passer consistently and there have been a lot of injuries, as well. The overall result has been disappointing and surprising, though there have certainly been some bright spots with that group and there’s definitely reason to believe the young unit can continue to improve.