Clemson football: ACC title lies in the middle of the field

The ACC Championship Game will be decided in one area between Clemson and Notre Dame.

There is a lot of hype around the ACC Championship game between Clemson and Notre Dame with kick-off 11 days away. Irish quarterback Ian Book is making the media rounds adding fuel to fire – first he was on the ABC telecast Saturday night and today he was on Dan Patrick.

He is trying to downplay the Trevor Lawrence aspect saying he “doesn’t play defense” and Book is correct Trevor doesn’t play defense. However, neither does Book himself.

There is one part of the field that the Tigers will either win or lose the game on – the middle of the field.

It seems like Clemson football offensive coordinator Tony Elliott has become allergic to the middle of the field. Even going back to the LSU game last year, whether it was Amari Rodgers or Braden Galloway, the LSU Tigers were unable to defend it.

The same goes for every other team on the 2020 Clemson football schedule. However, Elliott seems to purposely stay away from the largest part of the field. His game every week is to attack the edges and the sidelines.

While the Tigers have had a fair amount of success, why not open on the 40 yards between the numbers and allow Trevor Lawrence and all the weapons on offense to force Notre Dame to cover every inch of the field?

Tight ends have to be a factor for Clemson football.

Looking back over the year, Galloway has just 316 yards and two touchdowns. While that may be good for some tight ends, that is just a third of what he is capable of. Yes, playing in just seven of the 10 games is not great but he should be averaging almost 100 yards a game.

Davis Allen is the other tight end who doesn’t get enough looks. He is third on the team with a 15.1 yards per catch average and yet is nowhere to be found in Tony Elliott’s game plan – only Cornell Powell and Frank Ladson Jr.average more. However, he averages two catches a game.

Another threat over the middle is Amari Rodgers. Yes, he is utilized all over the field, but his biggest plays come across the middle where he has a knack for finding the open spot. He has been relegated to the outside for most of this season and there is no logical explanation for it.

Lastly, you have running back Travis Etienne.

He may be your most complete playmaker and yet Elliott seems happy with just using him in traditional roles as a running back. He runs wheel routes and sneaks out into the flats – but rarely the middle of the field.

If Clemson football is indeed going to win their sixth straight ACC title and get back to the College Football Playoffs, Tony Elliott has to use the entire field, including the part of neglects the most.