The Clemson football team hosted its annual Orange & White spring game Saturday afternoon in Death Valley and it was a low-scoring affair to say the least.
The White Team rallied for a 14-13 victory over Team Orange to gain bragging rights, but it wasn’t quite the firework show that many Clemson fans were hoping for.
The Tiger defense got the best of the offense, for the most part, as neither team had more than 300 yards of total offense (Orange 277, White 254) and both teams combined for three turnovers (Orange 2, White 1).
The two defenses also combined for 11 sacks (6 White, 5 Orange), though the quarterbacks weren’t live, and they had 17 tackles for loss (7 White, 10 Orange).
Despite the lack of scoring, Clemson football will be elite offensively
It’s easy to look at a spring game where neither offense did a whole lot and believe that the Tigers might have some concerns on that side of the ball.
What you’re not taking into account, though, is the split nature of a scrimmage. That’s why we can’t overreact to anything that happened Saturday.
When you combine a running back group that includes Lyn-J Dixon, Chez Mellusi, Kobe Pace, Will Shipley and Phil Mafah all together on one team, how can you not believe the Tigers are going to have trouble getting production out of that position?
When you give D.J. Uiagalelei his full arsenal of weapons- don’t forget Frank Ladson Jr. and Justyn Ross didn’t even play- this could be the deepest group of skill position players this program has ever seen.
It’s easy to be misled by low scores and think that means offense is a concern, but anyone watching to see all the talent knows the Tigers have the potential to be special on the offensive side of the ball despite what a measly scrimmage might say.
The biggest loss of the day offensively was the torn Achilles suffered by backup QB Taisun Phommachanh– who admittedly had a rough day- making that position group even thinner behind Uiagalelei than we previously feared.