Clemson football went through an entire half against a mediocre Georgia Tech team and mustered a grand total of seven points.
There were hopes that the Tigers would take steps forward this week after having a little bit of success last weekend against FCS opponent S.C. State, but to this point it simply hasn’t happened. Instead, it’s the same story over and over and over again.
Clemson has an elite defense that is playing like a unit capable of winning the National Championship. Clemson’s offense, on the other hand, looks as if it is one of the worst units in the ACC– a conference that has plenty of mediocrity to go around, mind you.
There is no saving this current Clemson football offense
Just in this first half against Georgia Tech– a team that lost to Northern Illinois by the way– we’ve seen this:
- D.J. Uiagalelei still shows no touch on the vast majority of his passes
- Georgia Tech doesn’t respect the passing game so much that they have put nine guys in the box at times.
- Clemson’s offensive line is missing blocks
- Even when Uiagalelei finds an open man, we’ve seen wide receivers drop passes
Oh, and maybe the most frustrating part: Tony Elliott is ‘too smart’ for his own good.
Elliott had a 4th-and-2 in Georgia Tech territory with Will Shipley in at running back– who has averaged nearly 5 yards per carry– and instead of just handing it off, he decided to run a shovel pass that went for nothing. He continues to run plays with no crossing routes despite a wide open middle of the field. Instead of running any tempo and getting a rhythm, this offense looks out of sync with nearly every single snap it takes.
There’s no doubt in my mind that this offense will continue to get better over the course of the season, but any Tiger fan that was hoping for a quick fix to “save” the current form of this offense is going to be left disappointed.
Until Elliott is willing to make some major changes in how he calls the game and until we see Uiagalelei make improvements and show any kind of confidence, Clemson football fans are going to have sit through these ugly, low-scoring affairs in which they are filled with frustrations and watch the unit continuously leave points on the field.