Just as I did some hate week writing for Georgia Tech this past week, I will also provide a reaction to Clemson football this past long weekend that was in Atlanta with the 1st edition of “The Smoldering Ruin:” Georgia Tech edition.
What if I told you a week ago that Clemson’s fanbase, the national media, and pretty much any friend in your phone would be texting to tell you how bad Clemson’s offensive performance was? You would be terrified. “The dynasty truly is over” you would think to yourself as you proceed to go over every negative talking point that has been fed to you over the offseason. You would assume that the offense looked just the exact same as last year or, heck, maybe the game even resembled the Georgia game from last September in Charlotte.
But then I tell you it’s a 31-point win on the road.
Now look, I’m not going to sit here and pour orange Kool-Aid for everyone, I was sweating a little bit (a lot, actually) midway through the 3rd. But Clemson did something in Atlanta that it didn’t do that often in 2021: It rallied.
That’s not to say at all that the offense was perfect, far from it actually. Some of the same miscues from last season reared their ugly head. The lack of push in the run game, wide receiver drops, and decision making from the quarterback all left a lot to be desired.
But in a way, this is exactly what I thought would happen. The bad AND the good.
DJ did show some improvement. He was clutch on 3rd down. The OL picked it up in the mid-3rd and took over in the 4th. WR’s dropped passes but others (**cough cough** Antonio Williams) showed that they could be dependable.
Compare that to the “where do we go from here” attitude 365 days ago and the starting point of that season to this year. Clemson was dominated thoroughly in that game in Charlotte last year and it exposed at lot of issues that people didn’t see coming. This season everyone knew what the struggles were, and the team was knocking on the door of 400 yards of total offense with 41 points. Let’s be real, Clemson scored 40 points only once against a power 5 opponent last year, so I think regardless of what the offense looks like in future weeks, they are at least at a better starting point than a year ago.
The other point that has to be made is…..(LOUD SIGH)……Cade Klubnik is freaking good.
I say that as someone who wants DJ to go on and develop and become what we all thought he would be. But it just looked different coming out of Cade’s hands. He played loose, carefree, looking to make a play rather than not making a mistake.
Now of course after one week, everyone has the answers and is willing to levy opinions on Clemson. National media pundits are already crucifying Clemson by diagnosing every problem with the offense without realizing the simple fact that if Clemson could win 10 games with one of the worst offenses in school history, what could they do with just some minor improvements?
This wouldn’t be a “Georgia Tech” article without mentioning what I saw out of the Ramblin’ Wreck. They were just that, a wreck. Geoff Collins is in over his head, there is no other way to say it. As an opposing fan, I normally don’t take notice of how other coaches use time outs, but my word, did he make some choices in that game. He went from not using his last 2 in the final 40 seconds of the first half because of some hunch Clemson might go for it on 4th and 3 from their own 40 only to then blowing all 3 timeouts for the 2nd half midway through the 4th. Particularly, that final TO when Dabo just baited him with a nifty little formation change was just chef’s kiss.
Houston Burnett argues that Monday’s result should be seen as a starting point, not the end product of 2022 Clemson football
Clemson for the first 2 and a half quarters gave them every opportunity to get in the game, but Tech just could not get out of their own way with questionable play calling and game management. I am not the type of person that usually throws out “people who are on the hot seat” talk, but after last night, Geoff Collins might as well be sitting on a Waffle House griddle.
All in all, Monday night serves as a far better jumping off point for Clemson than a year ago. You can actually call this offense a work in progress as opposed to a dumpster fire. As time goes on this team can come together.
Be patient, and don’t forget we left Tech in a smoldering mess.