Last Saturday may have been Clemson's first shutout victory in nearly five years. While it is always great to keep a football team hailing from The Palmetto State scoreless, there is a stark contrast between the Charleston Southern Buccaneers and the South Carolina Gamecocks. Clemson may have looked dominant in its 37-0 win over Charleston Southern, but it still gave up 41 points to Miami.
The Tigers may have held the Buccaneers to only 76 yards of offense, as well as not let them convert on a single third or fourth-down try. No doubt about it, those are impressive numbers. However, for as great as the Clemson defense looked against Charleston Southern, the Virginia Tech Hokies will be a huge step up in competition. Clemson will only be playing Power Four opponents the rest of the way.
The good news for Clemson is the Tigers have a strong defense that plays cohesively, one that never quits in any game. They also have an emerging ground game and one of the best special teams units in the country. As for the bad news, Tait Reynolds has not thrown for a touchdown in over a month, his offensive line comes and goes, and Dabo Swinney is poking and prodding too much at his receivers.
Clemson still has plenty to prove against ACC competition in second half
With Clemson hosting Virginia Tech in primetime expected to be decided by less than a field goal, there really is no margin for error in this one, or in any other game for that matter. For Clemson to achieve all it can this season, the Tigers must win one low-scoring game after another. Since they have an incredibly navigable schedule, a 10-2 (7-1) might be compelling enough to get to Charlotte.
To be frank, Virginia Tech may very well be Clemson's toughest conference opponent yet. Florida State, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech are all really struggling. Clemson gets them in succession after the Virginia Tech kick. After that, the Tigers will have a moderately difficult one at Duke on a Friday night during the penultimate game of the season. A win there is more promising after these last two weeks.
Although the South Carolina game will have no bearings on if Clemson contends for an ACC title or not, a 10-win season and in-state bragging rights sounds pretty good heading into December. Of course, Clemson has to clean up several things to make any and all of this happen. It all starts with improved quarterback play, as well as the offensive line rounding into form during the second half.
Ultimately, Clemson's season will be defined by what the Tigers do in ACC play, and not against FCS competition. While we now know that Clemson is capable of scoring 30 points in a game, as well as shutting out an opponent, can the Tigers do that against someone of substance? Until the Tigers get better in their red-zone execution, it is hard to see this team winning out by way of mostly field goals.
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