In football, your bread is buttered on how well your team performs on third and fourth down. For Clemson, the Tigers could not have gotten off to a worse start in third down offense. After going 1-of-13 versus LSU and 2-of-14 against Georgia Southern, Clemson is converting on only 11.11 percent of its third-down attempts this season (3-of-27). Dabo Swinney didn't mince words after hearing that.
When asked about his offense being ranked 136th in the country out of 138 teams in third-down offense, he responded accordingly. "I'm surprised we aren't 138th." Point taken. It has been incredibly disjointed at best with Chad Morris coming back to coordinate the Clemson offense some 12 years away from the program. Quarterback play has been substandard. The running game is even worse.
Team Rankings actually has Clemson ranked 132nd of 138 teams in third-down conversions. While the 11.11 percent remains the same, only Missouri State, Washington State, East Carolina, Kentucky, and Wyoming are definitively worse. Northwestern has not played an FBS opponent yet. You know who is in first place? That would rival South Carolina at a jaw-dropping 87.5-percent conversion rate.
South Carolina being 76.39 percent more efficient on third down versus FBS competition in unreal!
Dabo Swinney, when asked about his offense being ranked 136th in the country on third down:
— Grayson Mann (@gray_mann21) September 15, 2026
"I'm surprised we aren't 138th."
Chad Morris has to take it upon himself for Clemson to be more clutch
For Clemson to get out of its offensive quagmire in crucial situations, Morris must hone in on these three items. The first is to wake the offensive line up. While the last two games have been played into early hours of Sunday morning, Matt Luke's front five has been nothing to write home about. It was a baptism by fire versus LSU, and it honestly was not much better versus Georgia Southern. Wake up!
The second area of focus is to get Tait Reynolds some easy completions on first and second down. This will be his career start since taking over for Christopher Vizzina. He might be a talented true freshman who can run a little bit, but the short-to-medium passing game on first and second down will be his friend. This can create more manageable third-down situations where he can use his legs.
And finally, the third will be to ask the deep wide receiver room to take on an even bigger workload. It is the only unit on the offensive side of the ball we can trust right now. That will require guys such as TJ Moore to continue being excellent, as well as Bryant Wesco Jr. and Tyler Brown to make even more plays when the game requires it. Honestly, even the freshmen and the tight ends need to step up, too.
Overall, if Morris wants to have a second season in his second run at being Clemson's offensive coordinator, he needs to prove to everyone that he is the right man for the job in this game. This is where coaching will matter. He will be going up against a Bill Belichick defense. The UNC head coach might be licking his chops when it comes to what he sees from Clemson. Go make the big difference!
Swinney may not like what he has seen out of Clemson's offense, so he must light a fire into Morris.
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