If Clemson wants to get back on track this week at NC State, it all starts with the turnover margin.
Through seven games, Clemson sits at 4-3 (2-3 ACC) a disappointing record that can be traced back to ball security issues.
The Tigers are dead last in the FBS in lost fumbles with 10. Despite being tied for eighth-best in the country with only three interceptions thrown, with the fumbles, the Tigers are tied for having the 98th most turnovers in the FBS with 13.
As former offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain put it: “They lead the world — not just the ACC, the world — in lost fumbles with 10. It’s just this team’s MO, unfortunately,”
When asked on Tuesday what Clemson needs to do to be deserving of a win, head coach Dabo Swinney said it comes down to holding onto the ball.
“None of y’all want a simple answer, but it’s really simple, and that is, let’s win the turnover margin,” Swinney said.
In five out of the team’s seven games this season, Clemson has lost the turnover margin.
In last week’s 28-20 double overtime loss to Miami, Clemson had three giveaways — two fumbles and one interception. The most costly turnover was Will Shipley’s lost fumble on Miami’s one-yard line. That turnover led to a 14-point swing, as Clemson failed to score, and Miami ran 80 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing play to get on the board.
Shipley’s fumble in the red zone wasn’t the first time Clemson has given the ball away in scoring position. In the Tigers’ Week 1 loss to Duke, Phil Mafah fumbled on the Blue Devils’ 1-yard line, leading to Duke scoring seven points and taking a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. Earlier in that same game, quarterback Cade Klubnik lost the ball on an exchange on Duke’s 7-yard line.
“The reason we are where we are is turnovers,” Swinney said. “I mean, we’re last in the country in fumbles. And it’s not only last, it’s where they happen too. And as a result, we’re last in the red zone. We’re dead last. So that’s your problem. But it all goes back to turnovers.”
As to how Clemson can fix the turnover bug, Swinney doesn’t have a solution besides holding onto the ball better.
“Becky from Gaffney told me that I gotta give them all the ball to carry around to class and sleep with it too, so maybe we’ll try that. But we do it every day. I mean, we video every day, it’s a million ball security drills,” Swinney said.
