On Saturday afternoon, the then-No. 10 Clemson Tigers took down the Virginia Cavaliers, 48-31. After falling behind 10-3 in the opening quarter, the Tigers found their rhythm and scored 35 unanswered points. Clemson advanced to a 6-1 overall record and remains undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record.
Paws up: Response to adversity
The Tigers had a rough opening quarter against the Cavaliers. They seemed to have set the tempo on the opening drive, settling for a field goal deep in the red zone, but Virginia responded quickly with a red zone drive of its own, which also resulted in a field goal.
On the following drive, Cade Klubnik threw an interception, where Virginia was able to capitalize on the momentum and take an early 10-3 lead on Clemson.
Clemson responded immediately, tying the game at 10-10 after a methodical drive. Once they regained their footing, the Tigers never looked back. They scored 35 unanswered points until Virginia was finally able to find the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter to cut
the lead to 38-17.
Paws down: Slow offensive start
The Tigers started the game shaky, especially on the offensive side of the ball. They failed to convert deep in the red zone, and the Klubnik interception didn’t help. In addition to his interception, he appeared to be late on his reads or would miss open targets.
It has been a rare occurrence for the Tigers offensive unit to seem like the weakest link, specifically Klubnik, but it only lasted for a short stint.
Despite their success after the sluggish start, such a performance will not be acceptable when facing stronger opponents. Against teams like Louisville, Pittsburgh and South Carolina, the Tigers must come out of the gates hot. While Clemson has started most of their games this season well, they displayed a different explosiveness out of the gates against Virginia.
Paws up: Innovative offensive play calling
As the Clemson offense improves every week, so do the play designs. Players are in motion more frequently as they move through the book with clever trick plays. Garrett Riley’s ability to maintain a balanced passing attack between short and deep passes has also contributed to the display of offensive prowess.
Against Virginia, Riley continued to incorporate the spread offense concept. He was able to get receivers in space and create favorable matchups. After successfully establishing the passing game and spreading out the defense, this opened up the run game for Phil Mafah and allowed the offensive line to dominate the trenches.
Even on unsuccessful plays, the offense still had promising moments. Cade Klubnik missed a wide-open Jake Briningstool in the end zone, but the fact he was wide open shows that the defense took the bait on the possible decoys and complex formations that Riley implemented.
It seems like Riley has returned the Clemson offense fans grew used to cheering for throughout the 2010s back to life. In the bye week, the Tigers’ offensive unit will look to do some self-scouting as they have given future opponents plenty of tapes to watch. As the second half of the 2024 season winds on, look to see if the Tigers can continue to maintain their dominance.
