AUSTIN, Texas – It’s halftime at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and the score stands at 28-10. Read below for an analysis of play so far from The Tiger sports desk:
Offense:
— Clemson had a strong first drive resulting in an early score – 12 plays, 75 yards and five first downs saw the Tigers into the end zone. Quarterback Cade Klubnik connected with Antonio Williams at the Texas 21-yard line, who then ran it in to get the Tigers on the board.
– Adam Randall is a special player. He was beat out at wide receiver by Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore, and instead of entering the transfer portal, he stuck with his team. He’s shown up big when it matters most, first with his 46-yard kick return in the ACC Championship and again when he went in at running back for a gain of 41 yards in the first half – that’s a kind of dedication that can’t be coached, it’s ingrained.
– The offensive line is collapsing around Klubnik, leading to two sacks in the first half. Klubnik has been scrambling to put his burners on, but has come up with just six yards.
– Williams, Wesco and Moore combined for 85 yards in the air through the first 30 minutes. Offensively, the largest disparity is in the rushing attack, with Clemson adding up 65 yards – 42 of which came from Randall – compared to Texas’ 148.
Defense:
— Clemson’s Tré Williams got to Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on the Longhorns’ opening drive for a loss of 10 yards.
— The Clemson run defense has been where the holes have been and where Texas has succeeded. Three of Texas’s four touchdowns in the opening half were rushing touchdowns. The team averages 6.7 yards per carry on Clemson’s defense, which has been a catalyst for the high-powered Texas offense today.
— On a 4th-and-1 in their own territory, linebacker Sammy Brown stopped running back Jayden Blue for a loss of a yard. After three consecutive possessions with a touchdown for Texas, the Tigers finally got a stop.
— In Texas’s penultimate drive of the half, R.J. Mickens picked off Ewers to put the Tigers back in an advantageous position. While Mickens returned it for a touchdown, the play was called back for an illegal blindside block by Williams.
