The Clemson Tigers suffered their first loss at home since 2016 this past Saturday against the South Carolina Gamecocks. While fans are eager to point fingers, Brandon Streeter knows who is responsible.
Speaking to the media on Monday, the offense coordinator emphasized that the loss was on the team as a whole — players and coaches included.
“I think just execution,” Streeter said of what stood out to him. “We missed plays that were there, whether it would be missed throws, or we had a handful of drops that would have continued drives or big play drops.”
He was not eager, however, to pin the fault on any one player or positional group.
“There are 11 guys doing different jobs on every play, and you got to do it together,” Streeter said. “It was one of those days where when we had big play opportunities somebody was not making the play they needed to make.”
Streeter has reaffirmed multiple times this season that he loves utilizing the versatility of his tight ends in the Tiger’s pass game. When asked why the dynamic tight end duo of senior Davis Allen and sophomore Jake Briningstool did not see the ball as much against the Gamecocks, Streeter took full accountability.
“They did a good job of covering guys. We didn’t do as good of a job getting open,” Streeter said. “There were some opportunities and some play calls that were directed to the tight ends that didn’t get it to them, based on if it was a sack or a tipped ball a couple of times. (We) didn’t get them enough opportunities, that’s what I could do a better job of.”
Another departure from Streeter’s usual tactics came in his utilization of sophomore running back Will Shipley.
When Shipley had the ball, he was able to produce at a high level, with 15 rush attempts for 132 yards, averaging 8.8 yards per carry. He also had two receptions on the day, but with only six carries in the second half, his opportunities were limited when it mattered most.
Although he expressed his confidence in the coaching staff after the game, Shipley also displayed some frustration, saying, “hell yeah, I want the freaking rock.”
As for the running back’s offensive coordinator, he does his best to use all of his players at the right time.
“He got the ball 17 times, and we have basically four guys that are running backs, including my quarterback… There were about five, six, seven times those last couple drives that we didn’t produce anything that were either reads or to him,” Streeter said.
The Tigers were forced to rely heavily on run game against the Gamecocks as third-year quarterback DJ Uiagalelei struggled to connect with his receivers, completing only 8 of 29 pass attempts for 99 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Streeter added that he is eager to continue capitalizing on his signal-caller’s strengths, noting that Uiagalelei remains the team’s starting quarterback and “there’s no doubt” he will continue to run the ball heavily.
“He’s shown that he’s very versatile as far as a runner, and he’s been able to hold up,” Streeter said of Uiagalelei. “He’s a big kid, and he’s got a lot of strength. He’s running the ball well. It really helps you offensively when you have a guy that can do that.”
Many Clemson fans were left wondering what could have been done differently against South Carolina. Streeter acknowledged both the specifics of the game and general areas the group needs to improve.
“It’s every Saturday that you call a game, there’s going to be a couple plays here or there that you wish you would have either called or had different timing on,” he said.
This Saturday, Streeter will look to limit the number of poor plays when the Tigers take on North Carolina in the ACC Championship game.
Although the team may be disappointed on the heels of a rivalry defeat, Streeter knows the players still believe in themselves to deliver a great performance against the Tar Heels.
“I know our kids have confidence. There’s no question about that,” he said. “It’s just a matter of continuing, as coaches, to put them in a position to regain that confidence back. That will be the key this week.”
Although it was an unfortunate end to the regular season for Clemson, Streeter still considers the team fortunate to have another chance to play this season in the championship.
“We just got to keep a perspective and understand that we get another opportunity, and how can we show these guys this opportunity by bouncing back quickly,” Streeter added.
