Saturday’s contest against North Carolina gave the Tigers a much needed wake-up call. After falling behind 7-0 after the first drive and being locked in a 14-14 tie at halftime, Clemson found a way to win in the fourth quarter and fended off a late UNC two-point conversion to seal the deal on the Tigers’ 20th consecutive win. It was not pretty, but a win is a win in the end.
Paws Up: Clemson’s defense
It can be said after virtually any Clemson football game, but here is a reminder: Brent Venables is worth every penny the Tigers give him. Clemson’s defense was remarkable again, despite looking invisible on the first drive of the game. The Tiger defense held North Carolina in-check for the remainder of the game until the final drive when the Heels punched it in, but Venables’ defense stepped up again to stop the two-point conversion and secure the Tigers’ victory. Isaiah Simmons picked up 10 tackles and one sack, which was an absolutely dominant performance for the junior linebacker.
Paws Down: Clemson’s offense
Here’s the deal: Clemson has one of the best offenses in college football on paper, but right now they are not playing like it. The Tar Heels entered the game ranked 76th in total defense, the second to lowest of any team Clemson has played so far. The Tigers only mustered 331 yards of offense, the team’s lowest output of the season. The 21-point performance was Clemson’s lowest since losing to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to conclude the 2017 season. The Tigers could get nothing going on the ground and racked up multiple false start penalties from the offensive line. Everyone knows this Clemson offense is much better, and with a week off coming up, things should improve as rival Florida State comes to town in two weeks, a team starting to heat up in ACC play after winning back-to-back contests at the end of September.
Paws Up: Isaiah Simmons
The best player on Clemson’s defense this year is certainly junior linebacker Isaiah Simmons. Simmons racked up 10 total tackles and a sack in Saturday’s contest, leading the way in Clemson’s defensive performance. On the year, Simmons has 43 total tackles (26 solo, 17 assisted) and three sacks. Simmons has been the anchor for Clemson’s defense that has surpassed expectations this year after losing so much talent from the front seven of last year’s team. Once again, give Brent Venables anything he wants.
Paws Down: Offensive line play
The Clemson offensive line had its worst performance of the season on Saturday. The line committed several false start penalties and provided very little running lanes for Tiger running backs to get through. The line also struggled to protect Trevor Lawrence, who was forced to scramble more than anyone would like to see. The offensive line is still young, but much progress needs to be made in pass protection and run support as the Tigers head into October.
Honorary Paws Down mention: UNC videoboard
The North Carolina video board team had a field day showing Clemson fans and adding taglines beneath them. The best one was a line that stated a particular fan of the Tigers was a bandwagon fan. Pretty ironic considering North Carolina basketball is second to none in the bandwagon game. Either way, North Carolina took the L and Clemson is still undefeated.
The Tigers have a bye weekend next weekend before hosting Florida State on Oct. 12th.
