The final score of Saturday’s game between Clemson and Boston College does not tell the whole story of the football game. The Tigers would ultimately win by a score of 31-3, but it was anything but smooth for Clemson. Just when you think this Clemson team is ready to take the next step forward, they take a massive step backwards early on in this game.
Clemson Limiting Themselves
Despite a promising opening drive that resulted in a field goal, the Clemson offense struggled mightily to move the ball against Boston College. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei never looked comfortable at all and the offense as a whole looked flat out bad at times. The following possession for Clemson resulted in an ill advised pass by Uiagalelei that ended up in the hands of Boston College. This clearly had the Clemson quarterback rattled a little bit because he did not look like the same quarterback that he had been in weeks prior. There is some credit to be given to Boston College though, as they were able to get pressure on Uiagalelei at times. However, Clemson’s next four possessions yielded punts, three of them being three-and-outs. Uiagalelei was just 3-8 for 21 yards during those drives with 4 consecutive incompletions at one point. It’s one thing to have a struggling quarterback, but the Tigers were not even able to run the ball. Running back Will Shipley was unable to find any holes all game rushing for just 33 yards. If it was not for Clemson’s defense, would have been down early to a much inferior opponent.
It was discouraging to see Clemson’s offense perform as they did considering the performances they had the previous two weeks. At the same time though, the play calling was discouraging as well. This was supposed to be an offense that was full of confidence that had finally found itself. The fact that offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter isn’t letting his quarterback take some consistent shots over the field is becoming a little questionable. DJ has clearly shown that he is capable of completing these throws, so why not let him do so on a more consistent basis? There were far too many screen passes called to start drives when passes over the middle could have easily been drawn up as well. Granted it did take a while for DJ to get his confidence back and feel comfortable in this game, but he needs to show that he is not afraid to drop back to throw after failure.
The Good Outweighs The Bad
The Tigers offense finally found some momentum on their first possession out of the second half. The Tigers were able to go 73 yards with just 5 plays capped off with DJ found finding wide receiver Joseph Ngata on a 38 yard bomb for a touchdown. This was a drive that had Clemson fans saying “where was this in the first half?” There was only one pass completed in the first half by DJ that was greater than 15 yards and there were already two of them within the first two minutes of the second half. This only proves the point that if DJ can do it, then let him do it.
When Uiagalelei has been good, he has looked like one of the more complete quarterbacks in the country. When he has been bad however, he looks like he does not belong out on the football field. For the most part, those days have been behind DJ once the offense is able to get into a rhythm. In the second half, DJ completed six passes that were for 10 yards or more, 4 of them being for over 20 yards. He would also finish with three touchdown passes, all of which were for 10 yards or more. The Clemson offense does not need to become an air raid offense, but simply one that should start to include a little bit more aggressive play calling at times.
Let The Kid Play
As the Tigers are now six games into the season, it is clear that their most important player is going to be quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. It was clear that this was going to be the case going into the year, but now even more so after he has shown what he is capable of. The Tigers are going to go as far as DJ can take them, but it is ultimately up to the Clemson coaching staff to dictate how much of a say he has in that. Teams know that they are going to make Clemson beat them through the air. Clemson has to acknowledge that and embrace DJ leading their offense. With as good as their defense appears to be, Clemson may be able to contend with anybody if they play their best game. Looking to their next game in Tallahassee against Florida State, that will be a hostile environment as the Seminoles will look to get what could be their signature win of the season. Head coach Dabo Swinney and Brandon Streeter will have to take that next step with their offense if they want to stay undefeated on the season.
For More Great College Football Content
Follow us on Twitter at @GridironHeroics for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Football news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
1 Comment
Go tigers beat the Noles!