Game Review: Clemson vs. Louisville
Clemson was outmanned by the Louisville Cardinals in the Valley this past weekend as they worked they way to a 21-33 loss. The loss ended a 11-year home night game win streak for the Tigers, and this was the first time in history that the Cardinals have been able to overtake Clemson. Coach Swinney and Co. have lost for the third straight season in a game coming out a bye week, and this standard is unacceptable. The Tigers have fallen to 6-2 (5-1), and their Playoffs Hopes are out the window at this moment. Clemson, surprisingly, has a lot to fix this week to hopefully stop this season from completely going off the rails. This game felt a whole lot like the past few seasons and that is not a good sign for this Clemson Team that originally injected hope back into Tiger Town.
Key Tiger Takeaways:
No Push: The most glaring issue that has persisted all season long has been the lack of dominance from the Defensive Line at the Line-of-Scrimmage (LOS). Teams have gutted the Tigers with the run all year, and tonight it was most evident when the Tiger Offense was at a stand-still. The Louisville Cardinals rushed for 210 yards on just 27 carries, and Freshman RB Isaac Brown accumulated for 151 of those yards on 20 carries (ESPN). His performance along with their Offensive Line’s against a struggling Clemson Front will haunt Tiger Fans for a while. Clemson’s lack of pressure is not just against the rushing attack, but they have also been unsatisfactory against the pass as well. While Cardinal QB Tyler Shough was not the reason that we lost, the pressure put on him is unacceptable. The Tigers finished the night with no sacks and only three tackles for loss (ESPN). It has been a long time since the Tigers have had a Defensive Line problem, but now they do. With struggles on the recruiting trial, Tiger Fans and myself are wondering how or if the Clemson Front can get back to their dominant ways?
Tyler Grisham: While Wide Receivers Coach Tyler Grisham has escaped my criticism for some weeks, he is yet again on the chopping block. Most fans would put the blame on Quarterback Cade Klubnik, but I believe that Klubnik did his best with the options that were made available to him during the game. Throughout the entire contest, their was little to no separation created by the Wide Receivers and it looked like the UGA game. The better WR play that Clemson has sustained through six games this season came against below average passing defenses and some teams that just do not have the talent. However, when the light were bright again, they failed to take that next step. The top two receiving targets tonight were Freshmen Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore who accumulated just 116 yards on 12 catches (ESPN). It speaks volumes that the two most successful WR’s are two Freshmen rather than any of the Veteran players that have been in the Receiver room for a couple of years. There is a development and recruiting problem within the Wide Receiver room, and Tyler Grisham is the one to blame.
Lack of Urgency: During the third quarter once the Tigers got down 26-7, there was no urgency within the Offense. There were several occasions where Clemson’s Offense would take 25+ seconds to snap the ball in a game that you were already down three scores. I do not know whether this was a play calling issue, Quarterback issue, or just an unprepared issue from the whole Coaching Staff, but it was unacceptable and the fans let Coach Swinney hear it. It was make or break time for the Tigers, and they were too busy huddling up before plays to mount a comeback. The lack of preparation combined with that type of effort down late does not match the standard that Clemson is known for.
Misplaced Faith?: Throughout the past couple of seasons, we have seen Clemson football reach new lows for the Coach Swinney Era, and it has been because of misplaced faith. Whether it was misplaced faith in the Quarterback, Receivers, or Coaches, there has been multiple bad decisions made within the football program. Coach Swinney has placed his faith in unproven coaches, and that led to the downfall of the Tigers’ Special Teams Units, the downfall of the Tigers’ Offensive Line, the downfall of the Tigers’ Receiving Corps, and the downfall of the Tigers’ dominant Defense. There has been a lot of questionable judgement calls made these past couple of seasons for Clemson Football, and it has destroyed any hopes of the Tigers being the last team standing. Tiger Fans have no control over the decisions made by the football program, but the question will still stand: When will Coach Swinney stop misplacing his faith?
Field Goal Unit: Special Teams has never been something that Clemson has been great at during the Coach Swinney Era mostly because of his lack of desire to hire a legit Special Teams Coordinator, but the Field Goal Unit this season is just as pitiful as last years. Clemson last season did not have a consistent Field Goal Kicker all season as they misplaced faith in then Freshman Robert Gunn III and that led to a scramble to bring back Graduate Kicker Jonathan Weitz to relive Gunn. Weitz was not much better than the Freshman which led to a inconsistent kicking game. This season the Tigers have looked to have found their Kicker for the future in Freshman Nolan Hauser because of his proven accuracy within 40 yards. However, his 4 misses this season have all been blocked because of horribly blocked attempts. The Tigers were gearing up to tie the game right before halftime against the Cardinals before a disastrous blocked field goal that later set a Louisville Touchdown right before halftime to go up two scores. The momentum shifted heavy after that play, and later in the affair during the Tigers comeback attempt, another FGA was blocked by the Cardinals. The blocking woes in the field goal game are unacceptable and basic principles for a competitive football team. However, another question mark rises for Coach Swinney, will he finally hire a proven Special Teams Coordinator to change these trends?
Secondary Play: The Tiger Secondary was the most successful portion of the roster in their loss against the Cardinals. Coming into this affair, it seemed that Louisville was going to attempt to take the top off the Defense with their trends in past top matchups that they have had this season. While the Cardinals did not rely heavily on the pass because of their dominant rushing attack, the Secondary did a good job at limiting big plays from Louisville. Cardinal QB Tyler Shough threw for only 156 passing yards on 32 attempts, and his star Wideout Ja’Corey Brooks had only 42 yards on 4 catches (ESPN). However, take these numbers with a grain of salt because of the Cardinals’ focus in the run game. The most troubling portion of the Secondary has been Clemson’s uncertainty at who is playing the second Safety position and Nickel Back (NB). Against Louisville, the Tigers reverted to their original plan at the beginning of the season with Khalil Barnes starting at NB and Kylon Griffin playing the second Safety position. Yet, something occurred early into the game with Griffin that Clemson did not like, and they switched Barnes back to Safety and brought in former Cornerback Shelton Lewis to play NB. This type of situation has haunted Clemson all season long, and I believe it contributes to the Defense’s unreadiness that we saw against the Cardinals. The Defensive Coaching Staff has a lot to prove, and it starts with finding the right guys to put on the field.
ACC Chaos: The Louisville game felt like a shot to the heart for Clemson’s ACC Title Chances and the Playoff Chances; however, there is a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel for Clemson. If Clemson wins out during what is left of their ACC schedule (at VT and at Pitt.), their is still an opportunity for the Tigers to end up in Charlotte. Miami or SMU has to loss one of their three remaining games, and Clemson’s uncommon ACC opponents with either one of those schools have to keep winning. While all hope feels lost right now, the Tigers are still barely breathing. Miami has been known for having close games throughout the season, and maybe one of Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, or Syracuse can pull off a miracle (ESPN). SMU has looked pretty dominant throughout the year and look less likely to possibly lose than Miami. The Mustangs have Boston College, Virginia, and California left on their schedule (ESPN).
Sources:
ESPN. “ESPN.” ESPN.com, 2019, www.espn.com/.
“Clemson Tigers | Clemson University Athletics.” Clemson Tigers Official Athletics Site, clemsontigers.com. (for Pic)