A Note, a Quote, and a Stat: Tigers see more explosive plays in win over 'Noles

Beaux Collins drew a pass interference penalty on this play.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Oct 31 11:06:31 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON – Clemson’s offense was far from perfect in the win over Florida St. Saturday afternoon, but it was good to see some explosive plays in the mix for once.

Several of those plays belonged to freshman running back Will Shipley, who finished the day with just under 200 all-purpose yards. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights in this week’s Note, Quote, and Stat.

NOTE

Shipley rushed for 128 rushing yards on 25 carries, both career highs, with a career-high-tying two rushing touchdowns. Shipley’s 100-yard performance was Clemson’s second of the season, joining Kobe Pace’s 125-yard game against Boston College. Shipley recorded the first 100-yard rushing performance by a Clemson true freshman since Nov. 3, 2018, when Lyn-J Dixon had 116 yards on four carries against Louisville.

Clemson improved to 54-2 when having a 100-yard rusher since 2011.

Shipley’s 128 rushing yards were the most by a Clemson player since Travis Etienne’s 149 against Miami (Fla) last October. Shipley’s 25 carries were the most by a Clemson player since Etienne’s 28 carries against South Carolina in 2018. Shipley was not tackled for a loss on any of his 25 carries, gaining positive yardage on 22 carries and getting back to the line of scrimmage on the other three carries.

Shipley pushed his rushing touchdown total on the season to seven, passing Chuck McSwain (six in 1979) for fifth-most by a Clemson true freshman in school history.

Shipley recorded his third game with multiple rushing touchdowns, joining Etienne (four in 2017), C.J. Spiller (three in 2006) and James Davis (three in 2005) as the only Clemson true freshmen to record at least three games with multiple rushing touchdowns in a season since 2000.

A QUOTE

Shipley said earlier this week that he wants to take on the mantle of offensive leader, and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott is watching that come to fruition.

“Oh no doubt. I’ve heard him during conversations in the chow hall challenging guys. As I said, age isn’t a prerequisite for leadership. It’s your character, it’s your work ethic,” Elliott said. “He’s creating credibility in the locker room by the way that he carries himself in the weight room, through all the training sessions, the way that he handles his business academically, the way that interacts with everyone in the building. And that’s one thing that we’ve needed on offense, is leadership. You lose Bockhorst last week, he was a big voice for us, and that void had to be filled. At the end of the day, as long as guys are leading the right way it doesn’t matter who that leadership is coming from. You’d like for everybody on your team to have that mindset. I didn’t hear that, so I appreciate you sharing. But it doesn’t surprise me that he would say that because that’s how he carries himself."

A STAT

The Tigers entered game as one of the worst teams in the nation in explosive plays.

In fact, Clemson had just one play over 50 yards all season, but freshman running back Phil Mafah exploded for a 63-yard rush that now stands as the longest play from scrimmage in 2021.

The Tigers had four long passes that accounted for 91 yards, and three of those went to wide receiver Justyn Ross. Ross had catches of 18 yards (1st quarter), a 19-yarder in the second quarter, and a 25-yarder in the third quarter. Joseph Ngata added a 29-yarder in the third quarter.

In the run game, there five rushes of 10 yards or more. Shipley had carries of 10, 14, 22, and 21 (on a touchdown) while Mafah added his 63-yard run.