Brandon Streeter calls Clemson offensive performance a 'tough day at the office' |
CLEMSON – A tough day at the office was merely the continuation of a long year at the office.
Clemson’s offense totaled just 86 yards in a miserable second half, with just 13 of those yards coming from the passing game. Overall, Clemson gained just 336 tough yards against a South Carolina defense that ranked in the lower half nationally in a lot of categories. Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was 8-of-29 for 99 yards. Clemson rushed for 237 yards, with Will Shipley gaining 132 yards on 15 carries. However, other than a 59-yarder in the first half to Beaux Collins, the passing numbers were as bad as we’ve seen since the Rob Spence era (Clemson offensive coordinator from 2005-08) – 7-for-28 for 40 yards. Against a team that has had trouble stopping anyone this season. Streeter said it was a tough day at the office. “Yeah, we just were really sluggish in the second half and we couldn't move the ball. You know, we had 250 yards in the first half and just really, really struggled being consistent," Streeter said. "Whether it was missed plays, we had missed throws, missed drops. Obviously, the passing game was nonexistent most of the night. So it was a really tough day at the office. Really tough day.” Streeter bristled at the question asking if the coaches considered making a move to backup Cade Klubnik. "No, DJ's been our leader, man. He's been our guy. I mean hey, there was a lot of drops tonight,” Streeter said. “It ain't freaking DJ's fault. There's other people in the field. It's not just DJ. DJ ran his ass off tonight.” Clemson tight end Jake Briningstool registered the lone catch for a tight end, and that went for just three yards. “We probably should have done a little bit better job of getting them into the game plan more,” Streeter said. “We just didn't get them the ball. We had some calls that were trying to get them the ball and they played certain things that kept us from doing so. They're a talented group. We tried to get them the ball a little bit at the end there and we overthrew one and they actually didn't really bring the pressure a whole lot until the second half if I recall correctly. “They played a ton of man coverage and they just did better with it as far as playing man coverage and we didn't win it. We didn't make the play. We ran the ball well. I felt like we just didn't play good enough at all. You have to be able to be balanced. I know our passing percentage is really low, which is not the norm. Pretty decent percentage coming into the game. Got to get credit for them with being the better team. That's our responsibility as coaches to get it right. That's what we're going to do.” Streeter said he thought the Tigers ran the ball well enough to win. “We did. We ran the ball well. We were trying to do a lot of misdirection stuff and so a lot of reads for the quarterback,” Streeter said. "And we're running hard and I thought we were blocking them up pretty good in the first half. Second half, they moved around a little bit more and weren’t as successful on some of those things. But really it just comes down to the execution and making some of those plays that we need to make. Some of the routine plays we were not making tonight. That's going to get you beat on that last drive.”
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