Gamecock linebacker weighs in, says Tigers are not as physical as Georgia

Clemson beat South Carolina by 21 points last November

by TigerNet Staff - Sun Jul 21 13:26:22 GMT-04:00 2019

ESPN college football analyst Desmond Howard questioned Clemson’s physicality and toughness last season, saying the Tigers were more of a finesse team. Now SEC players are beginning to pile on.

The National Champs were the talk of SEC media days last week as the league tries to wrap its head around the Tigers’ dominance of Alabama in a 44-16 victory in Santa Clara. Add in another win over Alabama for the title in 2016, and Clemson has won two of the last three National Championships and is favored by many to make it three out of four this season.

Tigers O-Lineman John Simpson responded by telling the media at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte last week that, “I personally feel that Notre Dame was the best team we played. Notre Dame was really good. I think Notre Dame was better than Alabama was.”

That doesn’t stop the SEC from trying to disparage the accomplishment, with Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses saying Georgia was the toughest team the Crimson Tide played last season.

Now the South Carolina Gamecocks have weighed in.

South Carolina linebacker T.J. Brunson agreed with Alabama’s Moses, and he explained why in an interview with Dawg Nation in which he says the Tigers are not as physical at the point of attack.

“I think Georgia is a more physical team,” Brunson said. “Clemson is, I wouldn’t say a finesse, but Georgia, when they are coming in you know what they are going to do and how they are going to do it. Clemson is the same way, they’re just not as physical, in my opinion. It’s not the same type of downhill game attack. It’s, I’m going to spread you out and then decide to try to gut you.”

South Carolina receiver Bryan Edwards – and one-time Clemson target – also chimed in.

“It’s like comparing apples to oranges, honestly, I mean because when you look at them, Georgia is kind of a run the ball team, and Clemson kinda spreads you out, so it’s kind of comparing apples to oranges,” Edwards said.

“Clemson, their D-Line was very good, and Georgia had a lot of athletes at every position.”

South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley was very complimentary of both teams.

“How do they compare to each other? I think they are two totally different teams,” Bentley said. “I think they are both great teams, but they have different philosophies of how they go about doing it, not that one is more right than the other.

“But they are two great teams that we have to play well against.”

How did Clemson and Georgia compare running the ball last season? Clemson finished 10th nationally in rushing, with 568 carries for 3723 yards, an average of 6.55 yards per rush and 248.20 yards per game. The Bulldogs were 16th nationally, carrying the ball one less time (567) for 380 less yards (3343), an average of 5.90 yards per carry and 238.79 yards per game.