Quick Thoughts: Clemson's O-line and quarterback play have to improve going forward

It was a tough night for the Clemson QB and O-line.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Sep 05 00:27:11 GMT-04:00 2021

CHARLOTTE, NC – The Clemson football team filed into the tunnel underneath Bank of America Stadium late Saturday, the stands above them shaking and reverberating as the Georgia fans celebrated and chanted, “U-G-A! U-G-A! U-G-A!” into the night. Some of the players looked up, watched the stands shake, and then looked back down and continued the trudge to the locker room.

It was a poignant moment on a night when there weren’t many poignant moments. The defense? That group was nasty. I thought Bryan Bresee and Ruke Orhorhoro and Baylon Spector and Andrew Booth all played like the grown men they are. The receivers competed. The running backs were serviceable considering the lack of running lanes. The tight ends? I thought they could have been better. The offensive line and quarterback play? Yeah, that was not good.

Following last season’s season-ending loss to Ohio St. in the College Football Playoff, this team promised anybody and everybody that it would be more physical in the future, that getting punched in the mouth and not hitting back was a thing of the past. That defense delivered. The offensive line did not, and from first blush it’s hard for me to discern…is it coaching? Is it technique? Is it physicality?

The Tigers gained just 180 total yards, and 178 of those were through the air. Clemson ran the ball 23 times for two yards, an average of 0.1 yards per carry. The offense averaged just three yards per play. DJ Uiagalelei was sacked seven times and the Bulldogs racked up eight yards for loss. One play I saw the left tackle barely get a hand on a defender and the quarterback was sacked. The next play it was right tackle. Then it was at center. Every position had its part to play.

But there were also times when it looked – from field level – that Uiagalelei had time and maybe had his first read but didn’t trust that read. He would pump-fake and then look elsewhere and end up throwing it away or up for grabs. More than once that receiver on the first read would throw his hands in the air and look skyward for help.

When Paul Tchio entered the game, along with running back Lyn-J Dixon, things began to pick up. Dixon was getting the chips on the defenders that the other running backs were missing and he even turned in a few big plays with his legs. Tchio helped settle things on the left side and played fairly well. Right now, it would appear that all those starting spots should be up for grabs in practice. That’s everybody. Quarterback. Running back. Offensive line. Tight ends. Wide receivers.

Playcalling? Well, hindsight is always 20/20. As always, I wondered about the middle of the field and the absence of plays there. There were no designed quarterback runs until late (probably too late). Uiagalelei told me after the game that he was disappointed in the way he played, and that he needs to play better early in the game. He declined to put the blame on the offensive line or his wide receivers, and took all of the blame. He said he needed to play well and he didn’t play well Saturday and, “It’s as simple as that.”

As for the lack of designed runs, he once again said he didn’t play very well and there were times when he should have gained positive yards but took a sack and that made the offensive line look bad. He said he didn’t feel flustered but “just needed to make the play. I ended up holding the ball too long.”

But that defense…..that defense is really good. In the absence of defensive tackle Tyler Davis and safety Nolan Turner, the younger players stepped in played extremely well. Georgia gained just 256 yards, 135 through the air. The Bulldogs were able to run with a smidgen of success.

This one stings. That’s a given. But one Clemson staffer walked out of the locker room and said, “Put this in a big old font on your headline. This isn’t January. There is a long way to go. Remember, this isn’t January.”

And that’s really one big takeaway – this team played bad (that’s being kind) on one side of the ball and still had a chance to win late against a very good team. They will improve. The offensive line has to play better and the quarterback play has to improve. There are things to build off of. There are a lot of things to improve. And that starts Sunday.