Quick thoughts from Death Valley: Tigers inconsistent, yet still win big

Mafah was a big part of the Clemson offense Saturday (Photo by Merrell Mann).

David Hood - Senior Writer - Saturday, October 19 2024

CLEMSON – Halloween is still a few days shy of two weeks away, and the Tigers won’t play again until the holiday has passed. Call Saturday’s win over Virginia a spectacle of the weird.

Clemson walked out of Memorial Stadium with a 48-31 victory, and if one merely glances at the final score or the box score, they miss the subtle and strange nuances that made up the game.

Clemson rolled up 539 total yards of offense – 345 through the air and 194 on the ground – while running 75 plays (an average of 7.2 yards per play). The Tigers were 9-of-15 on third down and compiled 28 first downs.

Defensively, the Tigers gave up 346 yards, which is two yards under the season average. The defense gave up just 68 yards on the ground on 29 rushes, or 2.3 yards per attempt.

However, it was the fourth quarter (and specifically the final five minutes) that skewed all of the defensive numbers and caused everyone in attendance to scratch their collective heads.

Virginia had 173 total yards (and just 106 through the air) at the end of the third quarter. Clemson’s defense was once again stout in the third quarter and the Cavaliers accounted for just 45 yards of offense.

Clemson led 38-10 at the end of the third quarter, and then the weird began. As the fourth quarter video finished playing, the Cavaliers snapped the ball. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea dropped back to pass as fireworks erupted off the top of the scoreboard behind him – adding to confusion – and Colandrea dropped in a pass to Malachi Fields for a 44-yard score. Forty-five yards in the third quarter, 44 on one play in the fourth.

Clemson put together a 15-play drive that ended with a field goal to make it 41-17 and following a Virginia punt, the Tigers had the ball at their own 23-yard line with 6:53 to play. The Clemson coaching staff inserted backup quarterback Christopher Vizzina and other reserves, and in a move away from what they’ve done earlier in the season, the coaches appeared to call off the dogs. Three middle runs netted just six yards, and the Tigers punted.

Virginia also swapped quarterbacks, but Tony Elliott and company didn’t stop trying to score (nor should they). A touchdown pass and two-point conversion later, it was 41-25. Following the failed onside kick attempt – and with 2:08 to play – the Tigers took over at the Cav 39-yard line. Back out onto the field strolled starting quarterback Cade Klubnik and the starting offensive line. A middle run gained five yards and took us to the two-minute warning, and out of the timeout, Klubnik hit a streaking T.J. Moore for an easy 34-yard score.

The starting defense stayed on the sidelines, however, and Virginia hit a 65-yard bomb over the youngsters for another touchdown. The two-point conversion was missed, as was the onside kick, and Klubnik and the offense finished out the game.

Virginia had 173 total yards of offense through three quarters and had 173 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter. It was all under control through the 6:53 mark of the fourth quarter, and then the final stats and score ballooned. It was good, until it wasn’t.

Now, the Tigers have a week off, and Louisville (52-45 losers to Miami Saturday) comes calling. The Cardinals are 2-2 in league play and have a date at Boston College next Friday. That Louisville home game starts a stretch of five games for the Tigers in November—Clemson hosts Louisville, go on the road to Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh the next two weekends, and finish out the month with home games against The Citadel and South Carolina.

The Tigers have been good through this six-game winning streak. But good won’t cut it during that November stretch, and maybe the weird stuff is out the way. Klubnik was jumpy and off-kilter at times, the Tigers rang up ten penalties for 97 yards, the defense was once again susceptible to the big play, but Virginia had those 173 fourth-quarter yards and a total of 215 over the final four drives.

No, Clemson wasn’t at its best but still had things firmly in control and put up 48 points. Bring on the open date.

Clemson-Virginia box