Clemson Offense Up Almost 100 Yards Per Game

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Clemson has made a strong improvement in terms of offense

this year. The Tigers have gone from 295.6 yards per game in 2004

to 394.3 yards per game so far in 2005. That is an improvement of

98.7 yards per game over last season, the eighth best total offense

improvement in the nation, and the top improvement in the ACC . It

might surprise some that Southern Cal is the most improved team in the nation in terms of total offense so far this year. The Trojans were obviously good in 2004 with a 449.1 average, but they have trumped that with an average of 593.6 yards per game so far this year.

Clemson has improved by 64 places in the national rankings in total offense over last year. Clemson is currently 46th after ranking 110th at the end of the 2004 season.

A check to Clemson history shows that a 98.7- yard improvement would be the second biggest gain from one year to another

on record. Clemson improved by 107.3 yards per game from 1994 to

1995 under offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen. Like Rob Spence,

Christensen was in his first year at Clemson in 1995. He is now a

quarterbacks coach in the NFL. Christensen and Spence coached together at Maryland in 1992 and 1993.

A look to the ACC stats for this year shows that Clemson is second in the league in total offense at 394.3 yards per game, fourth in rushing at 157.3 yards per game, and fourth in passing at

237.0 yards per game. The Tigers are the only ACC team to rank in

the top four in the conference in rushing offense and passing offense.

Passing efficiency has also made a dramatic improvement this year under offensive coordinator Rob Spence. Clemson has a 135.8 team efficiency rating so far this year, second best in the ACC.

Clemson's team efficiency last year was just 96.0.

Most Improved Teams in Total Offense


Rk	School	        2004	2005	Improve


1.	Southern Cal	449.1	593.6	+144.5


2.	Notre Dame	345.1	474.0	+128.5


3.	Penn State	310.7	437.4	+126.7


4.	Washington St	368.6	491.1	+122.5


5.	Central Florida	280.0	401.2	+121.2


6.	New Mexico	298.0	410.8	+112.8


7.	Iowa	        312.7	419.6	+106.9


8.	Clemson 	295.6	394.3	+98.7


9.	Northwestern	409.5	508.1	+98.6


10.	Maryland	298.0	383.9	+85.9


Most Improved Total Offense Teams in Clemson History


Rk	First Year      Second year  	Impr


1.	1994 (272.4)	1995 (379.7)	+107.3


2.	2004 (295.6)	2005 (394.3)	+98.7


3.	1972 (266.2)	1973 (364.5)	+98.3


4.	1998 (304.9)	1999 (402.6)	+97.7


5.	1977 (339.6)	1978 (427.8)	+88.2


6.	1956 (251.2)	1957 (327.7)	+76.5


7.	1949 (312.4)	1950 (388.1)	+75.7


8.	1940 (265.7)	1941 (330.8)	+65.1

 

Category	'05 National Rank	Actual	'04 National Rank	Actual	'03 National Rank	Actual	'05 Conf Rank
Rushing Offense	48	157.33	100	107.55	73	136.85	4
Passing Offense	39	237.00	78	188.09	16	283.62	4
Total Offense	46	394.33	110	295.64	30	420.46	2
Scoring Offense	60	27.67	90	21.45	45	28.08	5
Rushing Defense	40	129.00	41	135.64	35	131.85	10
Pass Efficiency Defense	54	120.90	11	103.39	36	116.05	10
Total Defense	38	344.67	26	327.27	29	336.31	8
Scoring Defense	29	19.78	29	20.82	20	19.23	7
Net Punting	107	30.31	66	35.29	50	36.27	12
Punt Returns	75	7.90	24	12.03	93	7.61	8
Kickoff Returns	43	22.05	3	26.29	2	27.69	5
Turnover Margin	18	.89	100	-.73	43	.31	2
Pass Defense	58	215.67	23	191.64	38	204.46	10
Passing Efficiency	38	135.81	113	95.99	40	134.59	2

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