After opening up the season on the road against the Duke Blue Devils, Clemson gets their first home game of the season against in-state foe, Charleston Southern. Clemson and Charleston Southern will face off on September 9th at 2:15 inside Death Valley. This will be the first matchup between Clemson and Charleston Southern.
New Coach For Charleston Southern:
Charleston Southern has a new head football coach in Gabe Giardina. Giardina is the sixth head coach for the Buccaneers. Gabe Giardina has spent most of his time with smaller schools such as Charleston Southern, Delta State, and Albany State. However, Giardina did spend time coaching at Alabama as a student coach and graduate assistant from 2004-2007. Giardina will be bringing in a familiar face, Adam Hollifield, with him to Charleston Southern to lead his offense as the offensive coordinator. Hollifield served as the offensive coordinator under Coach Giardina at Albany State, as well. Last season his offense averaged 30 points per game.
The Charleston Southern Buccaneers in 2022 finished at 2-8 overall and 2-3 inside of the Big South. They were scoring only 20.70 points per game. Charleston Southern played one game against ACC competition last season where they fell 55-3 against the NC State Wolfpack.
Opportunity For Clemson Football To Gain Momentum:
While Clemson opens up on the road for their 2023 campaign, afterwards, whatever kinks they still need to correct after fall camp will be worked out in their next two games.
Charleston Southern should be overmatched and outmanned coming into Death Valley but that does not make this a meaningless game.
This game could be a big springboard opportunity for the offense to all get on the same page and get some of the younger players valuable playing time. It is no shock that Garrett Riley does not have the most complex playbook, or the most plays; but it does take time for the offense and especially the quarterback (Cade Klubnik) to get used to the way that a new offensive coordinator calls the game. This should be a game where we see Clemson impose their will against their opponent and be able to run whatever plays while also working on what needs to be ironed out.
Clemson Defense Facing A Modern Option Attack:
Charleston Southern will be running what they call a “Modern Option Attack.” Based on what Albany State ran last year, it is not a traditional under-center triple option with a back right behind the quarterback and two wing backs off to the side. The Albany State offense last year under head coach Gabe Giardina, and offensive coordinator Adam Hollifield lined up most of the time with two wide outs to one side, a running back right beside the quarterback and an up back, or an H-back. The “modern” part of this is mostly being in shotgun formation, but the quarterback still has three options in this scheme. The quarterback could give it to the back, keep it himself or kick it out to one of his wide receivers. Although it is referred to as a modern option attack, it is more commonly known as a RPO (run pass option) centered offense.
Clemson, led by their front seven and especially good linebacker play should be able to keep the Buccaneer offense in check for this game. The size and depth of the Clemson Tiger defense should be enough to make this a big game for the Tigers.
What Will Happen?
Clemson will come out on offense and get some of their early season kinks worked out as they become more and more comfortable under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. This game should have plenty of opportunities for the starting offense, along with plenty of reps for the backups to make plays and put a lot of points on the board. On the other side of the ball, the defense should be able to keep Charleston Southern at bay and continue to give the ball back to Cade Klubnik and the offense with good field position. Clemson should come away from this game with a comfortable win, get some young guys an ample amount of playing time, and be able to gel more as a team.
