The Clemson Tigers won their first game of the season in front of the home crowd at Death Valley on Saturday. Ultimately, the Tigers pulled away and demolished Charleston Southern, but for two quarters it was a struggle against the low-level FCS Buccaneers. The performance was so bad in the first quarter that there were purportedly some unsavory chants arising from the student section regarding the Clemson quarterback situation. But all’s well that ends well and Clemson righted the ship in a big way in the second half, exploding for 42 points over the final two quarters to win 66-17.
Here are five hot takes from the Clemson vs Charleston Southern game that encompass the good, bad, and ugly.
Decisions Decisions…
The first quarter Saturday, outside of Clemson’s opening drive, was ugly. And that’s saying it nicely. Most of that revolved around decisions made by sophomore quarterback Cade Klubnik. Charleston Southern actually led the Tigers midway through the first quarter, 14-7, despite only gaining six positive yards of total offense to that point. An ugly fumble, again, on a botched handoff while going for it on fourth down at their own 29 was returned to the Clemson one-yard line that set up a Buccaneers touchdown. That was followed by the horrendous decision to throw the ball while on the run from five defenders on the next series. That pass was predictably picked off and returned almost 70 yards for a touchdown. Klubnik needs to slow the game down and make more sound decisions. The Tigers were never going to lose to Charleston Southern, but if the same mistakes are made against the likes of Florida State, Miami, and Notre Dame then those games could get ugly, and not for the guys in Orange.
Offensive OL…
It wasn’t a total disaster, but the offensive line is continuing to put Klubnik in precarious positions. There were times when the Charleston Southern defensive line and front seven were able to get penetration and disrupt the Clemson offense in the first half. The effort and results were much better starting in the third quarter, and it was a step in the right direction. The offensive line was touted as a strong unit in the preseason, and the results have certainly been mixed, but there is certainly some room for optimism.
Don’t slow down…
Short, sweet, and to the point. Beaux Collins nearly cost Clemson a touchdown by celebrating prematurely on Saturday. Klubnik made a nice throw to the middle to Collins, who broke through the defense and down the sideline for what appeared to be an easy touchdown. Collins, however, slowed down close to the 15-yard line in an apparent exaltation of his own play, even briefly exposing the football, to the Buccaneer’s defender who was giving chase. Collins was tracked down at the five, but was thankfully able to use his momentum to reach the endzone and score the touchdown. But Collins, and Clemson, are in no position to take anything for granted. Beaux is an immensely talented receiver, but has not had enough on-field success in his career to date to allow room for showboating. Had he turned the ball over there or failed to score, it would have overshadowed what was an incredible day for the junior who finished with over 130 receiving yards. Collins is one of the leaders of the offense. He will learn from that play and I don’t expect to see it happen again.
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Kick it in high gear…
Clemson placekicker Robert Gunn III retained his job after a disastrous first game against Duke in the season-opener. He rebounded in a big way against Charleston Southern. Robert connected on nine of his extra-point attempts and also knocked home his first field goal. That must be a massive boost of confidence, and credit needs to be given to that young man for a big-time turnaround game. Hopefully, it gives him confidence going forward and Gunn has a great career as a Clemson Tiger. He certainly has the talent to do just that.
Big game backups…
Sure, it was a blowout, but there were a lot of Clemson backups who are much lower on the depth chart that flashed on Saturday. Both Tigers’ backup quarterbacks played well, with Hunter Helms completing all five of his pass attempts. Third-string signal caller Paul Tyson threw his first touchdown in a Clemson uniform as well, connecting with Jay Haynes. Tyson also completed all three of his attempts for 42 yards, and Haynes had a memorable first game, scoring twice. He added his first rushing touchdown as well. Keith Adams Jr. showed some flashes as well, and walk-on Tristen Rigby had two long runs. Clemson fans also finally saw the emergence of a healthy Troy Stellato, with the former four-star blue chipper making five grabs for 51 yards. The Tigers have depth, and that was on display Saturday at Death Valley.
