It was a disaster. Total, thorough, devastating, and complete.
On Saturday in Atlanta, the Clemson Tigers were completely obliterated by the #1 Georgia Bulldogs, and upon reflection, maybe it was erroneous to think the Tigers had a chance. The writing was, after all, on the wall. Still, it never had to be that bad.
All offseason, after Clemson had won its final five games of the 2023 season, we heard Coach Dabo Swinney say the necessary improvements had been made. The right pieces were in place. Things were going to be different. Were those placations rooted in truth, or did Swinney actually and secretly doubt his own words?
Let’s set one thing straight. Georgia is doggone good. Pun intended. Clemson has the capability to be. We saw some really good things from the Tigers on Saturday, but far more worrisome ones. Do not take Georgia’s final point total of 34 at face value. The Tigers’ defense is legitimately one of the top units in the country. But even they have their limits when a continuously anemic offense cannot keep them off the field.
The defense did all it could, holding the Bulldogs to 6 first half points. That Georgia led only 6-0 at the half was in itself a miracle. The score was close, but to those of us there or watching on TV, Clemson felt like it was a million miles away.
We expected this Clemson defense to be good. And it is. We also expected the offense to be far better. We were told it would be, but the eyes do not deceive. What everyone watched was not just mediocre, it was downright bad. Cade Klubnik threw a pass on the game’s first play right at the feet of running back Phil Mafah from less than 20 feet away. And Mafah, remember him? The big, bruising ball carrier than Swinney said Clemson would lean on this season?
He carried the ball just 16 times all game. Only six times in the first half. Multiple times Mafah would gain between 5-7 yards on a first down run to set up the Clemson offense in manageable downs and distances, only to see two consecutive pass plays called that went nowhere. Then there was the decision making.
Last year, Klubnik was maligned for his inability, or unwillingness, to remain in the pocket and go through his progressions. We saw much more of the same on Saturday. To me, the most telling offensive play of the game came late in the second quarter. Cade took the snap, scanned downfield for less than two seconds, then bailed on the play. He checked down and threw the ball to a double-covered Mafah who was four yards behind the line of scrimmage. It resulted in a big loss of yardage.
That was among the myriad reasons Clemson finished with just 188 total yards of offense while Georgia racked up 447. The Bulldogs outscored the Tigers 28-3 in the second half.
The litany of errors is too long and too detailed to list in one place at one time, but save it to say, it was a frustrating afternoon. This Clemson team is still loaded with 4- and 5-star blue chip recruits. Talent is not an issue. It is there, but either underperforming, or in my personal opinion, being underutilized. That leads to the question of the day; where does Clemson football go from here?
If you want the good news, then here it is. The Tigers will not face another team over the next 12 weeks remotely as good as Georgia. Or a defense even close to what the Bulldogs possess. Every game from here on out is imminently winnable. With the talent on the roster, heck, Clemson should win out. But we have said that for several years now, haven’t we?
Whether they will regroup and regain their winning ways has yet to be seen.
Also as well, with the play-offs having expanded to 12 teams, yesterday’s game means almost nothing in terms of whether the Tigers make the postseason. The ACC champion is guaranteed a top 4 seed in the CFP regardless of their overall record. Aside from winning yesterday’s game, Clemson still has every goal in front of them. Very doable goals at that. At least in the aftermath of Saturday’s carnage, Swinney owned it.
“Biggest thing, when you get beat like that, that’s on the head coach,” offered Swinney. “That’s on me, so, that’s complete ownership of just an absolute crap second half. Really disappointed. But I’ve done it long enough. Sometimes you get your butt kicked, and we did today. That’s not what we came here to do. But you got to give Georgia credit. We got to move on, we got to learn from it.”
Dabo Swinney
Dabo Swinney, 08/31/24 (youtube.com)
So where do the Clemson Tigers go from here? Personally, I would suggest the trash dump. Take yesterday’s game and throw it away. Get rid of it, learn from it, and move on. Dwelling on what happened in Atlanta on Saturday August 31st will only hold the team back. Focusing on what went wrong, fixing it as best as possible, and taking care of their own destiny the rest of the way is how these Tigers can get their groove back.
Yesterday was bad, it downright sucked and the feeling of deja vu was quite overpowering. But I am not giving up on this team. There is time to change. I hope things do change.
