Clemson football saw the door to the College Football Play-offs left open for them during a wild and chaotic day of football on Saturday. But if the Tigers are going to walk through, they must improve at stopping the run as the annual Palmetto Bowl looms.
The Citadel vs. Clemson Game Highlights | 2024 ACC Football
Yes, the Tigers defeated The Citadel handily on Saturday, winning 51-14, but the underlying stats show a troubling trend that South Carolina will expose if issues are not fixed. Clemson football surrendered 288 rushing yards to the FCS Bulldogs, the most The Citadel has rushed for in any game this season. And it happened against the #17 ranked team in the country.
For Clemson football, that is unacceptable.
We have seen the Tigers struggle against the run this season, and it came back to bite the Clemson football team at home against Louisville when the Cardinals smoked the Tigers badly in a loss that at the time seemed to doom the Tigers’ play-off hopes short of backing their way into the ACC championship game.
But after watching multiple teams ranked ahead of them lose on Saturday, Clemson football has its chance. It only needs to seize it. Beat the Gamecocks and the Tigers should be in the play-offs as an at-large even if they do not play for the ACC championship. That, too, is even a possibility. If Miami falls to a Syracuse team that is perfectly capable of beating the Hurricanes, then Clemson would play SMU in Charlotte while Miami watched.
But all of this will mean nothing if this Clemson football team cannot stop the run or limit big plays in general. The Citadel, a triple option offense, even scored on a 66-yard pass. For a program that has always taken pride in shutting down opponents and limiting big plays, it is a concerning trend that has manifested itself all season.
So now it comes down to South Carolina, a team that is begrudgingly one of the hottest in the country, and coming off a 56-12 shellacking of Wofford on Saturday in arguably a more impressive win over an FCS opponent than Clemson football had.
Both teams have excellent running backs. Clemson football has Phil Mafah while the South Carolina football team features Rocket Sanders. If defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin does not find a way to successfully scheme for Sanders and mobile quarterback LaNorris Sellers then it could be a long day for the Tigers, just as it was against Louisville.
But here is the caveat, the Gamecocks have a far better defense than the Cardinals did and right now, statistically, a much better one than Clemson football does.
But that does not mean the Tigers cannot or will not be successful. History shows us that Clemson football is at its best on the biggest stage. The Tigers shut down the run games of Virginia Tech and Pitt following the Louisville loss, so we have seen that it can be done. All that is left is to go out and do it.
Now, there were alot of good to come out of Saturday’s win for Clemson football, too. It would be shortsighted not to acknowledge them. Cade Klubnik had a big day, passing for 198 yards and three scores. Jay Haynes finally got his chance at running back and put up 118 yards on five carries and two touchdowns. Freshman receiver Bryant Wesco hauled in three receptions for 75 yards and a score. And Phil Mafah surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing threshold for the season.
While the Tigers will never complain too much about a 51-14 win, the Clemson football team should be concerned about this week’s game if they are unable to contain Sanders and Sellers. But if they do, then after all of the ups and downs of 2024, the Tigers might just go dancing into the play-offs after all.
