Clemson football escaped with another much-too-close win at Syracuse on Saturday. Much closer than it ever needed to be.
On the Tigers’ first drive, running back Jarvis Green, starting in place of the injured Gideon Davidson, ripped a 53-yard carry right up the middle of the Orange’s defense. Green logged just eight carries the rest of the ballgame.
As for the other running backs on the roster? Chris Johnson and Jay Haynes combined for just five carries. Green, Johnson, and Haynes totaled 14 carries combined. Quarterback Tait Reynolds logged 15 by himself. As a team, Clemson football rushed just 34 times.
Reynolds, meanwhile, was tasked with throwing the ball around the field deep into the second half rather than the offense leaning on its ground game which, inevitably, lengthened the contest and allowed Syracuse to nearly make an improbable comeback before Clemson held on, barely, for the 18-13 win.
That begs the question, why will Clemson football not commit to the run game? It looked as if the offense was finding that identity in their win over Florida State two weeks ago, only for another unexplainable shift to throw things backwards on Saturday.
Clemson Football Finding Their Footing After FSU Win
Nobody is going to seriously argue that the Tigers have a Travis Etienne or Wayne Gallman workhorse in their backfield. The trust is, though, they do not need one. When they have committed to the run game, Clemson has been successful. Heck, Clemson football has just four passing touchdowns to their name all season. If you cannot score consistently putting the ball in the air, then your only other best option outside of kicker Nolan Hauser is to run the football.
The Tigers have one of the nation’s best defenses. The numbers, sans the season opener at LSU, back that claim up and then some. Clemson turns opponents over, has a statistically elite rushing defense, and that unit has paid the Tigers’ rent all season while the offense spins in neutral.
If passing the ball is not producing consistent results, then why not predicate your offense on the one thing that keeps the defense fresher and off the field for longer stretches?
Clemson averages just 5.9 yards per completion on the season. That is paltry by any interpretation of the word. Conversely, the Tigers average 4.1 yards per carry. While that is not elite, it is more than good enough for a first down every three snaps. First downs, you know those things that extend drives and keep your opponent’s offense off the field?
To put in perspective how bad Clemson’s offense has been in 2026, the Tigers have scored just 15 offensive touchdowns in nine games. That is less than two offensive touchdowns a game over 75 percent of the entire season. Of those 15 scores, 11 of them have been on the ground. Reynolds, the quarterback, leads the entire team in rushing attempts, too.
Meanwhile, Gideon Davidson has carried the ball 105 times for 528 yards in eight games. He averages five yards per attempt. Jarvis Green has 210 yards on 41 carries, good for 5.1 yards per attempt. Simply put, when Clemson football uses their running backs, good things have happened. The problem is, offensive coordinator Chad Morris does not use them nearly enough and would rather rely on quarterback keepers or a passing scheme that simply does not work.
Clemson cannot be afraid to run the ball and commit to it as an identity. The defense is more than good enough for the Tigers to win every remaining game, contests against Georgia Tech, Duke, and South Carolina, but the offense must help them. It is incumbent upon the coaches to put the players they have in the best position to be successful. Right now, that means keeping the ball on the ground.
Here is another absurd stat. Kicker Nolan Hauser has scored 96 points on the season, making 27 of his 29 field goal attempts. The offense, combined, has scored 90 points. When your placekicker is outscoring the rest of the team by himself, you have a problem. A big one.
If Clemson football wants to end the season on a high note, win a bowl game, and go into 2027 with momentum behind them, then let the Tigers’ running backs carry them there.
There can be no more running from the run.
