Clemson kept itself in ACC contention for at least another week with its narrow victory over Syracuse last week. The 24th-ranked Tigers will try to do so again in the face of one of its biggest challenges so far Saturday at No. 23 Pittsburgh.
A win would also give Clemson (4-2, 3-1 ACC) its longest winning streak of the season at three games. So what will the Tigers have to do to accomplish all of that against the Panthers (5-1, 2-0)? Here are three keys:
Start roaring in the 20s
Asked early in the week if he felt like Clemson needed to get somewhere in the 20s with its point total to have a realistic chance Saturday, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was non-committal.
“We’ve just got to score points,” Elliott said. “I don’t know if there’s a number, but we’ve got to consistently score points.”
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was more a little more emphatic during his weekly radio show appearance Monday, telling listeners the Tigers better score “some dadgum points.”
The bottom line is scoring in the teens almost certainly isn’t going to cut it this week. Not against a Pitt team that, before only scoring 28 points in a blowout win at Virginia Tech last week, was scoring more than anyone in the Football Bowl Subdivision. That dropped the Panthers all the way down to third in that category at 48.5 points per game.
Meanwhile, points continue to be hard to come by for Clemson. The Tigers went three quarters without a touchdown against Syracuse, and their only points of the second half came on a B.T. Potter field goal. Clemson has yet to break the 20-point barrier against an FBS team in regulation, and the Tigers needed double overtime just to get to 21 in their loss at North Carolina State.
So how can the Tigers realistically flip that script Saturday?
Cutting out the penalties, drops and blown blocking assignments would help. So would continuity along the offensive line. That’s something Clemson hasn’t had much at all this season, but with center Hunter Rayburn (COVID-19 protocols) out again this week, the Tigers are in line to starting the same five up front for the second straight week after inserting Mason Trotter at center against Syracuse. And keep manufacturing yards on the ground. Kobe Pace is averaging more than 5 yards per carry over the last two games, and Pitt has also been susceptible to chunk plays against the RPO (run-pass option).
Keep Pitt’s offense on the sideline
Clemson (ranked second nationally in points allowed) is easily the best defense Pitt has faced this season, but the Panthers also undoubtedly have the best offense the Tigers have gone up against so far. So this is a matchup of strength against strength.
And one way to lessen the impact of a team’s strength is to limit the frequency with which it tries to impose it.
Given the aforementioned struggles Clemson is having putting points on the scoreboard, the less times quarterback Kenny Pickett and this Pitt offense touch the ball, the better for the Tigers. It’s easier said than done, but don’t be at all surprised to see Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables throw the kitchen sink at Pickett and this Panthers offensive line to generate pressure on early downs to try to get Pitt behind the chains and set up more advantageous third-down scenarios for the Tigers’ defense to quickly get off the field.
If Clemson can do that more times than not, then it will be up to the offense to do its part in keeping the Panthers’ offense on the sideline. The Tigers will take points however they can muster them at this point, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for Clemson to put together methodical drives that drain time off the clock and shorten the game (and result in points, of course). The only problem with that is the Tigers have rarely shown the ability to piece together a string of plays without at some point imploding with a self-inflicted drive-killer.
If the day is full of more three-and-outs that immediately put Pitt’s offense back on the field, it could end up being a long one for Clemson.
Keep forcing Pickett into mistake
Pickett, who’s throwing for more than 320 yards per game, is the engine that makes the Panthers’ offense go. He’s also done a significantly better job protecting the football with just one interception to this point, a far cry from the 18 he combined to throw the last two seasons.
But Clemson has had success throwing Pickett off his game over the course of his time with the Panthers.
This will be the third time the Tigers have seen Pickett. The first was the 2018 ACC championship game when Pickett was a first-time starter as a sophomore. Most recently, Pickett and the Panthers made the trip to Clemson last season.
Pickett’s combined stat line against Clemson? 26 of 55 (47% completion rate), 217 yards, two touchdowns, five interceptions. The combined score of those games? Clemson 94, Pitt 27.
Clemson has won the turnover battle in each of its last two games and, not surprisingly, won them. Now 80-6 during Swinney’s tenure when doing so, it continues to be one of the more advantageous stats for the Tigers under the current regime.
It’s also hard to envision Clemson getting out of Heinz Field with a win Saturday unless it can do it again.
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