Clemson has seen both ends of the spectrum this season when it comes to the caliber of competition, though it’s been hard to tell a difference given the way the Tigers’ defense has performed.
Two field goals is all the scoring No. 6 Clemson has allowed through the first eight quarters of the season. A 22-yarder late in the third quarter were the only points the Tigers’ defense surrendered against No. 2 Georgia, and South Carolina State’s field goal late in the second quarter of what was a 35-0 game at the time helped the Bulldogs avoid a shutout in Clemson’s 49-3 rout last week.
The defense has looked every bit like the suffocating unit it was expected to be coming into the season. The Tigers, who returned all but one starter from the ACC’s top defense a season ago, rank in the top 15 nationally in most defensive categories, including points allowed (third), yards allowed (12th) and passing yards allowed (13th).
Georgia’s lone touchdown against Clemson came on Chris Smith’s decisive pick-six off D.J. Uiagelelei late in the second quarter, which officially — and strangely — counts against a team’s scoring defense in statistics logged by the NCAA. Otherwise, the Tigers would have the nation’s top scoring defense through the first two weeks of the season.
The group, which was without defensive tackle Tyler Davis (COVID-19 protocols) against Georgia and without safety Nolan Turner (injury) in both games, has earned plenty of praise from Brent Venables for keeping opponents out of the end zone so far — “if it was easy, a lot of people would do it,” he said — but Clemson’s defensive coordinator isn’t ready to anoint the unit as the second coming of the 1985 Chicago Bears just yet. The highest-paid assistant in the country has lofty expectations for himself and his players.
“We’re not beating our chest,” Venables said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and a lot of areas that we’ve got to continue to improve.”
True to form, when asked Monday what he thinks those specific areas are heading into the Tigers’ ACC opener against Georgia Tech on Saturday, Venables’ answer was all-encompassing.
“Just all of it,” Venables said. “Really, the level of competition week in and week out, it’s going to be improved. There’s a familiarity with each other (in the ACC). Just every single bit of it. Run defense, pass defense, positioning, technique, eyes, execution, precision, timing, all of those things.”
Georgia and South Carolina State combined for just five red-zone trips against Clemson, and one of those was hardly the defense’s fault. South Carolina State got to start its final possession of the first half at Clemson’s 36-yard line after a turnover, and another drive that reached the Tigers’ 4 early in the fourth quarter came largely against backups and reserves.
The Tigers are also holding teams to less than 3.5 yards per rush and a 29% conversion rate on third down — a slight improvement from the 31.2% clip opponents converted at last season — but Venables knows two games doesn’t make a season. Creating turnovers (just two so far) and getting to the quarterback (two sacks) are some areas that could use some improvement going forward, though teams have implemented a quicker passing game and moved the pocket at times as a purposeful scheme against Clemson’s defensive line.
Venables won’t be satisfied unless the unit reaches the kind of standard that’s become the norm for the six-time defending ACC champions. He hopes to continue seeing strides made toward that beginning Saturday at Memorial Stadium, but he couldn’t have asked for a much faster start from his defense.
“I think a lot of guys are having a high ceiling for themselves, and they’re pushing, striving and straining for a championship style of defense,” Venables said. “We’ve got to long way to go before we get there, but we’ve made incremental improvement week by week since we started fall camp.”
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
