Clemson will be looking for its fifth win in six games Saturday when the Tigers step out of ACC play for its first-ever matchup with Connecticut at Memorial Stadium.
So what does Clemson need to do to prevent the Huskies from pulling a shocker? Here are three keys:
Show up
With what could end up being an important game in the ACC’s Atlantic Division race looming against Wake Forest next week, it would be easy for the Tigers to overlook this game. But even if Clemson was looking ahead, it’s hard to envision a scenario where the Tigers lose to a team they’re far superior to the talent department and will in all likelihood be able to physically overwhelm.
But Clemson is still dealing with its fair share of injuries, and there’s still plenty for the Tigers to work on heading into the home stretch of their season. The defense was uncharacteristically gashed on the ground for the better part of three quarters last week against Louisville. For the offense, it’s simply trying to build on the incremental improvement it’s made of late. The Tigers have cracked the 20-point mark in regulation against back-to-back FBS teams, including a season-high 30 in the win over the Cardinals.
And part of showing up is to…
Execute offensively
To say the Tigers will be able to name their score would certainly classify as a hot take given how unpredictable the offense has been this season. But the Tigers have started cutting down on the missed blocking assignments, dropped passes and inaccurate throws that plagued the offense during the first half of the season.
If Clemson hopes to get quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei (who’s still dealing with that sprained knee) and the rest of the starters out of the game as soon as possible, it will need to keep that up in order to give itself the best chance to build a substantial lead early, which, as long as Clemson executes the way it’s supposed to, should be easier to do against a UConn defense that hasn’t stopped much of anything this season.
After rushing for less than 130 yards last week against Louisville, Clemson will try to get back on track there against the nation’s 111th-ranked run defense. UConn also doesn’t rank better than 85th in passing yards allowed, total yards allowed or points allowed.
Keep it clean
There’s only one way this 1-8 UConn team pulls off what would be a monumental upset come the end of the weekend, and that’s if Clemson beats itself. No offense to the Huskies, who also have an interim coach at the helm after Randy Edsall stepped down after their first game, but UConn simply don’t come close to matching Clemson’s skill level, injuries or not.
But playing sloppy is a surefire way to help inferior teams hang around. More specifically, turnovers. Granted, it would likely take a lot of turnovers by Clemson for this game to still be competitive come the fourth quarter, but throwing interceptions, fumbling the ball all over the place and racking up a bunch of penalties wouldn’t be the best look.
Though the Tigers didn’t win the turnover battle last week, Clemson’s offense is coming off its first turnover-free game in four weeks. Clemson is 2-1 this season and 80-6 in Dabo Swinney’s tenure when it’s able to come out on top in the turnover margin.
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