After an uncharacteristic defensive performance by Clemson in a road loss to Notre Dame, many questions circulate about what went wrong for a defense that has shown glimmers of greatness during periods of the season and how such a talented unit can regroup for this final stretch of the season.
Defensive coordinator Wesley Goodwin spoke to the media on Monday and described the week leading up to the Notre Dame game as the “best week of preparation all season.” Yet despite this preparation, the defensive unit looked rather flat on the field, missing assignments and just not playing with the level of physicality that has become part of its identity.
Goodwin reflected on the week leading up to the Notre Dame game and what’s next in terms of regrouping and looking ahead.
“I think there’s always self-reflection, hindsight is always 20/20,” he said. “You go back and see the issues that need to be corrected and move forward and fix those mistakes and grow and learn from it. Everybody’s got to own it, myself included, and look back at what went wrong. I felt like last week was our best week of preparation all season and everybody felt really confident going into the game and you know the result that happened, but everybody’s got to own it and grow from it and get better as we proceed forward.”
There wasn’t anything Goodwin could pinpoint as to how the Tigers’ best week of preparation led to their worst performance of the season on Saturday night.
“Some weeks you have a terrible week of preparation and you play your best,” he said. “So, it’s just one of those things sometimes you can’t put your finger on what went wrong, what went right.”
Senior defensive tackle Tyler Davis also spoke to the media on Monday and tried to pinpoint what went wrong for the defense against the Irish and what he believes the poor performance boiled down to.
“Mindset,” Davis said. “I don’t think we had the right mindset.”
Davis reflected on what factors may have incurred this mindset shift for the Tigers at this stage of the season with an 8-0 record at the time.
“I have no idea,” Davis said. “Yes, it is surprising, but we’re going to learn from the film and we are going to move forward.”
Goodwin agreed that the defense didn’t come out with a physical mindset, which he believes is a choice and that choice just wasn’t made on Saturday.
“I think physicality is a mindset everyone has to show up with,” Goodwin said. “I think that’s an intrinsic inside-out thought process. Maybe guys didn’t show up with the right mindset from that standpoint.”
The defensive coordinator emphasized that even with a poor performance, he believes the team can right the ship this week at practice, readjust their mindset and look ahead to an improved performance against Louisville.
“Everybody still knows what’s left on the table and in front of us,” he said. “Everybody’s showed up with the right mindset to get back to work. Guys are hungry for information for how they can grow and get better from this and we’re all pulling in the same direction moving forward.”
