Bryan Bresee – Page 32 – Syndication Server

Another major blow for Clemson’s defense

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on Sunday updated the health status of a starting defensive lineman injured in the Tigers’ loss at North Carolina State. Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee sustained a torn ACL and will be out indefinitely, Swinney said. Bresee …

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on Sunday updated the health status of a starting defensive lineman injured in the Tigers’ loss at North Carolina State.

Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee sustained a torn ACL and will be out indefinitely, Swinney said. Bresee sustained the injury in the third quarter Saturday. He limped off the field at Carter-Finley Stadium with the help of medical personnel before watching the rest of the game from the bench with ice on his knee.

With Tyler Davis set to miss seven to eight weeks after having surgery on his bicep last week, Bresee’s injury means the Tigers will be without its starting defensive tackle tandem for the foreseeable future.

Bresee had one tackle and a quarterback hurry before sustaining the injury. He has 14 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks on the season.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!

Spector takes responsibility for ‘bonehead mistake’

Baylon Spector talked to reporters following a devastating loss at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday. After missing Clemson’s 14-8 win over Georgia Tech due to knee inflammation, Spector was back in the starting lineup and was forced to play an …

Baylon Spector talked to reporters following a devastating loss at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday.

After missing Clemson’s 14-8 win over Georgia Tech due to knee inflammation, Spector was back in the starting lineup and was forced to play an important role from the get-go. James Skalski went down with a shoulder injury pretty early on and while he embraced a coaching role from the sideline, he was unable to return to the game.

Clemson’s defense, led in part by Spector, was fragile and mistake-prone during Saturday’s 27-21 loss to NC State. Spector made a crucial error.

The veteran linebacker jumped offsides on a crucial third down with 40 seconds remaining in the game. Luckily, it wasn’t the deciding factor in Saturday’s game as NC State’s kicker missed a game-winning 39-yard field goal as time expired.

“Yeah, we did,” Spector said when asked about Clemson’s uncharacteristic penalties during the team’s 27-21 loss Saturday. “Just undisciplined in a lot of areas, especially in that key situation. That was on me. Just a bonehead mistake. I own up to it. Thankfully, we got another chance right there, but definitely a bonehead mistake by me.”

Clemson was penalized 13 times for 94 yards. A lot of the calls were due to offsides penalties and undisciplined football.

Spector was called for the offsides penalty and a late hit on NC State running back Zonovan Knight, a questionable personal foul call at that. That drive, of course, led to the Wolfpack taking their first lead of the game, 14-7 with 5:10 remaining in the third quarter.

Spector was asked why those offsides penalties continued to transpire throughout Saturday’s contest and he wasn’t able to provide an answer, but obviously, the Tigers still have to go back and watch the film.

“I just know that we got to be better in those situations,” he said. “Obviously, they had a lot of third-down conversions and a lot of those were from unidisciplinary plays by us. But, we just got to continue to get better, continue to fix those mistakes and we’ll correct them.”

A lot of Clemon’s mistakes came without two of its best players in the lineup — Skalski and Bryan Bresee. The Tigers are already without Tyler Davis for the next 7-8 weeks, only for Bresee to go down in a heap of pain with an apparent knee injury during the third quarter.

Bresee sat on the bench with a towel over his head and an ice pack on his knee. His body language said what he couldn’t. And while Clemson, nor Spector, used those injuries as an excuse, the Tigers were still missing some key cogs in the middle of the field.

“It’s tough. Jamie obviously does a great job coming in there, passionate about getting the calls in, getting people where they’re supposed to be lined up,” Spector said. “Bryan is Bryan. He’s very disruptive, obviously going to be a great player. Praying for him, because he’s hurting right now, I know that. So is Jamie. I know they both wish they could be out there. I wish they could be too.

“It’s tough, but LaVonta [Bentley], Kane [Patterson] and Keith [Maguire] all came in and they’re supposed to step up and do their job. Proud of those guys to come in, step up and make plays and call the plays like they should.”

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Venables gets emotional when asked about Bresee, Skalski injuries

RALEIGH, N.C. – Brent Venables was noticeably upset on Saturday, and it had nothing to do with No. 9 Clemson’s 27-21 overtime loss to NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium. Clemson (2-2, 1-1 ACC) already came into the contest without defensive tackle …

RALEIGH, N.C. — Brent Venables was noticeably upset on Saturday, and it had nothing to do with No. 9 Clemson’s 27-21 overtime loss to NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Clemson (2-2, 1-1 ACC) already came into the contest without defensive tackle Tyler Davis, who is out for seven to eight weeks with a bicep tear. Then it lost linebacker James Skalski and defensive tackle Bryan Bresee to injury during the contest, as well as reserve defensive end Justin Mascoll after he suffered a lower leg injury early in the game.

But when Clemson’s defensive coordinator was asked specifically on what the injuries to Bresee and Skalski meant to his defense, especially in a game where the Wolfpack ran 96 offensive plays, he paused without saying anything for about five seconds. It even appeared he got a little teary eyed while trying to answer the question.

“You hurt for them,” Venables said. “I know how hard they work and how they love to compete and love their brothers and love the game. You hate that for them. But we have good young talented guys and that gave them an opportunity to step up, and I was proud of their efforts as well.”

Skalski injured his left shoulder in the second quarter. He tried to re-enter the game on the next series, but he eventually left the game for good before halftime.

Bresee was injured on the Wolfpack’s second possession of the second half. The sophomore, who was a preseason All-American, appeared to be nursing his left knee before heading into the locker room. He did not return.

The offense suffered a loss, as well, when freshman running back Will Shipley injured his left knee in the first overtime.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said he does not have an update on the injuries at this time.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!

Injuries, fatigue take their toll on Clemson’s defense

RALEIGH, N.C. – Clemson’s defense has been one of the best in the country early in the season despite a few nicks and bruises along the way. The list of players banged up on that side of the ball grew considerably Saturday. It played a significant …

RALEIGH, N.C. — Clemson’s defense has been one of the best in the country early in the season despite a few nicks and bruises along the way.

The list of players banged up on that side of the ball grew considerably Saturday. It played a significant role in the group wearing down by the end of Saturday’s double-overtime loss to North Carolina State at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The seventh-ranked Tigers headed to the neighboring state knowing they would be without defensive tackle Tyler Davis, who underwent surgery on his bicep Tuesday that will keep him out indefinitely. On Saturday, other injuries started early and came often.

The first was middle linebacker James Skalski, who appeared to injure his shoulder in the first quarter. The senior briefly returned but continued to grab his arm in pain. Skalski threw his helmet a couple of times on the sideline in apparent frustration and exited permanently not long after, shedding his pads and watching the majority of the game from the sideline while Kane Patterson filled in.

Then came other hits to the defensive line, none of which were more impactful than Bryan Bresee’s injury. The sophomore defensive tackle went down in pain to his leg early in the third quarter with the game still tied at 7. Bresee limped off the field with the help of medical personnel and draped a towel over his head, signaling the end of his day. He had ice on his knee while sitting on the bench.

“It has a cumulative effect,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “We’ve got to be more efficient so we can get off the field, but guys had to really bite down and take more reps that we’d like them to take.”

Even some of those filling in for Davis and Bresee went down, leaving the Tigers’ depth scarce on the interior of the defensive line as the game wore on. Etinosa Rueben and true freshman Payton Page were in the game together at one point in the second half after Tre Williams and Ruke Orhorhoro were injured, though Williams and Orhorhoro returned to finish the game.

But having to rely on less frontline players up front combined with another lethargic showing from an offense that had six three-and-outs in a seven-possession span (not counting a kneeldown before halftime) at one point, fatigue eventually took over. Clemson defended 96 plays while N.C. State’s defense played just 49 snaps, which left the Tigers’ defense on the field a whopping 41 minutes, 48 seconds in regulation.

“We just got worn down with their time of possession and the amount of plays,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys hurt. My heart just breaks for those guys. We’ve got a physically hurt team and mentally hurt team right now.”

By the time the Wolfpack scored a touchdown in each overtime period, the only FBS defense that hadn’t allowed an offensive touchdown coming into the day had surrendered four. N.C. State had 233 of its 386 yards after halftime and had a couple of chances to break a 14-all tie late in the fourth quarter with drives setting up field goals that were missed.

“We had a chance to win the game at the end because of their resolve,” Venables said of his unit.

Swinney said he didn’t have an update on the status of Bresee or Skalski afterward, but it’s clear the Tigers now have concerns on both sides of the ball.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!

Swinney asked about Bresee and Skalski injuries

RALEIGH, N.C. – Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was asked about the injuries to defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and linebacker Jamie Skalski in his postgame interview after the 27-21, double-overtime loss to NC State on Saturday at Carter-Finley …

RALEIGH, N.C. — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was asked about the injuries to defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and linebacker Jamie Skalski in his postgame interview after the 27-21, double-overtime loss to NC State on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

“I don’t have any updates on those right now,” Swinney said.

Bresee came back on the field after his knee injury in sweats and was accompanied by his father. Skalski became a coach on the sideline in the second half after leaving with what looked like a shoulder injury.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!

Podcast: It’s time to dive into Tigers’ ACC opener

Levon Kirkland and myself dive into Saturday’s Georgia Tech game, plus break down what is going on in the ACC and the top matchups involving other top 25 teams. We also have interviews with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, offensive coordinator Tony …

Levon Kirkland and myself dive into Saturday’s Georgia Tech game, plus break down what is going on in the ACC and the top matchups involving other top 25 teams.

We also have interviews with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott and defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, as we get you set on what you need to know and expect in the Tigers’ ACC opener.

You can listen to today’s podcast here (LINK), or listen to it and download it where you listen to all of your podcasts at either Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify.

Clemson-Ga. Tech has gone from rivalry to laugher

There was a time when the Clemson-Georgia Tech game was the most competitive matchup in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Before the Tigers’ current six-game winning streak in the series, the Yellow Jackets won 17 times to Clemson’s 16 victories dating …

There was a time when the Clemson-Georgia Tech game was the most competitive matchup in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Before the Tigers’ current six-game winning streak in the series, the Yellow Jackets won 17 times to Clemson’s 16 victories dating back to when Georgia Tech first entered the ACC in 1983.

The series just was not close, but the games were too. From 1990-2009, 16 of the 21 games were decided by five points or less.

Starting in 1996 with a 28-25 Clemson victory at Death Valley and ending in 2001 with a 44-41 Tigers’ overtime win in Atlanta, Clemson and Georgia Tech played six straight games in which the final margin of victory was exactly three points.

The 2002 game was also close, as the Tigers won 24-19 in a driving rainstorm. Even the first three meetings between the two in the Dabo Swinney era at Clemson were decided by five points or less, including the 2009 ACC Championship Game, which Georgia Tech won by five points, 39-34, in a game neither team punted.

But as No. 6 Clemson gets set to host the Yellow Jackets on Saturday, the fun and competitive nature of this rivalry no longer exists. The Tigers have won nine of the last 11 meetings in the series and the closest games have been decided by 14 points, which occurred in 2010, 2011 and 2017.

Clemson (1-1) has won the last six games in the series by an average margin of 30.7 points, including last year’s 73-7 victory at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.

The Tigers’ 73 points represented Clemson’s third most against an ACC opponent all-time, trailing its 82-point performance against Wake Forest in 1981 and its 77 points against Louisville in 2018. The Tigers’ output was the most scored by Clemson in an ACC road game all-time, passing its 63 points at Wake Forest in 2018.

“Everyone played really well,” Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee said about last year’s 66-point victory. “It just kept going. Everyone just kept working and just kept doing what we do.”

The 73 points tied for Clemson’s second most points in a road game in school history, trailing its 94 against Furman in 1915 and matching its 73 at Georgia Tech in 1903.

Clemson opened the game with a modern-era school-record 52 points in the first half. Clemson’s previous high against an ACC opponent in a first half was 49 in its opening two quarters against Wake Forest in its national championship campaign in 1981.

The Tigers tied a school record for points in a quarter with 35 in the second quarter, matching its second quarter against Wake Forest in 1981 and its third quarter against North Carolina in 2011.

Clemson threw seven passing touchdowns, breaking the school record of six set previously against Central Michigan in 2007, Duke in 2012, North Carolina in 2014 and South Carolina in 2016.

Four different players (including starting punter and emergency quarterback Will Spiers) completed at least two passes and 17 different players caught a pass to contribute to the Tigers’ second 500-yard passing day in school history.

Clemson’s 17 different players recording a reception were its most in a single game under Dabo Swinney.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!

Clemson defense has opportunity at rare feat

At some point, someone is going to score an offensive touchdown on Clemson. But after two games, no one has. Though the first two games, the Tigers have held No. 2 Georgia and S.C. State from finding the end zone. Clemson and Georgia are the only …

At some point, someone is going to score an offensive touchdown on Clemson. But after two games, no one has.

Though the first two games, the Tigers have held No. 2 Georgia and S.C. State from finding the end zone. Clemson and Georgia are the only two defenses in the country that have not allowed a touchdown. Georgia and S.C. State each kicked a field goal, while Georgia’s only touchdown—the only one scored in the game—came courtesy of its defense.

In the last 15 years, only three other schools have gone three games to start a season without giving up a defensive touchdown. When the sixth-ranked Tigers host Georgia Tech this Saturday at Death Valley, they hope to become the fourth.

“Just playing good defense is important to us,” defensive tackle Bryan Bresee said. “If that means they don’t score, then that is great.”

So far, Clemson (1-1) has played great defense. The Tigers limited Georgia to 256 total yards on Sept. 4, before giving up just 235 to S.C. State last Saturday.

Clemson currently ranks 11^th in the nation in total defense, allowing just 245.5 yards per game and ranks tied for third in scoring defense (6.5 points).

“We have goals set every week and throughout the season,” Bresee said. “The goal is we try to hit. So, just play good defense. We will probably allow a touchdown throughout the whole season, but we just want to continue to keep working on the defensive side of the ball and do everything we can.”

So far, they have. Even when the second- or third-team defenses comes on to the field, they play to the standard set by the first-team defense. Case in point, S.C. State had a first-and-goal situation late in the game last week, and the reserves turned them back and prevented a touchdown.

“We see everyone out here practicing. Everyone works the same. Everyone does the same stuff,” Bresee said. “I would expect nothing less from them. They practice just like we do and everything like that, so I was super excited. But, like I said, I would not expect anything less from them.”

And that is what you can expect from the Clemson defense each and every Saturday this season.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!

Swinney attempts to sell Georgia Tech as a good team

On Saturday, the sixth-ranked Clemson Tigers begin their journey to repeat as ACC Champions for a seventh straight year. The Tigers (1-1), open ACC play by hosting Georgia Tech at Death Valley. Clemson has defeated the Yellow Jackets in each of the …

On Saturday, the sixth-ranked Clemson Tigers begin their journey to repeat as ACC Champions for a seventh straight year.

The Tigers (1-1), open ACC play by hosting Georgia Tech at Death Valley. Clemson has defeated the Yellow Jackets in each of the last six years. The average margin of victory in those six games has been 30.7 points, including last year’s 73-7 victory in Atlanta.

Things got so bad Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney put punter Will Spiers in the game to play quarterback. Walk-on quarterback Hunter Helms threw two touchdown passes prior to Spiers entering the game.

The Tigers finished the afternoon with 671 total yards of offense, while holding Tech to 204.

With Clemson’s offense still finding its way, the oddsmakers don’t think Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. kick (on ABC), will be as bad as last year’s. They have the Tigers listed as a 28.5-point favorite.

“They are a much improved team in all areas,” Swinney said.

That is hard sell considering the Yellow Jackets opened the season losing to a Northern Illinois team that was winless in 2020. Granted, they did bounce back last week with a 45-17 victory over Kennesaw State but are the Jackets an opponent to be taken seriously?

Swinney thinks so.

“They had kind of a crazy opener against Northern Illinois, who is a good team and a good program,” Swinney said. “That is the danger of openers, you don’t know a lot about the teams, and they came out there and, I think, they caught them off-guard from a schematic standpoint. It was some of their unbalance sets and things that really hurt them.

“They went for two to win it, and that was a heartbreaker for (Georgia Tech). But they bounced back, which is a sign of their maturity as well and their culture growing.”

After being steamrolled by Clemson last year, Tech (1-1) closed the year by losing five of its last six games. They lost each of those five games by 10 or more points.

“I think they are a much, much improved team and you see that belief growing,” Swinney said. “They are committed and believe in their philosophy in what they do, and I think that is important.”

A sellout crowd in Death Valley will get an opportunity to see just how improved the Yellow Jackets are under third-year coach Geoff Collins.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!

Bresee: Defensive excellence started in the offseason

Sixth-ranked Clemson has had its fair share of struggles on the offensive side of the ball, but the Tiger’s defense has showed out big in their first two weeks of competition. With just two games under its belt, Clemson’s defense has allowed no touchdowns for two straight games, a feat they haven’t reached since 2017 when they held both Kent State and Auburn out of the end zone.

“I just think the defense as a whole has played very well,” Bresee told the media on Tuesday. “We all come in every week with a really good mindset, taking on the week, it’s always a new game plan. Just everybody getting in, watching film, learning our game plan for the week. Everyone’s done a really good job just taking that on and doing it every week and staying on it. Everyone’s just done a good job.”

The defensive end, who has been compared to the likes of Clemson great and 1981 national champion William Perry, tacked on a combined nine tackles, one for a loss, in the first two games of his sophomore campaign. For Bresee, the defensive performance they have put together so far comes as no surprise. In fact, it’s what the Maryland native expected.

“I think it’s what we expected from the offseason and everything, just how we were performing,” the sophomore said. “It’s awesome to see us come together now and do it in games. It’s really cool to see it all be put together, but there’s still a lot to work on and that we want to get better at throughout the remainder of the season, so just gotta keep working.”

Looking ahead to Saturday, the Tigers have yet another challenge in front of them. In their first ACC matchup of the season, the Tigers will face a Georgia Tech team that is fresh off a more-than-convincing 45-17 win over Kennesaw State last week. With the Yellow Jacket’s quarterback situation still up in the air between Jeff Simms and Jordan Yates, the Tigers are having to prepare for not just one, but two signal-callers ahead of this weekend.

While this would be daunting for most defensive units, Bresee is confident Clemson will be more than ready to face whatever the Yellow Jackets throw at them come Saturday in Death Valley.

“I mean, it’s more difficult than preparing if it were just one because you gotta game plan for both of them,” Bresee said. “They both have different tendencies, so instead of just game planning on one guy who you’re going to see the whole game, you gotta focus on both of them. Like I said, they both do different things, some maybe better than the other, so it’s kind of just another challenge to look at this week.”