Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables is proud of how his unit performed against Georgia on Saturday night, despite the third-ranked Tigers’ 10-3 loss to the fifth-ranked Bulldogs in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium.
Venables is especially proud of how his defense played in the season opener, considering how the Tigers finished last season from a defensive standpoint, allowing 49 points and 639 total yards in their 49-28 loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2021.
Against the Bulldogs, Clemson did not allow an offensive touchdown, limiting Georgia’s offensive output to just a 22-yard field goal. The other seven points came on Christopher Smith’s 74-yard pick-six of D.J. Uiagalelei.
“Just proud of our guys, how they responded from the end of last year,” Venables said after the game. “They responded tonight to adverse conditions and some tough situations. Just love the leadership, the grit, the toughness that they showed, discipline. We’ll get better from it.”
Overall, Clemson surrendered only 10 points, marking the eighth time in history that Clemson has held an AP top-five opponent to 10 or fewer points.
Clemson is now 6-2 against top-five teams when holding them to 10 or fewer points, with the only other loss coming in the Sugar Bowl against LSU to end the 1958 season.
“We were on the wrong end of it, but our guys put a lot of work into this season — not just tonight — and we talked about that a lot this week going into this game,” Venables said. “There’s a lot of football to be played, and again, tonight’s about getting better and competing, giving ourselves a chance to win. I’m super proud of our football team. Georgia’s a really good football team, they played great defense as well, and we knew it was going to be one of those kind of games where it was going to be tough sledding.
“But just really proud of the leadership our guys showed, and again, responding in a real positive way — the physicality, toughness, discipline, all those things. So, we’ll get better from it.”
Venables feels the Tigers, as a team, will grow through the pains of their loss to the Bulldogs and that Clemson’s season won’t be defined by a single loss.
“The way that you’re defined as a champion is how you play throughout the year,” he said. “You’re not anointing anybody anything right now — us as a defense or certainly this as a football team, or in the other locker room. It’s a long year, and the best players and the best teams, they find a way to continue to get better and they grow from the adversity, and that’s where real growth happens – not through going and beating somebody’s brains in 50-0, some directional school.
“So, as much as it stinks, really believe that we’ll see continued growth and improvement, and feel like we’ve got a really good football team in this locker room.”
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