A Head Scratching Season Continues
I must admit that this past bye week was extremely relaxing for this beleaguered Clemson fan. I spent my weekend in Ohio where my oldest is in school and only loosely followed the football action around the land. I never thought I would see the day Clemson football would look up at the likes of Vanderbilt, Indiana, Virginia, and several other programs the Tigers have so routinely outclassed over the era of modern football. A new age is indeed upon us, and there is only the hope Clemson can somehow finish this season with some respect and mitigate what could be the biggest roster overhaul of our lifetimes in the offseason. That could be just what this program needs, but other examples across the country have proven what a variable proposition that can ultimately become.
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The truth is this team has holes and the staff hasn’t figured out how to work around them well enough against any team with a decent squad. The OL is a hot mess, especially between the tackles, and the running game has vanished way too often. The WR/TE group is the strongest area on offense, but even that group has had critical issues with drops and some blocking misses that this team cannot afford. QB play has improved, even with backup Chris Vizzina having to take the reins vs. SMU, but the Tigers are not nearly dynamic enough on that side of the ball to offset the growing pains in year one of the Tom Allen era. We continue to hear all the right things in terms of how hard this team is working in practice, but it certainly has not shown up in any consistent way on gamedays. But, as Coach Swinney alluded to in his press conference, other squads have rebounded to become a much better version of Clemson football from spots similar to this one. We can only hope that the 2025 group can add its name to that list.
Duke comes to town and is no longer the laughable opponent the Blue Devils have often been over my lifetime. Mike Elko was on the cutting edge of the transfer world when he took over in Durham, and Manny Diaz has followed suit. Duke’s support system has allowed them to pony up the money to land high profile transfers and even pay their way into flipping a Clemson commit during the last cycle. This is the biggest reason why some of the programs who historically had no shot at really competing beyond a magical year here or there can now feel they can be a factor at any point. Most programs in D1 are not that far apart in many areas, but the power programs always trumped folks with depth and a handful of true different makers that can bail a team out on an off day. Indiana has gone and gotten the difference makers, particularly at QB, to close the gap on the top of their league. Things are much closer to the NFL in terms of parity now than they have ever been. This is a game Clemson once again has to show up and play well to win. Anything less will likely be another embarrassing moment in Death Valley, just a little over two years removed from the end of a historic home winning streak.
Clemson Offense vs. Duke Defense: I noted Clemson’s offense needed to step up and likely top 35 points to feel good about winning the SMU game. Turns out they needed 39 and only got 24. This is another matchup where Duke’s offense is good enough to score between 25-40 points, so the Tigers have to find a way to hold serve, answer scores when they happen, and hopefully build some kind of a lead. Clemson has found itself down by double figures in EVERY home game save the opener against LSU. Very few teams can hope for much success under those circumstances.
Cade Klubnik was unable to play versus SMU, and while Vizzina did about as well as most fans could have expected, his slow start helped SMU build a lead it would never relinquish. Klubnik was playing much better prior to what was ultimately an extremely unnecessary injury sustained in a game that was put away. You figure he is going to play here if he is at least 80%, but there is little chance his running ability isn’t going to be compromised to some degree by that ankle. This puts even more onus on Clemson’s running game to find a way to be at least serviceable. The Clemson OL cannot allow itself to be absolutely bullied over and over again the way they were in the SMU game. SMU was able to compile a teach tape on how a simple twist can wreck a pass protection, and Coach Luke’s and Coach Riley’s inability to get that straightened out as the game went was hugely alarming.
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Manny Diaz is not a guy to sit back and play read/react defense. He is likely very excited about the possibilities of his pressure packages and front games creating havoc on Saturday. Clemson no longer has Bryant Wesco to account for after his scary injury two weeks ago. The Tigers still have high level weapons on the perimeter, and T.J. Moore showed he too can take a top off a defense, but Wesco’s loss is nothing to sneeze at either.
I have no insight as to what adjustments Clemson might make up front, but I would have to hope that we won’t just see the status quo. If Tristan Leigh is able to play, can he slide to LG beside Brayden Jacobs? Can Elyjah Thurmon get back for this game? Walker Parks’s status for SMU flew under the radar but he played very little in that game and we all saw how Sewell and Sadler had rough days. There are a lot of baffling things about how 2025 has gone, but the regression of the OL might top my list.
Things are not rosy in the offensive room. Dabo has not refrained from letting some of his displeasure with Riley show in his comments to the media. It has become clear that the position coaches are handling the rotations at their spot, so C.J. Spiller going on a second season of really using just one back for all the meaningful snaps is also problematic. Dabo had good things to say about Tyler Grisham this week, so folks who think he should be part of the changes after this year will likely be disappointed.
Whether Cade Klubnik or Chris Vizzina line up behind center, the Tigers simply have to find some way to address what will no doubt be a very aggressive defensive approach from Duke. Clemson’s offense needs to help the defense by not only putting points on the board but hopefully limiting some of Duke’s opportunities on offense to rack up plays and expose the Tigers’ relative lack of depth in the second and third levels.
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Clemson Defense vs. Duke Offense: I will never forget the ominous “We got who we got” quote from former Clemson DC Reggie Herring back in 2001. It ultimately was an admission that the Tigers did not have the adequate personnel to execute his defense, and that was painfully evident as opposing offenses went up and down the field on that unit all year long. Tom Allen didn’t go that far in his comments last week, but some of the same feeling arose regarding Clemson’s issues with man coverage and perimeter defense this season. Clemson’s DL is good, but has proven to not be so good as to offset the issues at safety and Tiger that have haunted the team all year. Linebacker play has been uneven as well, though it does appear that Jerry Alexander and Kobe McCloud are going to see their roles increase as both have had good moments as of late.
I was all over Corian Gipson when SMU hit that critical big play in the second half two weeks ago, but apparently that was actually Avieon Terrell’s busted assignment. Terrell has been one of the most consistent players on the team this season, but it just goes to show that even the best have had some critical errors that teams are making the Tigers pay dearly for. Heavy snap counts for guys like Terrell, Woodaz, Hanafin, and especially Barnes probably contributed to some of the defense’s inability to get the crucial stops in the second half when the offense finally got going.
At this point, the best case scenario is for the offense to start fast while the defense is fresh. If Duke can mount a lead, then Clemson will become one dimensional and the defense will be exposed. Conversely, if Clemson can mount a lead, Duke will be in a similar situation and they have also shown they will break in that situation in games against Illinois and, most recently, Georgia Tech. Duke went out and spent a bundle on Darian Mensah, and he has mostly delivered for them, and to this point teams with proven QBs have all beaten Clemson.
Special Teams: It was incredibly unfortunate that SMU’s struggling placekicker decided to have the game of his season against Clemson. His ability to drill three long field goals allowed SMU to build a lead and put Clemson behind the eight ball. A miss or two there and maybe things turn out differently. That’s losing football seasons for you, when a team has a chance to get you, they don’t miss. When you have a chance to turn a game around, you don’t do it. Clemson has been solid in this phase but have yet to produce any type of major momentum play in a positive manner, like a return for a TD or a blocked kick. It was a punt return that led to Bryant Wesco’s scary and season-ending injury as well. Perhaps November will be a kinder month in the luck department.
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Overall: Somehow Clemson remains a betting favorite this week, though what had been double-digit spreads against Syracuse and SMU is only just over 3 as of this writing. The Tigers are now an afterthought on the national stage and even within the conference race. The only thing left is to try to make a bowl game and save a little face before an inevitable season of change in the roster and likely the staff.
Meanwhile, Duke would love to make it two wins in a row against the Tigers following their big 28-7 triumph to start the 2023 campaign. Duke could have buried GT in their last outing in the first half, but GT did what winning teams do, they turned the Devils over inside the 3 and took the fumble to the house, made their halftime adjustments, and then physically whipped Duke by the fourth quarter. I don’t have anything to give me hope that Clemson can do something similar. Without a fast start, the Tigers are likely taking another loss this week.
Duke 33-Clemson 30.
