Clemson offense growing accustomed to adjusting on the fly

It took Kelly Bryant and the Clemson offense some time to adjust to the defense Boston College was playing last Saturday at Death Valley, partly because it was different from what the Tigers were expecting.

That has become the norm in recent years as defenses have tried to slow down Clemson’s explosive offense with different packages than what the Tigers have seen on film.

Boston College played Clemson differently than it had most spread teams, almost daring the Tigers to run the ball as the Eagles looked to avoid giving up the big play.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was proud of the way his quarterback responded.

“There were some different looks. He was a little frustrated, because you want certain things but they’re just not there,” Swinney said. “To see him bounce back and manage that, it’s great. You’ve got to grow through stuff like that … It was a good game for him from a teaching standpoint. Every game has its challenges. I thought he responded really, really well.”

Clemson experienced the same thing in the ACC championship game last year when it expected Virginia Tech and Bud Foster to play mostly Foster’s “robber” defense. Instead, the Hokies mixed up coverages.

Swinney said Clemson is unsure what Foster will throw at the Tigers this week.

“That’s football,” Swinney said. “You’ve got video evidence, and you go with what you’ve seen. That’s how you prepare. You study what they’ve done to other people that do what you do and you try to come up with a game plan. You get into the games and sometimes it’s a little different and you’ve got to make adjustments.”

Swinney said Clemson is used to its opponents pulling out all of the stops.

“We’ve been a target for a long time. We know we’re going to get everybody’s best here. That’s just the way it is. That’s something that we embrace week in and week out,” Swinney said.

This story was originally published September 28, 2017 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Clemson offense growing accustomed to adjusting on the fly."