Clemson hopes for increasing offense, decreasing injuries heading into bye week
Clemson’s roller coaster of a season will take a break with a 3-2 record at the upcoming open week.
The Tigers avoided back-to-back losses by beating Boston College 19-13 Saturday as the offense continued to work through the development process. While they’ll have to keep any momentum bottled up for another week, the bye comes at a time where the group can heal up from its bevvy of injuries.
Effective front five
With right guard Will Putnam out with a toe injury sustained early against N.C. State, Clemson had to rearrange its offensive line. Matt Bockhorst, who ended up being the player of the game, moved from center to fill in for Putnam. Hunter Rayburn replaced Bockhorst at center and Jordan McFadden stayed at the left tackle spot next to Marcus Tate, who got back into the starting lineup at left guard. Walker Parks filled out the front five at the right tackle spot.
“The whole group played well,” Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney said. “There was a lot of things on tape that was really good to see, that I’m very encouraged by.”
Rayburn has played almost everywhere on the line, but says center is what comes most naturally to him.
“It was kind of out of necessity my sophomore year, between injuries on the depth chart and stuff like that, that I had to learn how to play guard, had to learn how to play tackle,” he said. “Being my third year here, I kind of just know enough to fill in and be functional with each of those positions. … I feel most comfortable at center, but I certainly don’t feel uncomfortable at tackle.”
The Tigers finished averaging 5.8 yards per rush and 15.9 yards per completion against Boston College, an improvement from the week prior against N.C. State with 4.5 yards per carry and 9.2 yards per catch. The biggest key to the improvement on Saturday night, Rayburn said, was in the communication between and cohesion of the linemen. The development happens off the field with the Tigers building relationships with one another, and then it transfers to the field.
“Being comfortable with one another, trusting that the guy next to you is going to do his job so you don’t have to pick up any slack,” Rayburn added. “Just do your part.”
Pace, Mafah stand out in run game
As the offensive line showed more production, so did the Tigers’ overall run game. With Will Shipley out, Kobe Pace started and led the rushing attack with 125 yards and the team’s lone touchdown on 19 carries, helping the offense take another step forward in its growing process.
Phil Mafah made his collegiate debut in the backfield and had an impact right away. The freshman said he was excited to have the opportunity after initially thinking he would redshirt this season.
“At first, it wasn’t really my plan. That’s not what I had in mind, but then again I was just thinking about God’s timing and everything,” he said. “I just tried to stay ready … so when my name got called, I was prepared. I was working as if I was going to be the starter that week.”
Mafah used the opportunity to produce 58 yards on seven totes, which included a 28-yard run that put Clemson at first-and-goal from the 7 during the first series of the second quarter. The drive ended in an 18-yard field goal from B.T. Potter.
As a whole, Clemson’s offense totaled 438 yards, 231 of which came on the ground. Aside from the season opener against S.C. State, it’s the most productive the Tigers’ offense has been, statistically speaking, all season.
“I feel like we all worked together, we all came together,” Pace said. “That’s one thing we’ve just been missing out on, just all coming together and just playing as one.”
More from DJ
D.J. Uiagalelei was the last one off the field early Sunday morning and the first one present for the Tigers’ practice in the indoor facility on Monday afternoon. Clemson’s sophomore signal caller has shown a commitment to improving and will need to use the break to put it all together to help the Tigers’ offense stay afloat.
“He’s making his presence known in the run game, which is really good, and he’s starting to kind of really hit his stride there,” Swinney said of Uiagalelei, who had 50 yards on 12 carries against Boston College. “He’s a problem. That’s a big, strong man that’s hard to get down. … Made good decisions, took care of the football, so I’m really proud of him. He missed some throws still. He missed a couple of touchdown opportunities and then we had a couple drop as well, so still got a lot of work that we need to do to get really dialed where we can be the type of offense we want to be.”
Statistically, Saturday was one of Uiagalelei’s best games of 2021, throwing for 207 yards without an interception for only the second time this season. Still, he had 14 incomplete passes against Boston College, some of which were dropped by the receivers while others were overthrown. On one of the two times the Tigers reached the red zone, an incomplete pass on third-and-goal from the 2 was followed by a field goal.
“Just keep getting confidence in the offense, continue to just keep going, keep fighting, continuing to keep growing as a leader, as a team and just keep playing,” Uiagalelei said after the game. “I think every game, we’re going to get better. We’ve just got to continue to stay locked in.”
Injuries
By the time the Tigers finished pulling out a narrow 19-13 win over Boston College, they were down 15 players, a number that included those lost during fall camp.
The offense has taken the brunt of the damage, losing two offensive linemen during the preseason in Tayquon Johnson and John Williams, one after the first couple of games (Dietrick Pennington) and another out for at least one game in Will Putnam. Justyn Ross and Braden Galloway both got hit in the head against BC, while Will Taylor sustained a season-ending knee injury during the first quarter of Saturday’s contest. EJ. Williams and Frank Ladson also went out with injuries as well.
Defensively, Clemson was already without Lannden Zanders, Bryan Bresee and Tyler Davis, but then added Joseph Charleston, Fred Davis and Mario Goodrich to the list of unavailable players.
None of the Tigers mind adapting to the “next man up” mentality as they make personnel adjustments and go from there.
“So much work is put in and so much goes into what we do. You just hate to see someone go out like that. It’s heartbreaking,” safety Nolan Turner said. “It gives other guys opportunities to come in and grow up. I think it’s a good way to bring this team together, almost. If you have guys go out, you’ve got to have guys kind of rally around other people, needing them to step up.”
The Tigers play at Syracuse on a Friday after the bye, but will need that time to heal up those who can make returns and prepare others for positions that will still be vacant.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that would probably have a hard time playing this week,” Swinney said, “so I feel like we’ll be in good shape come Sunday.”
