Behind Enemy Lines: Talking Clemson Football With Zach Lentz
To get a feel for Boston College's opponent on Saturday we went right to an expert, Clemson Maven editor Zach Lentz who talked to us about this week's game, Clemson's Playoff hopes and AJ Dillon vs. Travis Etienne. Make sure to follow Clemson Maven and Zach on Twitter.
AJ: Trevor Lawrence isn't having the Heisman caliber year many expected, but is still making some beautiful throws and helping Clemson win. What have you seen out his play so far this season?
Zach: I think that Trevor Lawrence was almost a victim of some unrealistic expectations heading into the 2019 season. While he has thrown some questionable interceptions, real head-scratchers, he is leading the Tigers better than former Tiger great Deshaun Watson did in his sophomore year.
Compared to former Tiger Deshaun Watson's sophomore season (2015), Lawrence has seven more completions (121 to 114) on the exact same number of attempts (190). Lawrence also has a better completion percentage than Watson (63.68 to 60). Watson threw for more yardage by only 32 yards (1566 to 1534) and had one less interception (7 to 8) and one more touchdown (15 to 14).
And the Tiger offense, as a whole is playing better than they did in 2015. As a team, the 2019 Tigers have gained more yards (1802 to 1766), have more passing touchdowns (16 to 15), more passing yards (1802 to 1766, have 38 less rushing attempts, but are gained 239 more yards (1731 to 1492). The Tigers are averaging 1.56 more yards per rush (6.39 to 4.83), have two more rushing touchdowns (19 to 17) and have 275 yards more offense (3533 to 3258) on 25 less plays (504 to 529).
AJ: Last season a lot of the talk was rightfully about Clemson's D-line, now that group has all gone to the NFL who are some names BC fans should know about on defense?
The Tiger defense this season is led by linebacker Isaiah Simmons. Simmons leads the Clemson defense in tackles (56), tackles for loss (10) and sacks (6) through seven games.
And, according to defensive coordinator Brent Venables, he is one of the best players in the country."Yeah, he's one of the better players. There's a lot of really good players out there and he's definitely one of them. What I loved, he's breaking it down there right at the end that he's talking about all the mistakes that we've got to, you know, fix. They're easy, correctable things, but instead of having his head in the sand and acting like we played like the '85 Bears today, he's like, "Hey man, that's a win and you've got to enjoy it, man, winning is so hard."
"But you know, he's pointing out out, "Hey..." talking about the mindset going into next week, being the off week, what we've got to do to get better and improve mistakes and improve fundamentals and techniques and those types of things. So that's really like music to your ears as a coach."
AJ: The polls have let Clemson slip the past few weeks, make your argument that this year's Tigers are a playoff team.
Zach: When you talk about the Tigers' "slip" over the last couple weeks in the polls, you are talking about the AP Poll, as they have held at No.2 in the Coaches Poll. But to your point, the AP Poll may be the most worthless poll of them all. What you have is a bunch of beat writers, who spend 12 hours a day covering their respective team, go home, watch some PAC 12 after dark and then check the box scores.
The Tigers are being punished for one close game against UNC, but are not rewarded for out-scoring their last two opponents by a combined score of 90-24. However, if people want to punish the Tigers for their schedule, the Crimson Tide should be buried.
The Tigers currently have the 40th toughest schedule with an opponents winning percentage of 49.27. While the Tide have played the 86th ranked schedule with an opponents winning percentage of 43.19.
The Tigers and the Tide have also played the same number of ranked teams–zero.
The Tide own the scoring margin stat line—32.39 TO 28—which makes sense seeing as they have played a schedule that is significantly easier than the one the Tigers have played.
Ohio State and LSU both rank inside the top 10 in strength of schedule at No. 4 and No. 10 respectively. The fourth team that the Tigers cannot hang with, the Oklahoma Sooners, boast an impressive strength of schedule that keeps them just inside the top 85 at No. 82.
When it comes to offense the four teams mentioned above all rank in the top 4 in scoring offense. Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State and Alabama all boast dynamic offense, with one caveat for two of those teams, Alabama and Oklahoma have played two of the easiest schedules in the nation.
While playing a significantly more difficult schedule the Tigers still rank 10th in scoring offense, 10th in total offense, 10th in rushing offense—better than LSU (79th) and Alabama (68th).
So, I think that when the committee convenes in Texas in a couple of weeks, many people will be shocked to see the Tigers sitting comfortably in the playoff.
AJ: Is there anything about Boston College that you see as a matchup problem for Clemson?
Zach: The backs. A.J. Dillon is a beast and, as Dabo Swinney said earlier this week, does not try to run around defenders, he runs through them. If there has been one knock on the Tigers' defense this season it has been a propensity to give up some big runs and not tackling the best. If they let Dillon get rolling, look out.
AJ: If you were to start an NFL team and draft a rookie running back next year who would you take, Travis Etienne or AJ Dillon and why?
Zach: Can I take them both? It really depends on what that particular team is looking for and their needs. Dillon and Etienne are two completely different backs. Etienne, while he has the ability to run through the A-gap and be effective, his ability to slide through holes and then explode once he gets to the second-level is what separates him. Dillon on the other hand, embraces the contact and punishing defenders.