Clemson Offensive Line Shines in Road Win At California

After a rocky start to the season, the Clemson offensive line has rounded into form.

The Clemson offensive line made way for more than 250 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win over Cal. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the major takeaways from the Clemson Tigers’ 24-10 Friday-night win over Cal has to come from up front.

Yes, the Tigers (3-1, 2-0 ACC) played ferocious defense, holding the Golden Bears to 231 yards of offense, and just 3 points. Defensive backs Ashton Hampton (2 tackles, 3 pass breakups) and Elliot Washington II (2 interceptions) played their best games of the season.

Despite those standouts at other positions, the Tiger offensive line turned in a fantastic game themselves.

Entering Friday night, Clemson’s gameplan was obvious to many pundits: run the ball, play complementary defense, and put true freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds in manageable situations.

Reynolds struggled for chunks of the game in Berkeley, throwing an interception on the team’s opening drive and fumbling on their third. Cal scooped up the loose ball and scored, taking a 7-0 lead.

From there, Clemson outscored the homestanding Bears (2-2, 1-1 ACC) by a 24-3 score. The engine of that scoring run was the offensive line, which helped the Tigers churn out 255 rushing yards for the game. Clemson improved to 89-4 under Swinney when rushing for 200 yards or more.

“To run the football the way we were able to was awesome,” Swinney said postgame. “We were a tough football team. That was my biggest objective coming into the season; I said we needed to be a tougher team. To be able to run the ball the way we ran it for 5.2 per carry [was great].”

Clemson leaned on multiple backs to gain those 255 yards, namely Gideon Davidson (159 yards, 2 touchdowns), Jarvis Green (31 yards), and Chris Johnson Jr. (16 yards). After wearing down the Cal defense throughout the night, the offensive line opened a gaping hole for Davidson in the final minutes.

The sophomore burst through the opening for a 75-yard touchdown, giving Clemson a 24-10 lead it did not relinquish.

Of note, sophomore left guard Elyjah Thurman limped off the field in the first quarter of the game and did not return. Swinney ruled him out for the second half, but said postgame that he sees the injury as likely a short-term situation.

Without Thurman in the lineup, Swinney turned to redshirt freshman Gavin Blanchard at left guard, who played his role well. On Davidson’s 75-yard touchdown that sealed the game, Blanchard and left tackle Brayden Jacobs worked hard to block their defenders completely out of position. 

That’s progress, especially coming from a group that was criticized harshly after the LSU loss.

Clemson returns home next Saturday to take on the No. 6 Miami Hurricanes (3-0, 2-0 ACC) in Memorial Stadium. Kickoff time and TV have not been announced.

Enjoy our content? Make ClemsonOnSI a preferred source to see more stories from us on Google by clicking here.