High Number of Plays No Longer Huge Part of Clemson Offense

According to the numbers, Clemson's formula for offensive success doesn't rely on a high level of plays being run as it did last decade.

Following Clemson's season-opening win over Wake Forest last fall, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was pleased that the Tigers ran 82 plays and used tempo in their favor. 

He vowed to make the offense run at a faster pace last season but also still give then-starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence time to make adjustments. 

"When you play fast, especially when a team has a challenge from a depth standpoint, you can really put pressure on them," Elliott said. "It forces the defense to play on its heels.”

Statistically, it appears Clemson accomplished much of that goal. The Tigers, who typically ran over 80 plays per game during the first half of the last decade, saw its average go up from 71.7 plays per contest in 2019 to 75 per game in 2020. 

Clemson went over the 80-play mark five times in 12 games, compared to reaching that number three times in 15 games the previous season. The Tigers are still a far cry from even the Deshaun Watson era, though. They went over 80 plays nine times in 15 games back in 2016.

You'd think that would produce a wide disparity in yards and points. However, the 2020 offense averaged a yard less per game and scored four more points per game than the 2016 version. 

What does this all mean? Well, maybe tempo and plays per game aren't nearly the emphasis of the Clemson scoring attack as people think it is these days. Former OC Chad Morris installed this system in 2011 to play at a break-neck pace. 

But college football has changed drastically over the last decade. As more teams have become high-powered passing attacks pace isn't as in vogue as you might think. 

As the ground-and-pound bully ball has been phased out, it's not created a go, go, go mentality. For instance, Clemson's 528.7 yards per game in 2019 and 44.3 points per game in 2018 are the best marks in school history. 

The Tigers ran 71.6 and 71.7 plays per game, respectively, in those two seasons. Those are the two lowest by far since the Morris era began. 

Also interestingly, LSU won the national title in 2019 with a pedal-to-the-medal offense that scored a whopping 48.7 points and 568.4 yards per game, but the Bayou Bengals did it averaging 72 plays per contest. 

In 2020, Alabama, behind first-round NFL draft picks Mac Jones, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and Najee Harris, produced another unforgettable scoring attack that put up 48.5 points per game, However, the Crimson Tide did it averaging LESS than 70 plays per game. 

Big plays have a huge impact on how many snaps you actually get now, and having the advantage in chunk yards generally equals a victory. 

So maybe Clemson "needing" to be fast is a misconception. The word you'll hear Dabo Swinney and Elliott use more than any other when describing this offense these days is "efficiency." It matters more what you do with the plays you have than reaching some arbitrary number. 

Look at yards per play. Coaches certainly do. In 2019, the last time we had all teams playing 12 regular-season games, the top four teams in that category were Oklahoma, LSU, Alabama and Clemson. All but the Crimson Tide made the College Football Playoff. The other invite was Ohio State, which ranked seventh in yards per play. 

What does this all mean for 2021? It's hard to tell. Plays per game and tempo these days are dictated by more variables than having a coordinator who wants to go at a ridiculous pace. 

With a new quarterback in D.J. Uiagalelei, more offensive weapons to spread the ball around to, no Travis Etienne in the backfield and an offensive line that needs to improve, it'll be interesting to see how much tempo and when the Tigers use it. 

Clemson is at its best when it mixes up tempos and controls the game, the clock, the chains and the other team on both sides of the ball. Get off the field on defense, rack up first downs and score quickly when the opportunity presents itself. 

This is the formula for success, not a plays-per-game stat that isn't as important anymore. 

"We want to try to find that happy medium to where we can get that snap count up without jeopardizing our efficiency and our explosiveness," Elliott said.