Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY Sports
Not Great, Not Bad, but Clemson’s Defense was Better
CLEMSON, S.C. — Though Louisiana Tech threw for 311 yards against the Clemson defense Saturday night, it was not all bad. In fact, there were way more good things that happened than bad in the fifth-ranked Tigers’ 48-20 victory at Memorial Stadium.
Clemson’s defense, which was much maligned for its poor performance against Furman the week before, picked off three passes and forced one lost fumble, while limiting the Bulldogs to six rushing yards.
Not bad for a unit that was missing five starters.
“Obviously, it was not perfect,” defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin said. “There’s a lot to coach from and clean up, but it was really cool to see all (the young) guys go out and compete and lay it on the line.”
The Tigers (3-0) were without defensive tackles Bryan Bresee (personal), Tyler Davis and Tre Williams (knee), defensive end Xavier Thomas (foot), safety Andrew Mukuba (elbow) and cornerback Nate Wiggins (hip flexor). They also lost starting cornerback Sheridan Jones early in the first quarter.
With Mukuba, Wiggins and Jones out, freshmen Jeadyn Lukus, Sherrod Covil and Toriano Pride got a lot of playing time.
“They competed and played with great effort,” Goodwin said. “It was just great experience for them as they continue to grow. We are going to need them as we go throughout the season. We need them to continue to get better and better every week. They have been focused. This week in practice, they really competed. They practiced really hard.
“It was cool to see them go out there and really translate it to the game field. It was not perfect by any means, but just a lot to correct and coach from.”
Though there were a few hiccups here and there, especially in the secondary, the defense as a whole played much better than it did the week before. The four forced turnovers were a season-high, while Louisiana Tech was just 5-of-15 on third down.
“Throw in a fourth down stop and a blocked kick, that was awesome to see,” Goodwin said. “We are trying to improve our pass defense every week and just get better with that. We had twelve pass deflections, which is the most since Coach [Dabo] Swinney has become head coach.
“We did a great job really getting our hands on the football, deflections and obviously the three picks were big.”
Because they were playing so many young players on the back end of the defense. The Tigers did allow some big plays. Louisiana Tech completed throws of 46, 38, 31 and 26 yards in the game.
“We were just trying to keep our coverages multiple and stuff, but credit to them for executing,” Goodwin said. “There is a lot improve on, just with our technique or losing leverage down field. We could have played with better eyes at times. So, just continue to coach, correct and teach.”
Despite giving up the big plays, Louisiana Tech quarterback Parker McNeil was just 23-for-42 overall with two interceptions and only one touchdown. The defense also sniffed out a trick play, which resulted in an interception by safety R.J. Mickens. Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and cornerback Malcolm Greene also recorded interceptions.
Later in the game, reserve defensive end Kevin Swint fell on a bad snap at the Louisiana Tech 12-yard line, which set up the Tigers’ last touchdown of the night. Overall, Clemson scored 21 points off the four turnovers.
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