Game Prep: Clemson's Offense Starts With Ground Game
When teams faced the Clemson Tigers in years past, they first had to think about prolific passers like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawerence.
When these quarterbacks were at the helm, they were supplemented with a good ground game, but the Tigers rushing attack was never the sole focal point of the offense.
That's all changed since the 2021 season began, as Clemson now relies on their rushing attack to move the offense down the field and help consistently set up scoring opportunities. So what is it that encompasses the Tigers' offensive strategy?
Simple, But Effective
With the overarching emphasis on having athletes everywhere on the field in modern football, we've seen teams move on from traditional gap-run blocking schemes to more zone blocking schemes that emphasize essentially blocking people in a specific space.
Clemson hasn't strayed much from gap-run blocking schemes, which means they'll look to open up one particular gap at the line of scrimmage and will usually have predetermined responsibilities for their offensive linemen in terms of who they're supposed to block.
This means that South Carolina's front-line defenders will need to win one-on-one matchups to cause havoc for Clemson's star running back Will Shipley, who, in terms of his athleticism and skill set, is one of the best all-around running backs in the entire country.
Protecting The Quarterback
With Lawrence moving onto the NFL, the Tigers planted former 5-star quarterback DJ Uiagalelei into the starting lineup, expecting Uiagelelei to become the next great quarterback at Clemson.
This has yet to turn out to be the case and has led Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter to scheme around Uiagelelei's deficiencies.
Clemson relying on an orthodox run game helps, but they'll also get Uiagalelei involved using quarterback keepers to take advantage of his athleticism. They will also rarely call deep passing plays on offense, partly to cover for the lack of field awareness DJ showcases on multiple occasions.
Lack Of Offensive Playmakers
Besides the aforementioned Shipley, Clemson's offensive skill positions, while still talented, don't possess players with game-breaking abilities as they have in years past.
In conjunction with Shipley's playmaking ability, this makes it an easy choice for Swinney and Clemson to be more methodical with their offensive approach.
If the Gamecocks' defense can get the Tigers' offense off schedule and force some critical second-and-long or third-and-long situations, they'll give themselves a chance to win this rivalry match.
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