Clemson gave up 242 yards on the ground to Syracuse on Saturday, which is concerning on a number of levels but not cause to completely panic, since the Orange were largely one-dimensional on offense.
But how those yards were gained has to be disheartening for a Tigers' defense that's supposed to be among the country's best. Syracuse picked up 151 of its 242 rushing yards on just four plays by four different players, and each went for at least 28 yards. That could be a problem against (most likely) North Carolina in the ACC Championship game.
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The big plays from Saturday:
—Syracuse RB Jordan Fredericks went for 42 yards on third down in the first quarter to set up QB Zack Mahoney's 10-yard score.
—On Syracus's second drive of the second half, Mahoney completed passes of 28 and 17 yards. He then scampered 30 yards to set up a 12-yard touchdown run.
—George Morris ran for 51 yards on fourth down on Syracuse's drive to make the game 37-27.
—Mahoney completed just eight passes and had 80 yards passing, but 60 of those yards came on three plays.
Clemson gave up just 322 yards on Saturday, but since so many of them came in big chunks, the Orange put points on the board. Eight of Syracuse's 14 drives went for 17 yards or less, and five of those went for zero or negative yards. In terms of efficiency, there was nothing wrong with how the Tigers played. But big plays will be a problem if changes aren't made.
Football Study Hall ranked Clemson's defense 81st in its explosiveness metric entering Saturday, its only real blemish on an otherwise stellar defensive resume. It had allowed five running plays of 40-plus yards, among the 30 worst in FBS. Six plays of 30 yards ranks right in the middle.
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That's what's concerning because last week, Clemson actually did well to contain Florida State's Dalvin Cook overall, but he burned the Tigers early with a 75-yard touchdown run and a 36-yard gain on the next drive.
Clemson will, in all likelihood, play North Carolina in the ACC title game in Charlotte next month. Per Football Study Hall's same explosiveness metric on offense, the Tar Heels rank third in the country. They have 62 plays of at least 20 yards and 29 plays of 30 yards, both among the top 12 in FBS.
That should be a point of concern for Clemson — one defensive coordinator Will Venables addressed after the Florida State game, but didn't fix Saturday against Syracuse.
The Tigers aren't bending too much, but occassionally, they're breaking in a big way.