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Welcome back to the game previews STS readers! I enjoyed the lack of stress that comes with an open date and there were a lot of games that delivered high entertainment even if Florida failed to do their one job and beat USCjr. This was a very much needed break for the Clemson Tigers who were licking the wounds from that Miami game loss. I will quickly go through my good, bad, and ugly from that game now:
The Good: Tyler Brown is looking more and more like the 2023 version that seemed poised for greatness. He did have that one very unfortunate drop on a great read and throw by Tait Reynolds, but otherwise was tough as nails and had a 10 catch night. Bryant Wesco also had a big night but had a drop of his own and was run down on his long reception. Still, he had one of the nastiest open field jukes to get loose on that play that you will see and showed why he is a dangerous weapon in space. Clemson’s defense delivered for the vast majority of the first three quarters holding that elite Miami offense to just 17 points deep into the game. Tait Reynolds played about as well as could be expected for his current experience level and considering how much of the offense was put on his shoulders.
The Bad: Clemson’s red zone offense continues to be a serious issue and the Tigers were unable to put points on the board on most of the drives that went into Miami territory. Clemson was unable to generate a turnover from Miami, with Elliot Washington unable to snag a great pick six opportunity and Darien Mensah’s fumble bouncing right back up into his hands for his touchdown run. Either one of those plays going Clemson’s way might have significantly altered the course of the game. Tait’s pick six was a bad decision resulting in forcing the issue late.
The Ugly: Clemson’s right side of the offensive line has essentially caused the offense to run as if only three tires are inflated on the car (even if one or two of those tires are low on air themselves). Miami wisely attacked that side all night with their pressures and sometimes just allowed their guys to whip either Collin Sadler or the combination of Roman O’Connell and Grant Wise one on one. Until this gets worked out, Clemson has virtually no shot at beating any higher end team it faces and the offense cannot be unlocked. Clemson’s penalties continue to rear their ugly head at some of the worst times.
Now the Tigers have a chance to kick the tires on some new OL combinations, namely Easton Ware as first team RG. I’m also hoping to see Elyjah Thurmon get a shot at RT if he is healthy enough to see if that can be better than what Sadler has delivered. Gavin Blanchard has been solid at LG and I think done well enough to move Thurmon but we will see. Obviously the offense needs to continue to iron out the issues with execution in some of the run game and RPO decisions from Tait Reynolds. Chris Johnson, Jr. has a new chance to reclaim his role as RB2 as well.
Clemson Offense vs. Charleston Southern Defense: How quickly can this first team offense put this game to bed? Tait Reynolds still needs valuable game experience but this is a game where you hope to see an explosive first quarter where the second half can be time to work in a lot of the younger guys who have not gotten much action. The younger OL like Leo Delaney and Tucker Kattus could definitely use some game action looks. Clemson’s freshmen WR group, especially Naeem Burroughs and Gordon Sellars, need to show what they can do as well with the potential of losing some of the starting group after this year if they declare for the NFL draft(or even transfer). Georgia Southern had their way with this CSU team earlier in the season and anything less than a comfortable lead by halftime is going to be a huge red flag scenario.
It is probably important that Chris Vizzina get some good action because should Tait go down, he would be the next man up if healthy. Hopefully the last two weeks have allowed CV to heal up enough to function as he normally would. This all depends on the first team unit doing its job and actually scoring some touchdowns.
Gideon Davidson was nearly a forgotten man in the Miami game. He did produce the lone Tiger touchdown on a physical run, but was largely out of the action as Clemson essentially waved the white flag early in terms of thinking it could run between the tackles. Chris Johnson, Jr. flashed in his action late in the game and hopefully will get closer to the weapon he was imagined to be in preseason beyond his good work as kick returner. Jarvis Green got hurt again and will miss some time, but there are rumblings that Jay Haynes might actually be getting back to playability after a very extended absence from injuries. Davidson was huge in the two wins over UNC and Cal, so re-establishing that is a big goal for this week.
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Clemson Defense vs. Charleston Southern Offense: Clemson’s defense got hung out to dry in the Miami game for the most part, but it contributed some to its own issues as well. The biggest problem was getting burned on a blitz call right out of the gate for an explosive play TD that put the Tigers on the back foot immediately. The team was close to some massive turnover plays, two Mensah fumbles that were overturned or recovered by Miami and a pick six chance that Elliott Washington was unable to pay off. However, the defense forced Miami to make a lot more high end plays than it did LSU in week 1 and, unfortunately, Miami was able to pull those off by and large. Tackling still needs to be improved across the front seven but the DT play has shown growth and is not as much of a weakness as it was earlier in the season. Kortney Kelly appears ready to return to some action and will hopefully add a boost for the second half of the season.
Perhaps the most important development for this side of the ball is accounting for the loss of starting nickel Corian Gipson. Donavan Starr is likely the next man up and should get plenty of run to continue his growth in this system. Freshman Marcell Gipson is a guy the staff likes and might get some action there too along with Tink Kelley. The secondary has been a major strength of this year’s team largely because there isn’t one glaring weak spot teams can exploit the way they did last season. Losing Corian is a blow but Starr is a talented guy and can hopefully keep things rolling.
Most folks probably remember CSU’s last visit to Death Valley which produced a lot more heartburn than Tiger fans wanted before Clemson got its act together enough to pull away. The defense needs to dominate this side of the ball the way Georgia Southern’s did when they shut the Bucs out 31-0 and held them to just 117 total yards. The goal is putting this game to bed, growing confidence, and staying healthy. The more stars like Ashton Hampton and Sammy Brown (who have logged major snap loads to this point) can become cheerleaders the better.
Special Teams: This unit delivered right out of the gate with a long kick return to set the Tigers up against Miami, but the offense promptly squandered it with a three and out. There wasn’t much to complain about here other than a very poor roughness penalty that Ronan Hanafin picked up after Clemson’s touchdown, effectively killing any momentum that helped create. I was literally screaming at the TD for Hanafin to let up before the flag was thrown. This team just can’t afford any mistakes of that nature even if you want guys to be physical and play through the whistle. Overall this phase has been a real bright spot to the 2026 season and certainly vastly improved from recent years. CJJ has been close to breaking a kick return for a score so maybe this week he can do that in what will hopefully be very limited opportunities.
Overall: This game comes at a very good time following the open date. Clemson has not been good out of open dates in recent years and this game offers a lot more margin for error. However, Clemson fans are desperately wanting to see a lot more clean football being played, especially by the offense. There is a lot out there for this team if they can find a way to get out of their own way. Every game left is winnable and 10 wins is still attainable. Things are in better shape at this point this season than last year when the Tigers already had 2 ACC losses and 3 overall. The team needs confidence, health, and momentum to go on a run and that has to start on Saturday. While 2 or 3 losses are still very possible, I personally feel a lot more optimistic about this team avoiding those than last year’s IF Matt Luke can get the RG and RT spots playing at a reasonable level.