Clemson Football: Defense smothers Georgia Southern’s rushing attack

Clemson football started slowly, but once they got rolling there was nothing Georgia Southern could do to stop them. Here is what we learned from the Tigers win.

After starting the game scoreless on their first three drives, the Clemson Tigers continued to put pressure on visiting Georgia Southern. Eventually, the effort paid off, as the Tigers finally cracked the scoreboard midway through the second quarter. By halftime Clemson had built up a 21-0 lead over the Eagles, a lead which proved enough even as the Tigers let up until for much of the second half. In the end, Dabo Swinney‘s crew walked away with a comfortable 38-7 victory over their visitors on Sunday afternoon to maintain their top-five position in the Top 25 polls.

Travis Etienne was a major part of Clemson’s success, showing why he is the top running back on the Tigers depth chart this year. By halftime, he racked up 118 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. He cooled off considerably in the second half, though, carrying the ball just once for a loss of two yards in the first 20-plus minutes after the intermission. Then he burst up the right sideline for a 40-yard touchdown to finish the day with 162 yards and a pair of scores on 16 carries.

Trevor Lawrence similarly asserted himself as the best quarterback on the Clemson depth chart. Kelly Bryant once against started for the Tigers, but he put in an uneven performance before getting shaken up after landing hard on the football before the half and going early to the locker room for the day. Bryant finished with 68 yards on 7-of-10 passing and an interception on the opening drive. The incumbent starter added 27 rushing yards on a half-dozen carries.

Lawrence, though, has proven himself a more dynamic option as a passer even if he presents less of a dual-threat skill set. The underclassman finished 12-of-19 for 194 yards and a touchdown, and he even added 13 yards on two carries. Lawrence, like Bryant, also threw an unfortunate interception on a bad read, though in Lawrence’s case the ball bounced off his receiver’s hands. Dabo Swinney is going to have a hard time keeping Bryant at the top of the quarterback depth chart, even if he does not have any lingering injury.

The offense was good, but the bigger story for Clemson is their defense

As usual, the Clemson defense remains one of the best units in the country. The Tigers held Georgia Southern’s ground-based option attack to only 80 rushing yards. Eagles quarterback Shai Werts completed only two of his eight attempts as Georgia Southern finished with just 60 total passing yards. Werts did score a rushing touchdown, but the Eagles were unable to get any closer on the scoreboard despite several opportunities late in the game.

Though they did not force any turnovers in the end, Clemson’s defense put massive pressure on the Eagles offense all game long. The front four showed by it is one of the best in the country, continually getting into the backfield to hold up Georgia Southern’s ball carriers for losses. The Tigers finished with five sacks as they constantly pressured Werts throughout the contest.

Once they took down Werts on 4th and 22 with less than seven minutes remaining, any chance of a comeback closed up completely. Etienne scored his second touchdown of the day soon thereafter, and Clemson made sure to put the contest completely out of reach of their Sun Belt challengers.

Though they failed to pitch their first shutout of the 2018 season, Clemson’s defense still showed that they are playing at a championship level. The defending ACC kings showed against Georgia Southern that they have a strong enough defense to successfully defend their conference crown and return to the College Football Playoff. Now they just need to square away exactly what they want to do on offense.