You may have expected Clemson to lose, but I doubt anybody had them scoring 3 total points.
Clemson suffered that 10-3 loss to Georgia only accumulating 180 yards of total offense, including just 24 yards on the ground via a few running backs.
Kirk Herbstreit discussed the surprise on KJZ….
Sure they don’t have have Trevor Lawrence or Travis Etienne in the backfield anymore, but DJ Uiagaelei still produced at a high level last year when thrust into position.
He set a record for passing yards with 432 in a game, and that was against Notre Dame who had one of the best defenses in the country.
But he was protected for the most part, unlike what happened in Charlotte on Saturday. DJU was sacked 7 times and under pressure certainly more than that by the end of the game.
Now the question is, can DJU and Clemson bounce back? The schedule will lighten up for sure, but is that a good thing? ESPN’s Heather Dinich thinks it will be difficult for Clemson to make it to the College Football Playoff….
While it was pretty surprising to see Clemson struggle so much out of the gate, they lost by one score to a top 5 team in the country.
And as we’ve seen time and time again, a loss that early in the season is way more likely to be forgiven. The committee has discussed that message multiple times, how an improvement as the season goes on matters. Clemson will improve. The committee also shows a bias towards teams that have made the CFP before, especially teams in the “powerhouse” category that Clemson entered this past decade.
But let’s say the Tigers do find themselves back in the CFP facing another top 5 team. Will they look like the Clemson of old, or the team that put up 3 points Week 1? That remains to be seen.
