The bye week always seems to come at the perfect time, and boy does Clemson need a break. The Tigers were the first, but certainly not the last, team to get suffocated by Georgia’s defense. We didn’t know it then, but the offensive performance in that game was a feature, not a bug in the system. It’s the clunkers against every other FBS team that has the Tigers in the college football penthouse version of a tailspin.
Clemson is fourth in the 247Sports team talent composite, with the best of everything money can buy—including facilities and coaching staff—as well as one of the best defenses in the country. Despite that, the Tigers sit with two defeats after losing in overtime to NC State in Week 4. In addition, they had to pull off a goal line stop against Georgia Tech and beat Boston College by only one possession.
Clemson’s offense isn’t just struggling this season by its own lofty standards. Whether you dice the stats up by average or counting or conventional or advanced, they are simply horrible through five games. It’s hard to find anything the Tigers excel at on that side of the ball.
Metric
Stat
National Rank
Rushing yards per attempt
4.52
56
Third down conversion rate
39.13%
73
Offensive plays of 10+ yards
11.1%*
78
Total rushing yards
736
80
Rushing yards per game
147
83
Touchdowns
13
102
Yards per play
5.09
103
Available yards gained
35.1%
107
Points per game
21.2
108
Total yards
1620
109
Expected points added/pass
-0.12*
110
Passing yards
884
112
Points per drive
1.22*
113
Passing yards per game
176.8
117
Offensive success rate
35%*
117
Total yards per game
324
119
Passing yards per attempt
5.7
120
Expected points added/rush
-0.251*
124
Expected points added/play
-0.188*
128
Average throw depth
7.8
115+
Adj. net passing yards/attempt
4.4
121+
Completion percentage
54.3
126+
