Read below for video clips and review of each drive of our win against Miami. We wont cover the Press conference again this week but will be looking at the coordinator and coaches interviews.
1st Drive
Clemson moves the ball well here. A little no-huddle up-tempo. I think the first call on the end-around is ok, they are expecting a run inside. A
n arrow route to Spiller nets about 30 yards, he was matched on a LB. Then Spiller comes out already for Harper? It was the same play as the first one but a handoff. Parker leads Ford out-of-bounds, again.
The OL is already giving Parker tremendous time in the pocket. An inside zone play fails because McClain/Walker cant move people out of the way. Spiller catches a short pass and comes out again. Miami blitzes and it looks like either Dye or Parker dont have the right play in mind, looked like Dye should've cut inside on a post and instead ran a fly route. Jackson missed FG.
R, P, R, P-i, P, R, PA P, P-i
Miami starts at their 24.
Conner misses a tackle by being out of position. They are simply running the ball between the tackles and pounding us inside, our guys are not getting off blocks. Hankerson makes a tremendous one-handed catch on a PA. Another PA pass was caught out-of-bounds in our red zone. Another slant route by Hankerson gets a 1st, looks like Chancellor was out of position on his pattern read. Conner comes inside on a blitz and forces an early throw that ricochets off Hankerson's hand over the middle and right into McDaniels arms.
2nd CU drive starts on the 32.
Spiller takes a sweep for a first down. Parker throws a ball away when he had Spiller open underneath, and all day to throw. Intentional grounding is called because McClain decided to just not move his feet and get leverage on the DL, Hairston was also beat on the speed rush. Landon Walker holds on a pass to Ellington that gets us back into reasonable distance range, then a clip between McClain and Harper pushes us further back to 2nd & 49. Ellington takes a handoff for about 4. Spiller on sideline. Zimmerman killed a punt to the UM 34.
R, P-i, R, R that werent nullified by penalty.
Defensive drive
Collier gets 20yds when Alexander gets pushed out of the way. Bowers and Cumbie run downfield to make the tackle. McDaniel was up on the other side of Alexander's blocker and Maye couldnt read the play it seemed. A sprint option play to Cooper for the first was very-well covered, but he still caught it. End of 1st QTR. They have enough success on a few short plays to get into FG range. 3-0 Miami
3rd CU drive starts at our 38.
Jacoby slips after a catch of 12yds, and probably couldve had another 5-7. Clemson ran a good bit of I-formation and had one of Spiller's best gains of the day on the rush on an Iso, great block by Diehl. They seemed to go away from it later.
Harper is stopped on the next lead play, and Miami run blitzes on a Power O play and the DE hits the mesh between Parker and Spiller for the fumble.
R, P, R, PA P-i, R, R-fumble.
Defensive drive
Kevin Alexander really blows up a FB screen play, good job staying out there or he'd have gotten 10-20 yards. Great coverage by Chancellor on Hankerson to stop the drive. Defense forces punt of 47.
4th Clemson drive starts at our 28.
Ford runs a skinny post, taking up the deep safety, and Spiller comes out on a wheel route right down the sideline but Parker leads him too much. Would've been 6. David Smith is playing RT, and getting beat a little by speed rush, he needs to move his feet better. Mason Cloy is in at RG. Clemson still unable to generate running game from Gun sets. We are not fooling anybody. Palmer nets 18 over the middle on 3rd & long. Marquan Jones drops an easy screen because he turned his head upfield, would've been a 1st. Clemson calls a 2nd TO because they cant get the play in on time. Great catch by Allen on another 3rd & long. Slip screen to Palmer for another 1st. Palmer makes a great one-handed catch and TD on a play where he was lined up at RB. 7-3 Clemson
P-i, P, R, R, P, PA P, P-i, P, P, R, PA P. 11 plays 72 yards.
Defensive drive, Miami starts on their 20.
Miami gets a first down in 3 plays. Clemson blows up a screen with a backside blitz, then Miami hits Collier in a shallow cross for another 1st down. They hit the TE on a drag route for 8. Gilchrist comes in unblocked on the backside with Maye to sack Harris. Hankerson runs a post and beats Maxwell for a chunk while Sapp was held. Poor tackling in the secondary and bad angles by the LBs becoming more and more apparent here as they break one for the TD. On the TD play our guys were all in the box against a lead play, and once he gets to the next level he's gone. 10-7 Miami, 10 plays 80 yards 4:24.
CJ does what he does on the kickoff, watch Jacoby stay with it, great effort. 14-10 Clemson.
Defensive drive, Miami starts in good field position after some missed tackles on the kickoff.
Miami calls a run play to start, then a timeout which baffled me. The next play is a handoff to Cooper that gets inside our 40. Terrible tackling in the secondary and Cumbie has to run him down 20 yards downfield. Another timeout is called. I don't see what they are doing here with the clock management. They then put 12 men on the field after the TO to push them out of FG range. A deep ball to the TE down the seam in the endzone was thrown outside and the receiver expected it inside, but he was wide open. Harris throws one up, is rushed a little, and Rashard Hall picks it off.
Halftime
Miami 102 rushing, 112 passing, 5/7 on 3rd down
Clemson 22 rushing, 129 passing, 3/5 on 3rd down
Kick is a touchback. Hankerson is hit on the first play for 22 against zone coverage on a deep crossing route. Butler is all over him 2 plays later to break up a 1st down catch. Epps catches an out route on a TEXAS play for a 1st when Sapp and Bowers fail to execute a ME stunt properly. Chancellor gets flagged for PI on a bullshit call. A missed tackle inside by McDaniel gets them 7 yards. They hit the TE after a TO in the flat inside the 5. Clemson has mixed in a 3-4 front and I'm seeing a little bit of the 46 "Bear" front. A stupid formation call puts them back at the 5 from the 1 yard line, nullifying a TD. Harris hits Hankerson on a shallow cross on the next play and he walks in for the TD. 17-14 Miami. 9 plays 80 yards. Another long drive against the defense. Tackling and bad positions and angles, and the use of crossing routes attacks Man and matchup zone well.
1st Clemson drive starts on our 32
Spiller doesnt hit the hole on the outside zone play for short gain. Spiller catches a ball in the flat, then a toss sweep is strung out to force a 3&Out.
R, P, R
Miami starts on their 17 after a great punt and coverage.
Maye has a big pass breakup. Clemson calls a blitz and Maye sacks Harris right up the A-gap. The RB tried to block him and he ran right through it. 3&out. Punt was short and nearly hits Jacoby Ford on the bounce. It appeared to me like it hit the Miami player #50 Sharpton. GET OUT OF THE WAY GUYS.
2nd Clemson drive starts on the 27
Reverse end-around to Ford gets a 1st down. Good block by Palmer on the safety to spring it. On PA, Spiller finds the endzone on another wheel route. The LB covering him appeared to be gimpy in coverage and shouldnt have been out there. 56 yards. 21-17 Clemson
R, R, P
Miami gets the ball and fumbles, forced by Sapp and Maye.
3rd Clemson drive starts at the 30 or so and Parker has Ford open in the endzone, and doesnt see him. He hits spiller on a comeback in the flat for a short gain. On the next play he is pressured and grabbed by #57, who beat Hairston, then holds the ball out away from his body trying to throw it away, and its stripped and returned for a TD. 24-21 Miami
Clemson had the shot for the kill, and handed the game right back to them.
P, P/fumble
Miami has to kick from their 15, and Spiller is still huffing on the sideline. 4th drive starts on the 27. Ellington takes a screen for a 1st. Hairston and Austin did well to get out and block downfield. Palmer stops over the middle and gets a 1st. An audible by Parker to a rush play gets stopped by a blitz. D. Allen catches another in the seam for a big 1st down inside the 30. Spiller finally comes back in for Ellington and only nets 3 on his first carry. Then the wide open play to Ellington....jesus. How could he be any more open? Throw was high, catch shouldve been made anyway. JUST LOB IT OUT THERE PARKER. Next throw is a little behind Dye, but their DB makes a good play fo force incompletion. Jackson FG 24-24.
P, R, P, R, P, P, R, P-i, P-i
Benton kills another kickoff for a touchback.
Branch destroys a reverse for a loss of 14. Good discipline by him and not lose containment. End of 3rd Qtr. Miami gives Harris plenty of time against a blitz and he hits his WR on a dig for the 1st down to get out of the hole. On the next play J. James runs to the Clemson 25. Maye charged up into a no-hole, Conner charged into his responsibility and Gilchrist was out of position to make that tackle after reading his key.
Two plays strung out and stopped. Harris sacked by Sapp to force the 51 yd FG. 27-24 Miami
5th Clemson drive starts at the 16.
Palmer catches the first play in the flat and gets his clock cleaned by #50 leading with his helmet the ENTIRE WAY. That should be a penalty. About a 20 yard gain. Austin can't pull over to get a block on the DE and the pass to Ford is incomplete. Basically a counter-trap PA fake pass. Same blocking assignment on the next play, and again Austin cant get over to the DE on a QB Draw. Parker scrambles for 4. McClain and the Center cant block the DT on the next play and Parker has to throw it away. Punt
P, P-i, R, R, P-i
Miami starts on the 15, first play is picked off by McDaniel and returned for TD. 31-27 Clemson. Watch McDaniel read his eyes, Harris never saw him. Maye should have blocked #4.
Bad kickoff tackling gets Miami the ball at their 31. Rashard Hall comes up to stop the run into the alley, and leaves Chancellor on an island for the 69yd TD. 34-31 Miami.
6th Clemson drive starts on the 31.
Allen catches a pass in the flat for 6, then Spiller busts a 48 yarder on an inside 34 zone.
Harper is nailed in the backfield on a screen that couldve gone BAD, then a delayed screen to Harper on the next play gets close to a first down. Harper takes a lead play for the first & goal. Diehl fails to catch the first pass in the flat, great call but throw was a bit high because Parker didnt set his feet. Miami strings out the next 36 Iso to Spiller. Clemson calls a Timeout to tell Parker NOT to turn the ball over and throw it away if no one is open. Parker forces the pass into double coverage to Allen for the Phillips pick-touchback. Should've been a tie ballgame here, they give us an opportunity and we choke.
P, R, P, P, R, P-i, R, P-INT.
Defense comes up with a big stop. 3&out. I'm surprised they didnt run a PA pass but they had considerable success running the football inside.
7th Clemson drive starts at the CU 40.
Spiller still off the field to start the next drive. Screen nets 9. Really surprised at how well we're executing screens against Miami. A toss to Spiller gets close to another 1st, Miami strung it out well. Spiller is tackled just shy of the 1st on 3rd down, then we line up in the I and Harper gets the 1st down. I'm so glad we are showing the I-formation so much today. Ashe gets a 1st on the next play. Harper takes a 34 Zone for 8 yards or so, then we screw up the clock management. Play ends with :20 seconds on the clock, and we walk up and try to clock it with :08. 12 seconds wasted before we had to take the TO. We would've had time to run at least one more play and then take a TO. Jackson FG on 2nd down, 34-34.
P, R, R, R, P, R, P, R
Kickoff ends regulation. OVERTIME
Clemson wins toss, plays defense. A stretch play goes for 19. Our LBs got blocked out. Another play goes inside the 5. Bowers got a hand on the RB off-tackle on the next play and McDaniel made the stop on 2nd & Gl. Gilchrist nearly picks off a Harris pass on 3rd down, and it appeared that he was trying to throw it away. FG 37-34 Miami
Parker throws the first PA pass away, looked like Spiller didnt get out in his flat route. A handoff to Spiller gets nothing on 2nd &10. Then Jacoby seals the deal. PA P-I, R, P.
40-37
Defense: Dabo's teleconference showed that nearly 300 of Miami's yards came on 10 plays. There were just too many of them today. Why? Poor tackling on a fast back or receiver will kill you. Bad angles and being out of position will do the same.
Pass coverage was not that bad. Miami used crossing routes to attack the man/matchup zones and with speedy receivers they can be lethal. Matchup zones pass off one receiver to the next defender and there are instances where he is uncovered as he slips to the next defender's zone. Add a missed tackle or bad angle and you have a 15-20 yard gain. Hankerson excels at getting open.
DeAndre McDaniel and Brandon Maye both attributed it to confusion with Miami’s unbalanced line.
“We weren’t getting lined up correctly, which forced some players to play in the wrong gap. It was things we did that caused those big runs they had.
“With a lot of stuff me and Marcus (Gilchrist) lined up wrong,” McDaniel said. “Linebackers lined up wrong.
“There were a lot of crazy sets with the eight end as a tackle and two tackles and a guard on the other side. … It took the linebackers out of position a lot. On some plays, the safety and linebacker would be in the same gap and leave a gap wide open.”
“They did a lot with their formation, creating an unbalanced and putting in a tight end and an extra tackle on the back side, which forces us to have to settle down a little bit and pay more attention to their formation and get in the right gaps. They did a good job with that.”
What he refers to as an unbalanced formation was especially true when Miami lined up in the red zone.
Run defense was abysmal. Often we would have someone able to make a stop, and they'd miss a tackle. Also, our LBs are just average. Maye charges up without reading his keys and gets himself blocked out by attacking the wrong gap. Conner is a better LB with better instincts but was weak in coverage today. Andrews subbed for Alexander in passing downs and was par at best. Secondary support and tackling was worse than the LB corps, even worse angles and I'm not happy with the effort to tackle.
Offense: Zero holes opening up. Spiller got 18 on one play and 48 on another, and that was basically our inside running game aside from a few clutch carries by Harper. Its not that they are just missing assignments, its that they dont move anybody. Only the left side can do it.
Parker-a few bonehead mistakes typical of a freshman, then good reads and plays. I don't think Miami's pass coverage in the middle, particularly their LBs, was good at all. Their corners did manage to contain Ford, but big plays to Spiller and the TEs were against LBs. Our guys are now catching the football too.
Pass blocking gets an A, considering the speed of the line they faced. David Smith got beat on a speed rush, Hairston as well, Austin failed to get over on some counter-trap blocking, but it was still good. McClain needs a foot up his ass at times though.
Playcalling was good, I saw 2 or 3 I would not have run, and I still think we run so poorly out of the shotgun that it needs to be re-evaluated in gameplanning. Good use of PA and the TEs however.
MIAMI highlights, or defensive lowlights if you want to call it that. Clemson highlights from ShoelessCU below.