Clemson vs Virginia Tech Film Review: 1st Quarter

Ho hum, another dominant win in a packed enemy stadium. Clemson is now the first ever team to beat three top 15 teams in September. I liked the game plan to come out and let Bryant hit the deep fades and corner routes against man coverage early; it is clearly his best and most comfortable read/throw. Helps to have WRU at your disposal and it’s remarkable to see 5’10” McCloud continue to win those battles outside. The offense bogged down in the second half but again, I have little issue with turtling when up by 2+ scores in the second half when Brent Venables is roaming your sideline.

The defense obviously played well throughout, but VT’s offensive line did better in pass protection than it should’ve. I really expected plenty of sacks in this game, even with just a 4 man rush. The linebackers and secondary were outstanding, and I can’t say enough about Ryan Carter. Remember when he was a liability in coverage in 2015? Now he’s a stalwart who can play three different cornerback positions. Sure he gave up a late TD, but that’s in garbage time and he was supposed to have safety help from Denzel Johnson; a deep post should never be open against man cover 2.

Clemson was able to rest Trayvon Mullen even though he made it through concussion protocol, which is probably the most wonderful long term takeaway of the entire game (both a testament to the secondary depth/versatility and the staff’s awareness of Mullen’s future health). Given the rampant CTE headlines and Thursday night’s helmet-to-helmet in Green Bay, I’m so glad the staff doesn’t play around with head injuries.

I said this all week, and I’m going to bury you in smug again: just as film showed Louisville’s defense was obviously in for a rough night two weeks ago, VT’s offense never had a prayer against Clemson. Their only touchdowns came on a 3 yard drive after an awful punt (Spiers had a bad game; that return is on him) and a late garbage time coverage bust. It’s a shame the final score and stats won’t tell the whole dominant story, but even a turtling Clemson never let VT make a game of it.

Shorthand

Alley = area between the OT and WR.
BCB = Boundary Cornerback.
Bullet = ILB A or B gap blitz.
C0, C1, C2, C3, C4 (quarters) or C6 = zone coverage scheme by the secondary.
DIME OF DOOM = 3rd down 3-2-6 havoc formation.
FCB = Wide side or field cornerback.
Fire = S, NB, LB blitz from the outside.
Green Dog = man blitz when your man stays in to block or is not in the formation.
IV= inverted veer.
IZ = Inside Zone or Zone blocked play inside the tackles.
Jailbreak = 7 or more blitz.
LOS = Line of Scrimmage.
Man = man to man coverage.
OZ = outside zone run or zone blocked play off-tackle.
PA = Play Action.
PBU = Pass broken up.
Red Dog (overload) = LB and S/NB blitz on the same side.
Robber = S or LB underneath zone to take away crossing routes.
ZR = Zone read option play.

Two more runs (IZ and QB counter) get Clemson to inside 1 before a false start forces a 3rd down pass to Cain, which is broken up. Field goal from Spence is good.

After back to back false starts, Bryant keeps a ZR for 18 yards to end the quarter.