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Clemson ball, 14:54, Clemson 26, 7-0 Clemson lead
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Bubble screen Thompson gains 2. | Actually a well thrown ball, out in front of Thompson so he could build momentum during the catch. No blocking though. |
| 2nd & 4 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Swing screen to Fuller gains 6. | Better perimeter blocking this time, particularly from Cannon Smith. |
| 3rd & 2 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Speed option keeper gains 9. | Brilliant call; speed removes the risk of a run blitz destroying a zone read mesh (as we later learn near the goal line) and breaks the QB counter/power tendency. |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Power handoff to Fuller gains 3. | There was a lane initially but Christmas manhandled Simpson and made the stop, gotta do better Big John... |
| 2nd & 7 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Fake RB screen, tunnel screen to Thompson is blown up, loss of 2. | The running back screen had a convoy and would've gone places. |
| 3rd & 9 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Deep curl complete to Thompson vs cover 6, gain of 15. | Good anticipation from Bryant to get the ball to the hole in the zone right when he saw it. Needs more zip on the ball though. |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Dropback vs cover 4, deep in to Renfrow "incomplete." | A perfectly thrown ball and what should've been a catch before the ground knocked it loose. Here's an example of how the stats on Bryant's downfield throws are somewhat misleading, because this was a perfect pass down the middle between zones. |
| 2nd & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Bubble screen to Cain (stacked behind Greenlee) complete for a loss of 3. | Greenlee had to block 2 defenders but chose none; his late shove at Thomas only helped Thomas make the tackle. Pitiful. |
| 3rd & 13 | Empty shotgun vs dime | Corner fade to McCloud vs man cover 1, underthrown and easy interference call, 1st down. | I like the corner fade in this situation. High reward and low risk given we're not in FG range and an interception is little more than a punt. Drew the PI as desired. |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Fake RB flare, QB power gains 5. | Another big lane from the OL but failed blocks at the 2nd level. |
| 2nd & 5 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | PA out route to Cain in front of soft man cover 2, gain of 8. | Taking what is given. |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Power handoff to Feaster gains 3. | No hole at hole but tough running moves the pile forward. |
| 2nd & 7 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Quick slant to Rodgers vs cover 4, gain of 6. | I'm fine with a patient approach with this offensive line plus this suddenly soft coverage. |
| 3rd & 1 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | IV keeper up the middle gains 6. | Simpson pulled and blocked absolutely no one, but the rest of the line did so well Bryant wasn't touched for 5 yards. Rough game for Simpson so far. |
| 1st & 3 | 11 shotgun vs 4-3 | ZR keeper, Bryant tries to get outside but the DE sat on him well, cuts inside and gains 1. | Tough to tell if it was a misread since the DE played the mesh so well. The give would've been safer but Bryant thought he could outrun or make the DE miss. |
| 2nd & 2 | 12 shotgun vs 4-4 | ZR completely blown up at the mesh, fumbled and recovered by FSU. | THIS is why I don't like ZR in short yardage: it invites a high reward/low risk speed rush to destroy the mesh and cause a fumble just like this. With the read man on the back side, Clemson wanted to overwhelm the strong/playside with numbers. A wonderful idea but honestly not necessary with at least 2 more play to punch it in from the 2. |
FSU ball, 8:20, FSU 3, 7-0 Clemson lead
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| 1st & 10 | 12 shotgun vs 4-3 | IZ to Akers stuffed by Pinckney, OD, Huggins, no gain. | Backup DTs were in and they got under blockers. |
| 2nd & 10 | 21 shotgun vs 4-3 | Huggins sheds the LG and hits Blackmon on release, duck nearly picked by OD, incomplete. | Back to back big plays from Huggins, very impressive performance in Lawrence's stead (though he's playing 3 tech). |
| 3rd & 10 | 21 shotgun vs 4-3 | Cover 3 Will bullet, Ferrell gets around the edge instantly and strips Blackman, recovered by FSU, loss of 1. | Erotic. Ferrell is a monster, LT barely got a hand on him. |
Clemson ball, 6:39, FSU 28, 7-0 Clemson lead
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Power handoff to Etienne, easy lane behind Hearn's pull, who then blocks two dudes at once, untouched, TD. | Etienne is a monster yeah but any of you could've scored on that run. |
FSU ball, 6:34, FSU 25, 14-0 Clemson lead
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| 1st & 10 | 12 shotgun vs 4-3 | Dropback vs cover 4, nobody open and Huggins eventually gets the coverage sack, loss of 5. | Huggins got a paw through the line as the pocket collapsed and pulled Blackman down. |
| 2nd & 15 | 11 shotgun vs 4-3 | Bubble screen, Bryant sheds the cut block and gets a mitt on the pass, almost the exact same pick he had against VT. | This man is going pro this year, accept it now so it won't hurt in January. |
| 3rd & 15 | 11 shotgun vs DIME OF DOOM | Power handoff to Akers gains 3. | Skalski shed two blocks and helped Chad Smith wrap up. So many backups playing well in significant snaps. |
Clemson ball, 5:05, Clemson 30, 14-0 Clemson lead
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | QB power is stuffed, gain of 1. | FSU was ready and overwhelmed the play side. |
| 2nd & 9 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Swing pass to Choice gains 4. | Nifty move in space and a surprisingly solid block from McCloud gave Choice some room for yardage. |
| 3rd & 5 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Facemask against the coverage is a 15 yard penalty. | Renfrow's quick move at the snap led to the penalty. |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Fake option pitch leads to a wide open pass to Greenlee, gain of 33, wow. | PA passes across the middle lead to busted zones!!! Who knew!!! |
Continued
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | IV give to Choice, free to the edge for 9 yards. | First time I can remember seeing Bryant give on the inverted veer, could be deadly for Feaster or Etienne since Bryant is the established threat on the play. |
| 2nd & 1 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | ZR dive to Choice gains 4. | Crowder got a push 4 yards downfield, Choice followed his lead. |
| 1st & 6 | 11 shotgun vs 4-3 | ZR dive to Choice, hole in the B gap, looks like he's clear to the endzone but Sweat barely trips him up. | So close, ended up costing us 4 points. |
| 2nd & 1 | 11 shotgun vs 4-3 | Burns destroys the ZR mesh AGAIN, fumble, somehow recovered by Clemson, loss of 8. | I will lament zone read in short yardage until I die. Inverted veer? Fine. Power? I can stomach it agaisnt a bad DL. But inviting an aggressive run blitz or edge defender into the backfield when you only need a yard? NO. NO. NO. |
| 3rd & 9 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Bryant overthrows the slant to Cain by about 29 feet, incomplete. | Set fire to my soul. Field goal good at least. |
From here FSU fails in a 2 minute drill and Clemson kneels out the half.
