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We begin Q2 with Clemson facing a 3rd & 4 at the NC State 42
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
---|---|---|---|
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
3rd & 4 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Deep in route vs soft cover 2 complete to Cain, beautiful protection, route and throw to the void in the middle; gain of 15. | Everything about this play was perfect. I expected this would be free when I scouted the State defense and it's a sign of a maturing quarterback and offense. |
1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | RPO swing/draw, Bryant keeps and follows Smith, gains 2. | Good play design but better line play by State. |
2nd & 8 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Quick drop, go route to McCloud in the endzone, obvious PI. | Not sure why State fans would be mad about this one. |
1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | IV keeper free up the middle, Bryant bursts through for the score. | I called this play from the stands; when you see McCloud off the line in the slot, he's coming in jet motion. Given the situation the IV keeper was obvious, and I love its effectiveness despite the known tendency. |
State ball, 14:04, State 25, 14-14 tie
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
---|---|---|---|
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
1st & 10 | 10 shotgun vs 4-3 | Quick hitch vs soft cover 4 complete in front of Joseph, gain of 8. | I still fail to understand soft coverage against a conservative team lacking deep/explosive playmakers. Soft coverage allows them to do what they want: quick easy passes on methodical drives. |
2nd & 2 | 11 pistol vs 4-3 | RPO quick hitch complete in front of OD, gain of 5. | Soft zone or soft man, little difference here. |
1st & 10 | 11 pistol vs 4-3 | Hitch vs man cover 1 Sam fire, 10 yard cushion from Carter allows another easy completion, gain of 6. | Dare I betray my sense of self and question Venables??? |
2nd & 4 | 11 pistol vs 4-3 | Stretch handoff, Wilkins gets sealed and there's a pile to move for 4 yards. | State is zone blocking extremely well when they manage to double Wilkins. |
1st & 10 | 01 Wildcat vs 4-3 | Double reverse toss back to Finley, who eventually finds an open safety valve on the wheel vs cover 4 (Mullen's coverage was way downfield) gain of 22. | I don't see why State needed a gadget play when they're already gashing us but of course it worked. Seems like a coverage bust but Mullen was playing quarters properly; Joseph could've been guarding the flat but likely would've been beaten by the wheel vs a receiver regardless. |
1st & 10 | 11 pistol vs 4-3 | PA stretch bootleg, Finley shakes Ferrell and gets outside for a gain of 12. | When it rains it pours. |
1st & 10 | 01 Wildcat vs 4-3 | Jet motion keeper by Samuels, inside lane allows a gain of 10. | Lawrence got sealed out and pancaked...wow. Venables takes a timeout because this is now officially the worst defensive series of the year. |
1st & 8 | 11 pistol vs 4-3 | Stretch to Samuels, Clemson was ready for it this time and OD makes the TFL with some incredible strenght, loss of 2. | Wilkins blew his man back 3 yards and OD destroyed the edge, and didn't let Samuels escape. |
2nd & 10 | 20 shotgun vs 4-3 | Shovel option to Samuels read completely, Joseph crashes and makes the stop, gain of 3. | Everyone since Pitt has tried the shovel but nobody has found any success. |
3rd & 7 | 10 shotgun vs 4-3 | Quick hitch in front of a tighter zone but Samuels catches and spins into the endzone before Lamar can react, touchdown. | Flush this drive down the toilet because it's the worst I've seen since I began reviewing film. |
Clemson ball, 9:23, Clemson 23, 21-14 State lead
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
---|---|---|---|
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Power option keeper vs man cover 1 double LB bullets, gain of 8. | No linebackers were able to fill because of the inside blitz, free yardage until the safety filled. |
2nd & 2 | Empty shotgun vs nickel | IV keeper hit at the line, no gain. | Play was executed properly but State just overwhelmed with numbers and aggressive filling. |
3rd & 2 | 12 shotgun vs nickel | IZ to Etienne, hole between Simpson and Hyatt allows a surprisingly simple 5 yard gain. | Simpson and Falcinellie doubled the nose and Hyatt sealed off the backside to create a lane. |
1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Quick hitch to Chase vs cover 4 gains 5. | State is playing tight coverage everywhere except at nickel, quick hitch is easy yardage agaisnt soft coverage, imagine that. |
2nd & 3 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Shovel option vs man cover 1, wide open lane for Etienne, gain of 12. | Brilliant call and design against an aggressive man coverage look. |
1st & 10 | 01 shotgun vs nickel | PA QB draw, pop go route to Cain, perfectly thrown but interference is called. | Ultimately a smart penalty on State since this was one of the few downfield passes which would've been completed. Without the PI it's a touchdown. |
1st & 10 | 10 shotgun (double stacks) vs nickel | Post wheel combos vs man cover 1, Bryant throws too high for Richard, incomplete. | Would've been a tough catch vs tight coverage even if it were accurate, but it's another miss from Bryant. |
2nd & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Power handoff to Etienne gains 4. | Morris pulled and Hyatt got downfield to clear a small lane for Etienne; solid line play but State is filling aggressively to prevent big gains. |
3rd & 5 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Deep fade to Cain dropped at the pylon, this wasn't on Bryant. | When Bryant is on, Cain is off and vis versa. Roughing the passer results in a 1st down and State fans are very mad again. |
1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Bucksweep to Etienne gains 5. | This is more solid line play against a heavy run defense, though Simpson could've pulled quicker. |
2nd & 5 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Quick slant to Overton broken up at the 5. | I'd rather have another run here given Clemson's success on the ground in the red zone this season, but don't mind the throw to the biggest receiver. |
3rd & 5 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | Dig route to Overton vs man cover 0 NB fire, Bryant overthrows it again and it's incomplete. | If we're gonna pass down here, at least they're throwing to Overton. But Bryant missed high again and it killed another drive. Field goal good at least. |
State ball, 5:09, State 20, 21-17 State lead
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
---|---|---|---|
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs 4-3 | Swing screen to Hines, read by Ferrell but Hines makes an inside move to gain 4. | In hindsight we were extremely fortunate State's most explosive player was limited. |
2nd & 6 | 10 pistol vs 4-3 | Stretch handoff to Hines, breaks Wilkins backside arm tackle and spins through the scrum for 6 yards. | Wilkins shot past a zone block as he always seems to when not doubled, but Hines was too quick. |
1st & 10 | 12 pistol vs 4-3 | PA wheel complete vs cover 3 Mike bullet, gain of 24. | The wheel was thrown behind a post, opening the intermediate sideline underneath Mullen. |
1st & 10 | 11 pistol vs 4-3 | Stretch handoff to Hines, Joseph fills but misses the tackle, gain of 12. | Muse saved a touchdown with his diving tackle, Hines was about to run untouched through the second level. |
1st & 10 | 11 pistol vs 4-3 | Quick out dropped. | Finally an incompletion! |
2nd & 10 | 11 pistol vs 4-3 | Orbit motion TO keeper, Muse leaves Finley all alone and it's an easy gain of 15, woof. | Muse has to force the keeper without letting Finley go free, but he expected Joseph would be there to take Finley, who was completely sealed off by the TE block. |
1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs 4-3 | Straight drop vs cover 3, no pressure at all and Finley eventually throws it away. | Where is the pass rush??? |
2nd & 10 | 01 Wildcat vs 4-3 | Stretch zone keeper by Samuels, Joseph fills and makes the stop in the scrum, no gain. | This play won't work without jet motion. |
3rd & 10 | 10 shotgun vs 4-3 | Straight drop vs cover 3, deep hitch incomplete, broken up by Mullen. | Mullen made contact early and he's fortunate there was no flag here, State has a case for it. Field goal missed! |
Clemson ball, 1:42, Clemson 20, 21-17 State lead
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
---|---|---|---|
Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
1st & 10 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Quick out to Thompson vs man cover 1 incomplete. | Ball was thrown low but Thompson simply dropped it in tight coverage. |
2nd & 10 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Curl to Thompson against man cover 1 LBs fire, gain of 10. | Good anticipation on the throw. |
1st & 10 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Quick hitch to Renfrow complete behind the nickel man cover 1 blitz, gain of 5. | Good blitz recognition but State did nothing to disguise. |
2nd & 5 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Quick out to Cain complete along the sideline, gain of 7. | Few teams do a 2 minute drill better than Clemson over the past few seasons. |
1st &10 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Quick out to Renfrow vs man cover 1 tipped but still caught, gain of 2. | Surprised a timeout wasn't used here. |
2nd & 8 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Comeback complete to Cain, gain of 7. | Cain gets away with a slight push on his break to get the separation; Saban is still mad about it. |
3rd & 1 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Fade thrown to Higgins, interference called. | Both players had hands on each other but when State tackled Higgins with the ball in the air the flag had to fly. |
1st & 10 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Quick out complete to Thompson, gain of 7. | State backed off the tight coverage and is content to let Clemson take their time moving downfield on short completions. |
2nd & 3 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Deep go in the endzone to McCloud vs man cover 2 is incomplete. | State was fortunate to go back to cover 2 so the corner had help, because he was beaten. McCloud was open and still almost made the catch in double coverage. Pass was a bit underthrown, otherwise it's a touchdown. |
3rd & 3 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Comeback route to Cain complete for a gain of 9. | Cain is money along the sideline on underneath routes. |
1st & 10 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Go route to Higgins overthrown incomplete. | Higgins was open... |
2nd & 10 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | Bryant rolls and has to throw the ball away in time for the field goal attempt. | Smart play from Bryant, unfortunately the field goal is missed. |
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