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Clemson vs Boston College Film Review: 2nd Quarter

Upon closer review, the offense was not as bad as it seemed.

By Alex Craft
NCAA Football: Boston College at Clemson Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
1st & 10 12 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs cover 1 Mike fire, out complete in front of Mullen, gain of 7. Coverage was fine, just a good throw against man.
2nd & 3 12 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs cover 3, dig route complete for a gain of 12. Good throw into a tight zone window.
1st & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs man cover 1 Mike bullet, deep slant wheel route just overthrown. OD was beaten and Smith had too much ground to cover from the deep middle. Dodged a bullet.
2nd & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Rollout vs cover 4, Ferrell works through the double team to force a fumble, but it's reviewed and oveturned as incomplete. Ferrell hasn't had many 1on1 pass rush opportunities this year but he is such a smart and physical player he is still disruptive. After a delay, Addazio flagged for who knows what.
3rd & 25 11 shotgun vs 3-3-5 Rollout, deep throw on scramble drill is intercepted by Mullen. Brown put this up for grabs because it was essentially a punt.

We open the 2nd quarter with Clemson facing a 3rd & 5 from its own 31.

Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
3rd & 5 11 shotgun vs nickel Straight drop vs another overload, free rush on Bryant who again somehow eludes a sack and throws the ball away. Simply awful. Not a soul was open and nobody was even open on the scramble drill.

BC ball, 14:43, BC 35

Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
1st & 10 12 ace vs 4-3 under PA toss, TE out is open between Joseph and Muse but it's out of reach, incomplete. The PA pulled Joseph way out of his zone and Clemson caught a break.
2nd & 10 21 I form vs 4-3 Iso handoff, fullback takes out Joseph and Wilkins is double teamed, clear to the second level, gain of 14. Lamar over ran this and the A gap was wide open when Wilkins was doubled.
1st & 10 21 I form vs 4-3 Power handoff, Wilkins gets in the backfield to trip Hilliman but he stumbles forward for 4. Startling success with uptempo runs against the Clemson DL, which is trying to sub every chance it gets.
2nd & 6 21 I form vs 4-3 under Off tackle handoff, Bryant sets the edge, Lawrence gets penetration but is held from behind, no flag somehow, Lamar fills, gain of 3. Don't ask me how a DL this good never drew holding. Refs missed this one badly.
3rd & 3 12 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs man cover 1 Will bullet, wheel route thrown just out of reach. O'Daniel was in excellent position if the pass were on target.

Clemson ball, 13:12, Clemson 6

Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
1st & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Counter draw to Feaster, Falcinelli and Richard make a lane and Feaster bursts through, gain of 12. Richard has missed a few this year but when he's hitting blocks, the run game works.
1st & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 ZR keeper, Bryant gets to the edge but can't escape the safety's ankle tackle, gain of 3. Richard could've led and nullified the safety but he turned up the line in an effort to seal when it wasn't strictly necessary.
2nd & 7 Empty shotgun vs 4-3 Quick slant to Cain vs soft cover 4, complete for 7 yards. I would've liked to see more empty sets Saturday, Clemson was usually successful from them because BC backed its corners off and it spread the linebackers so widely.
3rd & 1 11 shotgun vs 4-3 ZR give to Feaster, Crowder and Anhrum double the 3 tech and Falcinelli seals the 1, lane for Feaster to get 4 yards. This was effective blocking against a heavy run set in cover 0.
1st & 15 11 shotgun vs 4-3 QB draw, big hole off the edge with Feaster's lead block, BC flies in and gets a helmet on the ball and it flies in the air, Hearn recovers and RUMBLES for 18. This is officially a B1G game now.

Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
1st & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Bubble screen to McCloud, again thrown high and late, again Renfrow is absolutely blown up and again McCloud catches it while being tackled by a teammate. Recovers and gains 1. Once again the offense outmanned the defense but still no yardage. Horrible execution all around. Still disgusting.
2nd & 9 10 shotgun vs 4-3 IZ to Etienne, bounces outside, great burst upfield, hard tackle by the safety, props to him, gain of 8... Phenomenal burst for such a long, powerful stride. Anchrum didn't have the best seal on Landry but Etienne was ripping past the line before Landry could work back outside.
3rd & 1 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Rollout left vs cover 4, nothing open so Bryant cuts back inside and powers for 11. BC checked out of a cover 0 blitz look into a normal 2 deep, they either knew Clemson's check or tendency, had the pass covered but Bryant made something out of nothing.
1st & 10 10 shotgun vs 4-3 Power option pitch to Etienne, well blocked on the edge and it's a strong 8 yards.
2nd & 2 11 shotgun vs 4-3 ZR dive to Feaster, Hearn and Falcinelli double the 3 tech and there's a lane in the B gap, gain of 6. The run game was largely effective when the 1st team OL was in the game. Falcinelli has been a welcome surprise this year after a shaky spring.
1st & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 ZR keeper, Bryant follows Feaster through the hole for another 11 yards. On closer inspection, this looks more like a QB lead draw than a zone read. I'd prefer fewer Bryant runs throughout the season but this is one to keep in the book.
1st & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 ZR dive to Feaster, Hearn and Falcinelli and double the 1 tech and it's more easy yards, Feaster powers for 5. Dare I say Hearn has been Clemson's best lineman this year?
2nd & 5 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Another lead draw, Feaster lands and excellent lead block and Bryant outruns the safety to the corner, touchdown. Higgins blocked the cornerback out of the endzone(!) The run game was beautiful this drive. The offensive line haad a rough day but you wouldn't know it on this drive with the 1s getting all the snaps.

BC ball, 7:09, BC 35

Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
1st & 10 12 ace vs 4-3 PA rollout TE flare vs cover 4, pass broken up by hit from Williams. This play was going nowhere anyway, rolling out to the short side.
2nd & 10 12 ace vs 4-3 Iso handoff, vs cover 3 Mike bullet,Lawrences gets doubled and sealed, Williams fills the hole but misses, gain of 9. Williams read this key quickly and filled the hole aggressively, but simply charged too hard to make contact.
3rd & 1 22 I form vs 5-3 Lead handoff, Pinckney blows up the center from 0 tech and disrupted the run, but Wilkins is doubled at 3 tech, BC works through the hole there, gain of 1. Both teams are having their only real success when double-teaming defensive tackles.
1st & 10 22 I form vs 4-3 PA vs cover 4, pressure up the middle from Lawrence forces Brown right and throws it away. Lawrence looked hobbled here trying to change direction...
2nd & 10 22 I form vs 4-3 Stretch handoff, Ferrell sets the edge, Muse is the only one unblocked but he overruns the fill, gain of 8. Muse is a missle, for better or worse.
3rd & 2 31 ace vs 4-3 PA TE cross broken up by Muse. Good thing Muse was there because the linebackers were way out of position from the PA.

Clemson ball, 5:16, Clemson 8.

Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
1st & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Power handoff to Feaster but Richard didn't seal the edge, no gain. There was room outside but Richard let his man work inside him.
2nd & 10 10 shotgun vs 4-3 Lead draw, Bryant works to the edge before the unblocked safety wraps him up. So far, most of the struggles have been from BC making excellent open field tackles rather than poor blocking. Many times it's been a safety just making a play to mitigate damage as Bryant or Feaster reaches the 2nd level.
3rd & 8 10 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs cover 4, Bryant tucks after one read and runs upfield for a gain of 14. Bryant didn't go through many progressions today but he's converting on 3rd downs anyway.
1st & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 PA TE flare vs 4-3, the FS again flies in and makes the open field tackle, gain of 5. It's good play design but if I were a TE or RB I'd hate running it; a smaller guy is flying into my knees before I can even look upfield.
2nd & 5 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Bucksweep to Feaster, again the lane off the edge is quickly closed by safeties flying in. Seriously, BC missed very few tackles before they ran out of gas. The more I watch, the less annoyed/concerned I am with the OL or play calling.
3rd & 2 10 shotgun vs 4-3 Power option keeper and Bryant runs into a wall, no gain. There was room on the edge if Bryant were to string it out or pitch.

BC ball, 2:14, BC 28

Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
1st & 10 12 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs cover 1 Mike fire, out complete in front of Mullen, gain of 7. Coverage was fine, just a good throw against man.
2nd & 3 12 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs cover 3, dig route complete for a gain of 12. Good throw into a tight zone window.
1st & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs man cover 1 Mike bullet, deep slant wheel route just overthrown. OD was beaten and Smith had too much ground to cover from the deep middle. Dodged a bullet.
2nd & 10 11 shotgun vs 4-3 Rollout vs cover 4, Ferrell works through the double team to force a fumble, but it's reviewed and oveturned as incomplete. Ferrell hasn't had many 1on1 pass rush opportunities this year but he is such a smart and physical player he is still disruptive. After a delay, Addazio flagged for who knows what.
3rd & 25 11 shotgun vs 3-3-5 Rollout, deep throw on scramble drill is intercepted by Mullen. Brown put this up for grabs because it was essentially a punt.

Clemson ball, 1:19, Clemson 21

Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
Down & Distance Formation Play Analysis
1st & 10 10 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs cover 4, deep in route to Renfrow complete for 16. Bryant hit the soft spot behind the Mike and between the safeties nicely.
1st & 10 10 shotgun vs 4-3 Straight drop vs cover 3 Mike/Will bullets, Bryant steps up and tucks, gain of 13. Again, Bryant is tucking when pressure calls for him to get out rather than go through progressions. As he should.
1st & 10 10 shotgun vs 4-3 Bryant hit on delivery, ball is fortunately incomplete. Clemson wanted its deep shot to Cain here.
2nd & 10 10 shotgun vs 4-3 Another deep shot vs man cover 1, pressure affects Bryant's delivery and the ball is overthrown, not enough air under it.
3rd & 10 10 shotgun vs 4-3 Quick out to Renfrow hit and tackled immediately, gain of 5. Clemson expected the blitz so tried a quick throw but BC was ready underneath.

Bryant is sacked on 4th down to end the half.

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