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Here’s to no more 4th quarter film reviews this season! But there are two crucial, soothing nuggets after the drive charts so don’t neglect this final look at UNC.
UNC ball, 15:00, UNC 30, 14-14 tie
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| 2nd & 9 | 11 shotgun vs 4-3 | Counter vs double LB bullets gains 6 | Spector filling vs a pulling guard is a mismatch, no chance. |
| 3rd & 3 | 10 shotgun vs dime (Simmons Mike) | Slant vs man cover 1 robber gains 10. | Wallace was in soft coverage, giving up the slant because he thought he had help from Simmons playing robber in the middle; Simmons was tracking the running back swing out of the backfield. |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs dime (Simmons Mike) | Power handoff gains 9 | Skalski blitzed up the middle and Davis was sealed inside, Simmons tried to fill but again met a pulling guard... |
| 2nd & 1 | 11 shotgun vs dime (Simmons EDGE) | RPO slant batted down incomplete | Spector's zone coverage was beaten. |
| 3rd & 1 | 11 shotgun vs dime (Simmons EDGE) | ZR keeper stuffed for no gain | Spector made the play here, filled and made first contact. Turner shed a block to help and Simmons got back outside from taking the dive. |
| 4th & 1 | 12 shotgun vs 4-3 under | IZ stuffed for no gain | Missed facemask on the lineman ripping off Foster's helmet and he was still the reason the play was stuffed. |
Clemson ball, 12:09, UNC 48, 14-14 tie
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down & Distance | Formation | Play | Analysis |
| 2nd & 3 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | PA vs cover 4 fire zone, Lawrence flushed and throws it away | More cover 4 fire zones, they've had their way with them all day. Still no routes across the middle, for example: Rodgers had a 10 yard cushion from the safety yet his route ran right past a wide open slant or dig and right into the safety's zone |
| 3rd & 3 | Empty vs nickel | Sprint out to Chalk gains 6 | No complementary rub route, I object. |
| 1st & 10 | 11 shotgun vs nickel | QB counter gains 7 | Biggest tendency breaker in this game has been...QB power/counter. Well blocked, Cervenka got a seal and Chalk envoloped the filling linebacker. |
| FALSE START, 2nd & 8 | 10 shotgun vs nickel | RPO keeper gains 2 | This looks like a busted play or missed block, but Lawrence checked out of a ZR here. Anchrum left the end unblocked for a free rush and Lawrence didn't like the quick pass read, so he tucked. |
| 3rd & 6 | 10 shotgun (Chalk out wide, Higgins slot) vs nickel | Deep seam to Higgins vs Will fire in front of cover 3 sky, complete for a touchdown | Does throwing down the seam count as the middle? Close enough, the staff got its best playmaker this season in a mismatch, easy read and throw, Lawrence almost underthrew it. |
This is cover 3 sky (corners and one safety have deep thirds; other safety and two non-blitzing LBs have underneath zones). Elliott honestly caught Bateman getting too cute here. Elliott had his best WR in the slot and Bateman didn’t counter at all, then tried a cute backward sky coverage. Normally the boundary safety will just drop to the flat and the field safety will stay in the deep middle, but Bateman flipped them. This meant his field safety had to run across to the boundary flat, and the eventual deep middle safety began the play in the boundary, where he could never hope to get to Higgins in time. Props to Elliott for the win over Bateman when it mattered.
/skips ahead to the final conversion because it’s already FSU week and I can’t suffer through a 10 minute drive on a Venables defense.
XAVIER THOMAS DEMANDS YOUR ALLEGIANCE:
Ok in actuality Thomas didn’t force the keep, Howell made a bad read. Based on Thomas’ width, the dive was the correct read and the back only needed to beat Wallace in the hole. I suspect the call all along was to keep and get to the edge, but that’s folly against a Clemson defense far stronger on the edge than through the middle. Bad read from Howell or not, Thomas made the play. He crashed just enough, knowing Howell would likely keep, and was wide and quick enough to force Howell outside and eventually pitch to nowhere. It must be noted Turner and Terrell also played the pitch beautifully, though the prayer of a lateral almost led to the unthinkable. Survive and advance.