Second viewing thoughts and grade report: Clemson

Although it is very early in the season, this game was critical. BC needed to prove to itself and the college football world that it could compete and win in the ACC, that the team could bounce back from a tough loss and that Matt Ryan could win in a tough spot. While not a classic, the team showed a lot of heart and had many positives to take away from the win. Here are my grades.

Offense: B

Matt Ryan didn’t have a perfect game, but I loved the effort. He showed good poise running the offense in a loud stadium. Let me get through his flaws before I gush. He still looked awfully Porter-like when passing to his check downs. I also counted two tuck and runs and one bad sack. The first interception was bad. The second was meaningless. And he was lucky that two others weren't picked. Now let me restate -- he had a heck of a game. As you have probably seen, the hit he took before the half was brutal. Yet he was only out one play. Before and after the hit, he was confident, solid in his footwork, and comfortable running the offense. He threw to a variety of receivers. He didn’t hesitate to throw over the middle. (His stat line was not helped by the five drops.) Leadership thing is tough to measure, but I think he has got it. The kid had a smile a mile wide coming off the field. He deserved to soak in a little glory.

Andre Callender always seems to be in TOB’s doghouse. TOB rarely takes criticism of players public, but does needle Callender in the press. Hopefully this game gets Andre a deserved starting spot. Callender made tough run after tough run. He has always shown the better balance and sense of where the holes are, but this game he showed he had the toughness too. Yes, he did ask out a few times, but I think that was more on the heat than the usual Callender respite. His counterpart Whitworth did not shine. He still has trouble reacting when things break down, and made two bad plays late in the game. First a run for no gain followed by a dropped pass on the next down. The job should be Andre’s now.

Unless they add a wrinkle to the Toal experiment, it is over. Everyone in the stadium knows what is going to happen and its success rate is so so.

The receivers didn’t break anything, but had a nice game. Lester still scares me with his reaches and tipped balls, but made a big catch in overtime, so all is forgiven. The usually reliable Gonzalez let two catchable balls hit the ground. Thompson also showed his hands need work. Miller played well. Blackmon played well. Sele looked pretty good. And all the receivers deserved credit for their blocking. I noticed them all holding up their men on Callender’s longer runs.

The offensive line was outstanding. They gave Ryan good protection and opened up holes for Callender. The second unit was able to come in for long streches without disrupting the flow of the offense. The Clemson fans and players also noticed. 90 plays. That is a huge number when the opponent is in the 50s. Our guys pushed them around. TOB and staff take a lot of heat for their inability to find offensive playermakers, but deserve more credit for molding lineman. The second unit thing is amazing. How many teams can say that there is no drop off between the two? These guys deserved the game balls.

In addition to calling a good game for Ryan, the coaches also specifically deserve credit for two moves. First substituting the second team offensive line. The commentators did not pick up on it, but the second unit came in fresh and wore on Clemson down the field for the first TD. The other good move was putting Miller and Palmer out wide as part of the four-wide set. By having them on the field it kept Clemson in their base personnel and then forced their linebackers to cover. It also prevented them from loading the box and coming after Ryan. I wonder why we haven't done it before? The new wrinkle was appreciated and successful.

Defense: A-

The only reason the unit didn’t get an A was due to stupid penalties. The jumping offsides kept a few Clemson drives alive. Three of these came on blitzes. But I’ll accept the offsides if the aggressive playing calling continues. You can’t complain when you shut the opposing offense on 3rd down. The rotations were good and I am glad to see the second and third teamers stepping up. What I like most about the defense is how they are using Kiwi. As I have mentioned, they flip him to either side to keep the defenses confused. If he is on the strong side, they let him gobble up two blockers. If he is weakside, he uses an inside move to turn the tackle towards the line and then we blitz a linebacker or DB, who is usually unblocked. This resulted in a Toal sack on the very first series.

I could quibble about some poor tackling from Henderson or Pruitt losing his man in coverage late in the game, but it is not fair. These guys played hard in incredible heat. Here are the guys who deserve extra plaudits for their efforts:

-- Jazzmen Williams. He has really become an excellent open-field tackler.
-- B.J. Raji is a monster in the middle. His penetration was impressive and helped keep the Clemson running game offbalance.
-- Glasper saved a TD with a tackle.
-- Al Washington had a big sack on a third down.
-- Dunbarr played well in limited time.
-- So did Jamie Silva (I love Silva’s instinct. When he has someone wrapped up he then goes for the ball. He is going to cause a big turnover this year. The coaches must like him in clutch moments too, because I noticed he was in almost every redzone package.)

Special Teams: B

Ohliger is an enigma. He boomed two kickoffs deep into the Clemson endzone negating a return. He hit some long field goals warming up. But in the game he is nearly a different person. I don’t think anyone on the team thought he was going to make the 48 yarder to win the game with 1:30 left. 48 yards on the road is tough for anyone. And if his kick had been online, I would have had less concern, but it was 15 yards right and was not hooking. Fortunately the team didn’t need him in OT.

Ayers, on the other hand, deserves a lot of credit. This was a field position game and he kept pinning Clemson back over and over.

Will Blackmon did not do much in the return game, but I liked that they continued to put Tribble back there to prevent the kick away. Tribble’s best return helped set up the first score.

Overall: B+

This win could have slipped away at many points. Ryan bounced back. The defense held up repeatedly. Callender stepped up and the coaching staff held it all together. The would’ve, should’ve, could’ves with Florida State will linger, but 3-1 for the first month in the ACC is a pretty good start.