How good is Clemson's Defense?

Clemson DC Brent Venables

After touching on BC's win, Addazio quickly turned his Monday press conference to Clemson and their Defense. He seems legitimately scared of the Tigers. This wasn't fluffy coach talk, Addazio is comparing them to the 2009 Alabama team he faced at Florida. Addazio is always respectful of our upcoming opponents but this was over the top for him. It got me thinking, if he is this worried, should we all be worried? After looking at the stats, I don't know what he's seeing.

I do think Clemson is talented and will give us trouble, but the numbers don't back up Addazio's fears. The Tigers are a middle of the pack defense so far. Their 7th in the ACC in scoring per game and 3rd in yards per game (just slightly ahead of BC). Georgia scored 45 on them and UNC score 35. They held Florida State to 23 points, but that was without Winston.

Will they put pressure on BC? Sure. Do they have playmakers? Of course. Is Venables a good coordinator? Yes, but we knew that last year. They contained our main threat in Williams, but Willis and Amidon exploited them for big TDs. This year we have more weapons and are not as one dimensional. Scoring won't be easy, but we have plenty of guys who can break a big play.

Addazio knows more about his team and more about Clemson than I do. Maybe he's right. I just hope we are giving the Clemson coaches the same sort of worries they are giving us.