I expected to read a lot of stupidity on this board, but it's worse than I thought it would be. People have a right to be upset with the coaching staff---the last one, for failing to recruit.
Other than Clayton, who hasn't played for two years, how many upperclassmen are on the ATL at DE and DT? None. At LB, we have one guy Jackson, who is an upperclassman and has the talent to be a P5 player. The safeties are OK, but recruiting rankings aren't the gospel. And we only have one CB upperclassman who is a P5 level player, Swilling. This defense is very, very young, and experience on D is so important. The defense is young because the prior staff did not recruit well. Having 4 or 5 guys who have both the experience and talent to play at this level makes it very easy to create matchups that an offense can win, especially with as many weapons as Clemson has.
My complaint is the OL. They aren't that talented, but 4 of the 5 are upperclassmen. I had hoped that they are better than they showed today. But there is no real competition or depth there or we would not be starting a true FR at one tackle. Again, this is the failure of the prior staff to recruit OL. The failures of the OL today kept the D on the field. You geniuses that believe the OC can design plays that can overcome an OL that can't block should stick to watching soap operas.