I thought the D played well enough for us to win. We did what we had to: we made them one dimensional and held Watson in check running. That they turned to their short passing game was what anyone would have expected, as was their success at it. They scored 26 points and it would have been less if we could have generated some offense.
That was the problem and, from what I saw, that part of the game was just like our game with BC. In both, the DLs were talented enough to stop our OLs from making reliable second level blocks. They did that largely by standing our OLs up and forcing their way toward the backfield. We couldn't stop them effectively and I didn't see much in the way of a chip-and-move all night. The result was what we all saw: the veer and the toss sweep met one too many defenders when we ran them because a) the Tiggers were bringing their corners and b) we weren't getting to the LBs. Like I said, just like BC. Or, at least, so it appeared to me.
I put this down to superior DL talent, to Clemson playing their best game of the season, and, most of all, to a lack of top WRs on the field who can make them pay for bringing their corners. I don't think we could have done much about the first two - and nobody much will do much with the first - but it might be time to see if Jalen Camp can make a difference out there.
Overall, I'm not discouraged about the season; I still think we can win 8 games. As someone above said, flush this game and get ready for the rest.
