QT Opinion: Clemson smothers the Owls

I think it was nice of the Clemson students to greet the Owls team with a Woo Hoo Owl. It should be the last time we hear it this season and forever in perpetuity. Finish the Woo Hoo.

FAU’s quarterback wasn’t ready. Clemson’s defense jumped on him and caused a series of turnovers that led to easy points and opportunities for the offense. Klubnik completed some nice passes and ran a little better, but the overall offense remained average against an average to below-average FAU defense. This was a much better performance than the Duke and Charleston Southern games, but I’m not sure I learned much more about the team. They are a team with the potential and talent to beat FSU, but they are still wildly inconsistent.

Once Denhoff put the wood on Thompson and took him out of the game with a late hit, it was over. The replacement QB didn’t have the talent to be with Clemson.

THE GOOD

Hello Khalil Barnes. Barnes, who replaces Mukuba, strongly advocates the need for more playing time. The interception has to do with the play of DeMonte Capehart, who eats his lineman and hits the quarterback’s arm, but Barnes still makes a good play. FAU’s receivers were quick and he got burned a few times, but he also stayed close to the ball and played quality, physical coverage.

Hello Tyler Brown. Beautiful catch in the back of the end zone on a nice ball from Cade (the refs didn’t call a clear penalty for holding Mayes…yikes). He had a fair catch where he had about 20 yards of green grass, but we’ll pass on that. And we’ll forget about the botched punt, as he had a good return on the next punt return and another contested sack TD.

Glad to see Briningstool come down with a contested catch in the end zone for a score. He needs to be a security blanket for Cade and a jumping problem in the red zone.

I said last week that TJ Parker is a starter. Yes. I’m going to start shouting it. Too good not to have him on the field right now. It’s relentless and gives you a disruptive pressure that hits home. There is a play at the 11:38 mark of the 3rd Q where Parker double-teams RT and TE and splits them up and disrupts the RB. Simply perfect technique.

I’m glad they let Walker Parks sit still and have a week to recover. Mayes was a mixed bag and the offensive line is still struggling with passing tricks and some blitzes on the interior. FSU will pose a challenge for the Tackles, but I think Sadler has shown that he needs to start. Leigh should play but you play Sadler.

Avieon Terrell made some good plays. He hit a ball on a charge and plays bigger and harder than his frame (I hope he can stay healthy). It’s unfortunate that Barnes and Terrell play Nickel, where Mukuba did a good job against Duke and Woodaz plays when they go with a SAM. He would prefer they replace a Safety. Jamal Anderson is also a fascinating player. He needs time to develop his body, but he should be a quality player: he made some good hits and tackles with the substitutes.

THE UGLY ONE

The low trajectory of these kicks is simply shocking. Gunn looks like an average high school kicker right now. He spends too much time practicing low-angle 60-yard kicks and not enough time kicking chip shots. I will say it was cool to see they finally changed the field goal and extra point kick protection (and if anyone on the team is reading this, look at what the Patriots did to block Miami’s kick, giving the outside running back/blocker kicks a start running along the line of scrimmage, many teams will replicate).

Cole Turner is injured. It wasn’t great when it was obvious we needed to bring in a transfer WR from the portal. Small WRs who are injury prone. I’m going to have to burn Tink Kelley’s red jersey because the numbers aren’t there. Fortunately, Antonio Williams was able to return to the game and Stellato is still giving you decent reps, but depth will be an issue all season long.

The safety game is still not good. First drive of the game: XT sets too wide a lead, Davis can’t pass, LB can’t pass, and Philips comes down the lane and acts like he’s running and jumping on a slide while shooting. beyond the RB. It’s not great football. I’m glad to see Covil and Griffon running more.

Coming out of the half and much of the second half, Cade didn’t play very well. I think you’ll see FSU try to pressure him more because he’s back to shooting off the back foot and making some shaky decisions with the ball. He has good field position and he almost throws a pick six. He grabbed twice before throwing to Brinny, not trusting himself. He was 1-8 for two yards before Tyler Brown bailed him out with a nice contested catch. That kind of effort will leave you defeated against the former Soviet Union.

THE BAD

Establishing the lead remains problematic for the defense at times. I need to see more from the initial D line. XT could not resist the race. Mascoll had one of his best days, but he can’t rush the passer much. Ruke and Davis have been disappointing. FSU will attack our running attacks and force us to be a difference maker.

Mafah was able to reach the end zone with a quality run. Shipley and CJ had a small fight due to Shipley being too enthusiastic, but Spiller was right. Shipley is an excellent, tough tackle-breaking running back (don’t get me wrong), but he and Mafah seem to stumble too much in the red zone and sometimes Shipley doesn’t read his blocks. NOW—I can’t blame him because his offensive line has been very average for much of his career, but in this specific case, if Shipley stays inside and cuts, he gets into the end zone. It’s not really bad but it is something that can be improved. Shipley probably could have scored on another play at the 30-yard line, where another shortened tackle catches him. That cannot happen against the former Soviet Union. Mafah on a professional pass moved back towards Cade. Unfortunately, I need to see Thomas convert on 3rd and 4th and short to trust him as a legitimate third RB that you can use in real situations. I really like Haynes though. I’ll say it again: I think you burn his red shirt and use him. Mixed bag for RBs in general.

I also don’t want to see Shipley yelling and slightly bumping into the coaches. I don’t think it was anything, but it is necessary for his leaders to have some composure. Shipley has always had a passionate personality, but we also need leadership in those moments.

Two setups are made. It is time to face the challenge of the former Soviet Union. You have to cover FSU’s WRs, keep Travis contained, and close out the run. On offense you can’t turn the ball over and you need to beat them with pace and a solid running game. Make no mistake: This is a new season if you beat a top-5 ranked FSU.