CLEMSON, SC - The atmosphere in Death Valley was absolutely electric on Saturday night. Unfortunately, the offensive struggles continued for the Tigers. They netted just 55 rush yards on 1.8 per carry in the 41-13 loss to Miami. Tait Reynolds played reasonably well, completing 29 of 44 passes. In fact, he actually passed for more yards (295) than Heisman hopeful Darian Mensah, who completed just 67 percent of his passes. He came into the game with just 12 incompletions all season! However, Tait was sacked 6 times and had an interception with no touchdown passes. The Tigers were 8-18 on 3rd down but just 1-3 on 4th down. They also had a fumble, losing the turnover margin 2-0, and that is a recipe for failure against a team with the No.1 offense and No.2 defense. The Tigers also had far too many penalties, which has plagued them all season; 10 penalties for 91 yards.
The Canes' first play from scrimmage was a screen to Barkate that went 61 yards for a touchdown, which was a harbinger of things to come. While the defense was reasonably good on 3rd down, allowing just 4 conversions out of 11, they gave up too many big plays on 1st and 2nd down. They had two sacks but didn't create a single turnover and had no other tackles-for-loss. If you take away that first play for the 61-yard touchdown, the defense did reasonably well against the No.1 offense in the nation, but, again, you have to create some turnovers when the offense struggles so badly to score.
It wasn't nearly as bad as the LSU loss, but it was a bitter reminder that this team has a long, long way to go if it is going to have a puncher's chance at an ACC Championship. The silver lining? The Tigers have a bye week to lick their wounds and get better, followed by a home game against Charleston Southern that should give them some much-needed confidence. They are 2-1 in ACC play and don't play Louisville or SMU, so if they can stop getting in their own way and win out, they can get another crack at Miami in Charlotte. Tait is going to continue to improve week by week as the game slows down for him, and the Tigers are in good shape from an injury standpoint. They were without OL Elyjah Thurmon against the Canes and should get him back soon. DT Kourtney Kelly should also be available soon. The Tigers have a couple home games before they go to Tallahassee on Halloween to play a reeling FSU team. Let's hope they can cut out the penalties, start winning the turnover margin and build some momentum before then!
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