Clemson’s season has reached the point where the offense isn’t just letting the Tigers down - it’s defining them.
Saturday’s loss to Virginia Tech brought the frustration into plain view. Dabo Swinney was caught on camera on the sideline holding a large playsheet, and while he said that’s not unusual, it only added fuel to the chatter about offensive coordinator Chad Morris and whether Swinney had taken over play-calling during the game.
Morris, who coordinated Clemson’s offense from 2011 to 2014 during the program’s rise, was hired to steady the slide. Instead, the Tigers are struggling to score, even while Swinney once again finds himself at the center of the operation.
The cracks were obvious against Virginia Tech. Clemson managed only one offensive touchdown, and Swinney didn’t try to soften his view when the game was still unfolding.
"It's all coaching," Dabo Swinney told ESPN going into halftime after his offense scored three points in the first half against Virginia Tech. "That's 100% coaching.
Pitiful. Pitiful. 100% coaching.
That ain't the players, that's us."
Afterward, he kept the focus on the staff.
"I just don't think we helped them enough to win the game with some decisions and play calls," Swinney said after the game. "Those kids played their butts off."
On Sunday night, Swinney said Morris will remain the offensive coordinator for the rest of the season. But the bigger issue is what Clemson has become on that side of the ball.
The Tigers are last in percentage of points coming from offensive touchdowns, 133rd in touchdowns scored with 14, and 112th in scoring offense at 21.4 points per game. They rank 138th out of 138 teams in passing touchdowns and have gone four games without throwing one.
Their only two passing scores came against Georgia Southern and North Carolina.
The passing game has sunk so far that Clemson now sits 115th nationally in passing yards per game. The Tigers have more interceptions than touchdown passes, seven to two, and have gone 164 dropbacks without a touchdown, according to TruMedia.
Tait Reynolds is last among Power Four quarterbacks in QBR. Clemson is also tied for 103rd in total plays of 20-plus yards and 106th in passing plays of 20-plus yards with 17.
This is a sharp fall from the Clemson offense that once helped power the program to the top of the sport. Early in the Swinney era, the Tigers were quick, explosive and built around playmaking talent at receiver and quarterback.
Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence arrived just one year apart, giving Clemson two of the best quarterbacks the sport has seen. Now the Tigers are near the bottom third in most offensive categories and one of the nation’s worst passing teams.
The search for an identity has dragged on since Tony Elliott left after the 2021 season. Brandon Streeter got one year in 2022 after an internal promotion.
Garrett Riley was supposed to provide an outside spark. Now Morris is back in the job, and the results still aren’t there.
Clemson’s run game has offered only brief relief. Swinney even sat his most productive offensive player, Gideon Davidson, for the second half against Virginia Tech after what he called technical issues.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says starting RB Gideon Davidson sat in the second half after some technical errors. Says Davidson "really hurt us," made a few incorrect reads with his rushing lanes, was "undisciplined" and gave up two sacks.
Dabo: "It's not what he's coached to do"
The Tigers had found some success on the ground in late September, but the offense remains hard to watch. The numbers are grim across the board.
Clemson has been to the red zone 23 times in seven games, tied for 103rd nationally, and ranks 104th in red zone scores. According to Brian Fremeau, the Tigers are gaining only 37.9% of available yards, which is 126th nationally.
They are also 126th in success rate at 37.6, 104th in three-and-out percentage at 30.2, 136th in EPA per play at minus .10, 130th in yards per play at 4.85 and 109th in plays for zero or negative yards at 33.1%.
The protection has been shaky too. Clemson has allowed 21 sacks, which ranks 123rd nationally, and carries a sack rate of 8%, also 123rd.
Swinney said the quarterback competition between Reynolds and Christopher Vizzina would have continued had Vizzina not been hurt early in the year. He left open the possibility of more Vizzina later this season, but said Reynolds remains the starter.
The schedule offers little comfort. Clemson has five games left, starting with Florida State on Saturday, and all of them are toss-ups.
Syracuse, Duke and Georgia Tech are still ahead, which only underscores how strange this season has become for a program that would once have never imagined sharing that kind of space with those ACC teams. Right now, that’s the reality around Clemson.
In Other News...
Clemsons Offensive Mess May Not Be On Chad Morris After All
Clemsons offensive frustrations have become hard to ignore, but Eric Mac Lain thinks the problem is bigger than the name on the play sheet. The former Tigers standout and current ACC Network analyst said the issues have less to do with offensive coordinator Chad Morris and more to do with execution across the board, from a line that has slipped badly to a passing game that has left the receivers operating with too little help.
Mac Lain also pointed to the situation at quarterback, where freshman Tait Reynolds is being asked to play before he looks fully ready. In his view, injuries and a lack of transfer options have forced Clemson into a corner, and the result has been an offense trying to function with communication breakdowns up front and too many limitations everywhere else. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Faces A Huge Florida State Availability Question This Week
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Clemson Still Needs One Piece For Tait Reynolds To Find Rhythm
Freshman wide receiver Gordon Sellars III sat out last week with a concussion, and his status for Clemsons matchup with Florida State remains up in the air. The Tigers have seven other players listed out, which was expected, but Sellars is the name that matters most when it comes to helping quarterback Tait Reynolds settle in and find a better rhythm in the passing game.
Clemson has spent much of the early stretch trying to get Reynolds comfortable in the offense, and having another young target available would only help. If Sellars can return, it would give the Tigers another option to lean on in a game that could matter for both the immediate offense and Reynolds development moving forward. [Read more 🡒]