Gideon Davidson’s role in Clemson’s offense has become impossible to miss, and so has the tension surrounding it.
Last week brought an uncomfortable spotlight. Davidson was pulled in the second half, and Dabo Swinney publicly challenged the running back for not playing the most disciplined football.
"It's not what he's coached to do," Swinney said of Davidson on Tuesday. "He's a great young player, and he's still growing.
He's our best ... But he's a little feast or famine right now."
The reaction didn’t stop there. Brian Davidson weighed in on social media with two posts, the first of which has since been deleted.
The second referenced a Rubbing the Rock social media graphic of "That was a choice." The underlying frustration was easy to read, especially with Clemson giving Davidson only five carries in the second half of a must-win game.
Through seven games, he has been the Clemson offense.
That’s why the Tigers’ most obvious path forward starts with getting back to the basics: give Davidson the ball and let him dictate the pace. Clemson has largely been living one way all season.
The defense and special teams have generally done their part, while the offense has struggled to generate quick scoring or string together points in a hurry. Most drives have to be methodical, and Davidson has often been the one moving the chains.
His season numbers tell the story. Davidson has 492 rushing yards on 93 carries with five touchdowns, plus four catches for nine yards.
When he gets about 13.8 touches, Clemson is usually in a position to win. The one exception came last week, when he had 14 touches for 62 yards.
It has been a while since he truly took over a game, and the last time it happened was Week 4 at Cal.
That game may be the blueprint again if Clemson wants to beat Florida State. The Tigers may need Davidson to handle 15 carries, push toward or past 100 rushing yards, and possibly deliver another multi-touchdown performance to make up for the uneven passing attack.
In other words, can he duplicate what he did at Cal? There, Davidson had 22 carries for 159 yards and two trips to the end zone.
Clemson may also need more scoring than it has produced against an FBS opponent all season. Thirty points is still a number this offense hasn’t reached in those games, but that could be the target against Florida State. The Seminoles’ biggest problems are on defense and with the program at the top, and they have shown vulnerability in the secondary as Mike Norvell’s status remains one of the most complicated ones in the college football coaching sphere.
If Clemson is going to find a way in Week 9, the script is pretty clear: get Davidson involved early, keep feeding him, and let him carry the offense the way he has done before.
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The injury updates on both sides only add another layer to a game that already looks like a grind. Clemson needs a cleaner offensive showing to avoid falling further behind in the league race, but the outlook around this one points to a difficult night and the possibility that the Tigers ACC losing streak reaches three games when its over. [Read more 🡒]