PFF grades and playing time breakdown from Clemson's upset of Notre Dame

Clemson's defense had a number of standout performances in the win over Notre Dame.

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Mon Nov 06 17:15:17 GMT-04:00 2023

Taking a look at the playing time and notable Pro Football Focus grades position by position from the 31-23 upset of No. 12 Notre Dame.

Offense

(The number by a player's name initially is the game's snap count. The snaps are all offensive and defensive snaps and do not count special teams. Snap totals for scholarship players and depth chart members are listed in the feature. The entire participation report is attached below.)

(PFF grades tend to run lower than school grades, so high 80 grades are on the high end and it's a harsher grade below 60 or so).

PFF unit performance grades: Offense - 62.6; Passing - 59.1; Pass blocking - 51.6; Receiving - 55.3; Running - 72.9; Run blocking - 59.2.

QB: Cade Klubnik 72, Hunter Helms NS, Paul Tyson NS, Christopher Vizzina NS. Notes: With another shuffled O-line and some strategy versus Notre Dame’s defense, the passes downfield were limited for Klubnik, who threw 22 of his 26 attempts from 10 yards and in. His most throws came between 0-10 yards in the middle, connecting on six for 50 yards with a touchdown and an interception (deflection off a receiver). That O-line kept the pressure off mostly, with only seven of his 27 dropbacks under pressure. With few deeper throws, his yards per attempt was the lowest of the season (4.2).

RB: Phil Mafah 61, Domonique Thomas 10, Keith Adams Jr. 1, Jarvis Green NS, Jay Haynes NS. Notes: Clemson attempted its most runs of the season (43) with the top-two PFF grades offensively being Mafah (72.2) and Thomas (69.5). Mafah tallied 118 of his 188 yards after contact and forced a career-high seven missed tackles.

WR: Beaux Collins 65, Tyler Brown 51, Troy Stellato 44, Adam Randall 20, Brannon Spector 3, Ronan Hanafin 3, Hamp Greene ST, Hampton Earle ST, Clay Swinney ST, Noble Johnson NS, Antonio Williams* NS.. Notes: With Clemson’s gameplan Saturday, there wasn’t anything all that remarkable in the WR grades. Collins led the way with a 62.6 grade, getting knocked for one drop (39.5 grade for drops).

TE: Jake Briningstool 61, Sage Ennis 35, Josh Sapp 1, Olsen Patt-Henry NS, Markus Dixon NS. Notes: Ennis saw his snaps go up significantly, and he led the group grades-wise again (69.2) with the second-best run blocking grade (64.3) only to Bringinstool (68.9).

OL: Blake Miller 72, Tristan Leigh 72, Harris Sewell 72, Trent Howard 72, Will Putnam 69, Ryan Linthicum 3, Collin Sadler* ST, Dietrick Pennington ST, Mitchell Mayes NS, Bryn Tucker NS, Ian Reed NS, Zack Owens NS. Notes: Miller led the shuffled O-line overall grades-wise (67.8), and he (78.2) and Sewell (84.6) led the pass-blocking marks. The PFF grades were lowest overall on Sewell (54.6; 49.4 run blocking) and Howard (53.8; 45.3 pass blocking). Linthicum made a three-run-play appearance at center while Putnam replaced an exploded shoe midway through a drive.

Defense

PFF unit performance grades: Defense - 80.3; Run defense - 77.1; Tackling - 65.3; Pass rush - 74.2, Coverage - 76.1.

ED: TJ Parker 55, Xavier Thomas 44, Cade Denhoff 2, AJ Hoffler NS, Zaire Patterson NS, Jahiem Lawson NS, David Ojiegbe NS. Notes: Thomas posted his best overall grade versus FBS competition this season (73.6) with a team-leading seven pressures (three QB hits; four hurries). Thomas (72.4) and Parker (71.2) also graded pretty well versus the run.

DL: Tyler Davis 38, Ruke Orhorhoro 38, Peter Woods 32, Payton Page 19, DeMonte Capehart 10, Tré Williams 4, Caden Story ST, Stephiylan Green NS. Notes: Speaking of grading well versus the run, Woods (75.7), Capehart (73.9) and Orhorhoro (73.7) led the way on defense, with Capehart logging two stops in only ten snaps.

LB: Barrett Carter 56, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. 55, Wade Woodaz 18, Jamal Anderson 1, Dee Crayton NS, Kobe McCloud NS. Notes: Trotter stated his Butkus Award case with a team-leading 92.8 grade, credited with three sacks, four more solo tackles, and also a 28-yard interception TD return. He graded at 93 in 30 coverage snaps. On the other end, Carter struggled with three missed tackles and graded his worst in coverage since the Duke opener (48.2) for his second-worst grade as a starter (51.9).

DB: Andrew Mukuba 62, Khalil Barnes 62, Avieon Terrell 60, Nate Wiggins 59, Kylon Griffin 42, Jeadyn Lukus 4, Toriano Pride ST, Shelton Lewis ST, Branden Strozier NS, Rob Billings NS, Kylen Webb NS, Myles Oliver NS, Tyler Venables* NS, RJ Mickens* NS. Notes: The secondary was paced by the freshman Griffin (71.1), who tallied three solo tackles – and also an interception in just two targets his way. Mukuba was the busiest Saturday with seven targets his way for 25 yards and six yards after catch.