Why Sammy Brown was taken out of the game in 4th quarter

Dec 1, 2024, 4:26 PM

Just read this article in TCI. Unbelievable that the coaches did this and also that they didn't correct their mistake!!

The article quoted.

CLEMSON — Through three quarters Saturday, Clemson’s defense controlled LaNorris Sellers and the South Carolina running game.

Then Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin did something odd. He took linebacker Sammy Brown off the field.

Up until the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks did very little on offense in their come-from-behind 17-14 victory at Memorial Stadium. They had just 240 total yards, with 127 coming on the ground, and seven points.

Since Sellers’ 25-yard touchdown with 9:20 to play in the second quarter, he had not done much with his arms or his legs. The Tigers had three sacks and six tackles for loss.

Part of that success was thanks to Brown, who was un-blockable at times and chasing and tackling Sellers and running back Rocket Sanders all over the field.

Heading into the fourth quarter, Brown had nine tackles, one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. He was a one-man wrecking crew and then he was gone.

Why?

“We felt they were going to change the way they were going to play, but nothing more than that,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.

That is it?

Carolina (9-3) did not change the way it was playing. The Gamecocks continued to run the ball and actually ran it more in the fourth quarter than it did the entire game.

Why?

Sammy Brown was not in the game.

Through three quarters, Carolina ran the ball 25 times for 127 yards. In the fourth quarter, with Brown standing beside Goodwin wanting to come into the game, the Gamecocks carried the ball 17 times for 140 yards.

When Brown to come into the game for a snap in the fourth quarter, the result was a Khalil Barnes’ interception that stymied a potential Carolina scoring drive.

“We just worked in the packages that we worked all week,” Swinney said. “There is nothing wrong with Sammy. We got into a little bit more nickel and we got into what we call ‘Cyclone,’ as well, especially on some of the long yardage stuff.”

However, it did not appear the Gamecocks were a long range threat throwing the football. Carolina was just 3-for-6 for 51 yards throwing the football in the fourth quarter, which begs the question. Why was Sammy Brown not on the field.