Inside Look: Grading Clemson versus Virginia Tech |
No. 3-ranked Clemson pulled away to a 45-10 win at Virginia Tech on Saturday. We take a deeper look into the game with the help of
Pro Football Focus:
The Clemson offensive line kept Trevor Lawrence clean with no sacks allowed on the night and Carman led the offensive grading (75) with a 84.5 mark in pass blocking. Talk about making the most of your chance -- Rencher played one snap and took his rush attempt 50 yards to the end zone to cap Clemson’s scoring Saturday night. And 46 of the 50 yards are designated as after contact by PFF. Watch the reaction from his teammates and coaches after Darien Rencher takes it to the house...#ClemsonFamily ???? pic.twitter.com/ZbCDkLbCzC Galloway made his way back here after getting free for a 49-yard catch early and posting a solid mark in run blocking (72.4) for his best grade of the season (73.7). * Held to just 22 minutes of possession (season-low), the overall effort graded lower in the chances they did get, ranking third-lowest on the year (73.5). * The lowest grade? The passing game, which was a season-worst (59.7) after Lawrence connected on only 12 of 22 throws for 195 yards with an interception, which was a first career red-zone pick in 117 attempts (CFBStats). Individually, he had his second-lowest grade of the year (62.2). Lawrence didn’t complete a pass under pressure (0-5) and went 2-of-10 passing when blitzed for 59 yards. * The run blocking (66.3) and run grades (67.8) were in the middle of the pack of the season, as well as pass blocking (72.7). Like Lawrence, Travis Etienne also had his second-lowest 2020 grade (57.9) -- lowest as a receiver (58.9) and second-worst as a runner (57.2). He was held to 2.4 yards per after contact (averaged 3.58 on the season). With the Clemson LB corps hurting as the game went on, Maguire stepped in and was ultra-productive. In 18 snaps, he graded out at a game-high 95.4 and 99.9 against the run with five stops (a play failure for offense by down) in five tackles and a forced fumble. DE Myles Murphy Murphy wreaked some havoc on the Hokies with three stops and a forced fumble in 24 snaps and the second-highest grade for the Tigers (82.5; 86 against the run). TURNOVER TIGERS! Turner did a little bit of everything in tallying 11 tackles (with 6 stops) and giving up only eight passing yards in three targets his way. * Virginia Tech was held well under its season average in rushing yards and that earned Brent Venables’ group one of its better rushing D grades this season (84.6). * The coverage did leave some things to be desired at times (57.5) and the pass rush with it (57.5). * Just missing the cut for the standouts, LaVonta Bentley turned in a second consecutive big week with two sacks and four total stops over 20 snaps (73.3 overall grade). This angle of @kingbentley0 is crazy! ?? pic.twitter.com/6MoswtqGqB Charleston logged 41 snaps as a starter and graded a team-low 41.7 with two completions in three targets his way for 55 yards for a 31.4-grade in coverage specifically. DT Bryan Bresee It’s getting late in the season and here’s maybe another case of a true freshman hitting a wall, grading out at 45.8 in 33 snaps as a starter with a 42.3-mark on run defense. The PFF graders tagged Bockhorst with the lowest grade again among starters (54.9) with a 56-mark in run blocking. (Grades and stats via Pro Football Focus) Three standouts (offense)
Offense grade notes
Three standouts (defense)
Myles Murphy forces a fumble, Mario Goodrich recovers!
Watch live on ABC or https://t.co/sZgdUk0oNJ.#ALLIN ???? pic.twitter.com/mYS22Mk7IkDefense grade notes
Three downs
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