Inside Look: Grading Clemson's win over Notre Dame |
Clemson dominated Notre Dame to jump the Irish to No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings with a 34-10 ACC Championship win. We take a deeper look into the game with the help of
Pro Football Focus:
Lawrence’s ground game moved the needle the most grades-wise with his second-best mark there this season (74.4) after rushing for 90 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown. He led the Clemson offensive starters overall in grading (78.8), averaging 11.2 yards per pass attempt under pressure with 157 of his passing yards and two touchdowns there. His main blemish from the outing, an interception, did come when blitzed, and that dropped his PFF grade in that situation (42.8; 5-10 for 63 yards). Three standouts (offense)
WR EJ Williams
The freshman making his third-straight start, Williams paced the Clemson receiver corps in grade (81.1) and saw his most targets (6), catches (4) and yards (80), with a touchdown reception and a pretty incredible one-handed grab on the sidelines:
Oh. My. GOODNESS E.J. WILLIAMS!!! ??@ClemsonFB | #ACCFCG
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) December 19, 2020
??: https://t.co/58shBarNCG pic.twitter.com/GOzv0iYQ0g
Etienne posted season-bests in yards per carry (12.4) and yards per after contact (8.1) with his 10 runs for 124 yards (second-most of season).
Offense grade notes
* The overall offensive grade is actually pretty similar to the one in the 47-40 double OT loss last month, edging it by a little over a point (74.9-73.6). The biggest improvement came in the run game, where the Tigers had previously averaged a yard per carry in South Bend and vaulted to an 8.1 yards per average in Charlotte. They graded over 16 points higher on the ground in the rematch (77.7) for the third-best mark of the season.
* The one considerable step back comparing the games came in pass blocking, as the Tigers dipped almost 20 grade points (54.2) and gave up two sacks.
* Noteworthy among reserves, freshman tackle Walker Parks led all grades with an 80.6-mark in 14 snaps -- posting an 85.7 grade in run blocking.
ACC Champs ?? pic.twitter.com/oAirbzdJVC
— walker (@walkerparks64) December 21, 2020
Three standouts (defense)
Zanders came off the bench and made an impact over 31 snaps with a forced fumble and a team-best grade in coverage (88.5) over 21 of those plays (no targets his way).
Love this punch out by Zanders. A lot of responsibility will fall on his shoulders in the 1st half of the semi’s with Turner out. pic.twitter.com/fmWSOaf6cr
— Tiger Commenter (@TigerCommenter) December 20, 2020
Spector graded out the best of Clemson’s starting group (78.3) with a pair of tackles and the third-best coverage mark (72.2).
Charleston has had his name in the bottom section of this feature a couple times, but in Charlotte, Charleston posted three stops with the second-best tackling grade on the defense (82.1) and the second-best grade among starters (68.1).
Defense grade notes
* Continuing the comparison theme, Clemson obviously performed better defensively in round two against the Irish, cutting their yards down by half (518 to 263) and points more than that. By the grades, they did better as well with the starkest difference coming in coverage (65-grade Saturday; 52.9 last month) and pass rush (70.3 Sat.; 55.4 last month).
* The run defense actually graded slightly worse than the first meeting (67.1 v. 69.4), but overall, the effort was almost 10 points better (67.9 v. 58.8).
* Clemson did some different things personnel-wise, but Mike Jones Jr. started and still played his fewest snaps of the season (16), grading his lowest of the year (47.8). He missed the first game with Notre Dame due to injury and holds a 77.9 average grade over the season (third-best among starters). Backup and true freshman Trenton Simpson logged 27 snaps (12 in pass rush) with a 58.9 grade.
Three downs
On an overall solid day defensively, we’re nitpicking a bit but Goodrich got the start and graded 52.4 in coverage with five catches in five targets his way for 68 yards.
This one’s a little surprising because the true freshman seemed like he was all over the field, but with an increased workload -- there is also an increased number of plays that can go wrong. He did post the second-best pass rush grade on the day (79.4), but Greene was knocked heavily on run support (34.2) and coverage (46.5) with four receptions in six targets his way for 40 yards.
CB Andrew Booth
Booth didn’t start and only played seven snaps, so some kind of nagging injury could have been a factor, but he graded out at 38.8 with a missed tackle in his short time on the field. He has Clemson’s second-best coverage grade at his position this season (72.3; Derion Kendrick No.1 with 73.9).
(Grades and stats via Pro Football Focus)
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