PERSPECTIVE / Clemson Tigers LIVE 216 / ALL IN SHOW 196

From Clemson at The Voice of College Football · 01:56:02

Show by The Voice of College Football Network

Clemson is 3-2 on the bye after losses to LSU and Miami, and the All In Show spent most of this episode arguing the record is where the preseason expected it to be, even if the manner of the losses was not. Jordan Bowman and Edward “Tiger Paw” Craven (TPC) closed the Miami game, walked injuries and position groups, and mapped a path to five more wins if the line and interior defense stabilize. Show: Clemson Tigers LIVE 216 / All In Show 196 — “Perspective” Hosts: Jordan Bowman and Edward “Tiger Paw” Craven (TPC) Sponsor: FanDuel Context: Bye week, final thoughts on Miami in Death Valley Framing The postgame rant is done. Offseason misses (portal OL, a veteran QB, offense vs. defense retool) are known. There is no midseason trade deadline. Evaluate the roster that exists. 3-2 after losing to the two best teams played and beating everyone else was a realistic preseason outcome. No one expected wins over LSU or Miami in fall camp. The team has looked worse than expected at points. Two-thirds of the season remains. Goal is to keep losses to a minimum and develop the young quarterback. Clip: 6:17–9:34 — “This team is what it is” / glass half full vs. how it has looked. Miami final thoughts Losing by 28 at home is unacceptable at Clemson, but it was always in the cards. Jordan still thinks the team is getting better; TPC agrees, with the defense further along than the offense. Offense moved the ball better than at any point this season against real competition. Defense kept them in it for about two and a half quarters, then folded once Miami leaned on the run after it was clear Clemson would not score. Tackling, especially in the secondary, was a problem. This is not a 2021-level unit built to hold an elite offense for four quarters without help. Time of possession flipped hard. Clemson finished the first half with roughly four-plus minutes more possession; the second half swung about 12 minutes the other way. Third-down rate sits just north of 31 percent. Punts put the defense in bad spots; the dam broke late in the third and into the fourth. Turnovers helped Miami too. Halftime was 17-6 after a false start inside the five forced a field goal. Defense got a stop to open the half. Offense drove to the 18, third-and-2. Staff trotted out Chris Denson (QB-to-WR, three snaps all year) on QB power; he missed a small hole and ran into his blockers. Another poor call followed. That sequence was the nail: stops no longer mattered. Miami scored to make it 24-6. Tate turned it over on the next series; the defense stood up again and did not quit. Ashton Hampton largely erased Malachi Toney: three targets, one catch for 8 yards, multiple pass breakups. TPC called him a likely first-round pick. Tate grew up. Not pretty, but the throws and pocket movement showed up under absurd pressure (about 33 pressures). If the run game and line stop giving instant pressure, he can be okay. Receivers were the bright spot: career day for Brian Wesco, Tyler Brown electric with the ball, TJ Moore doing unselfish dirty work as a blocker. Tight ends (OPH, Christian Bentancur) catch when targeted and are barely used (one target each). You cannot win throwing as much as they did against Miami, even if the score forced it. Clips: 10:13–12:58 — Getting better despite a 28-point home loss; not an elite defense. 14:17–16:13 — Time of possession flip and the third-down dam breaking. 16:44–19:00 — Denson third-and-2 from the 18; the sequence that ended it. 19:22–21:30 — Tate under pressure, Wesco/Brown/Moore, OL and interior DL as the holes. PFF and standouts Highest defensive grade: C.J. Kuba-Taylor, nine snaps, then Jaheim Lawson and Will Held. Ashton Hampton graded poorly; both hosts rejected it. The Cooper Barkate long TD was charged to Hampton in coverage; they say Corey Myrick over-pursued and the safety was out of position on a blocked screen. Eye test does not match the grade. PFF method, per a Marcus Whitman breakdown they cited: hundreds of graders assign a play value (elite / above average / neutral / bad / very bad). They trust ancillary stats more than the composite grade. Champ Thompson (31 snaps) has been the most consistent defensive tackle. Devarik Woods is not fully back (under 10 snaps). Depth at tackle is thin, which is why Area Mayo has slid inside for a large share of tackle reps. Jaheim Lawson got a sack and left hurt. No real backfill. London Merritt has the splash plays; Lawson has been the more consistent pressure player who has not finished. Jeremiah Alexander played 36 snaps, his heaviest usage, in a Trenton Simpson-style third-down pressure role. That is his best fit; he is not an every-down off-ball linebacker or a full-time edge. Corey Gibson graded well as a tackler (81.9) and is out for the year. Ronan Hannafin was close behind (79.5). Clip: 23:12–28:22 — Hampton’s PFF grade vs. the Barkate touchdown on the safety. Injuries and the nickel Biggest blow: Corian Gibson, meniscus, out for the season. He had settled in as…

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