Clemson takes the lead for South Carolina's Pre-Season National Championship

Y'all have seen the quote:

“If we come out and beat Georgia, not just beat ‘em but beat the mess out of ‘em like we should, I don’t see no problems in getting started in the right direction. I don’t have disrespect for them or for nobody else, I just believe we can be just the kind of team we want to be, the talent is here, we know how to win.”

Hey, congratulations. You held the number 87 ranked offense in the nation to 4.56 yards per play. For comparison sake, that is comparable to how those defensive powerhouses like Arkansas (4.57y/p) and Auburn (4.94y/p) did against LSU. As for the offense, Clemson did gain an eye popping 4.45y/p. That puts them in the cohort with VaTech. No other team held Clemson under 5.56y/p.

So how did they beat LSU so badly? Wait, they only won by one point? That can't be right, can it? I mean, they beat LSU by...what? 1 point?

Oh, yeah. Les Miles did Les Miles stuff while nursing a lead, asking Mettenberger to throw the ball, something he'd been super successful at all season.

Watkins showing how to dominate an SEC team
(Image: USA Today)

The best thing Clemson did is run 52 more plays than LSU. You can certainly give Clemson credit for that. Especially in the 4th quarter when they physically imposed their will on LSU, holding the ball nearly 12 minutes and scoring 12 points to complete the one point drubbing of the Bayou Bengals.

Essentially, the best thing they did was keep putting Les Miles in the position to make some decisions.

Now, getting to Mr. Watkins' role in that drubbing. I mean he really lit up the LSU defense for -3 yards on one carry. And a fumble on Clemson's second play from scrimmage. That went for a TD. He did end up leaving the game with a sprained ego.

As for Clemson, they did have quite an impressive offense, but their defense is what really gets me concerned:

Watkins said there were questions about the defense last year, “but those guys got better and better every week, every game and they showed the world who they are against LSU.”

As demonstrated by their holding NC State to 597 yards and South Carolina to 444 yards.

Of course, if Georgia gets held to just 48 plays in the game, we'll only score 27 points based on last year's stats. For reference sake, Georgia was only held under 59 plays per game in one contest, Georgia Tech. We scored nearly a point per play in that game. So, there is that.

TD
See also:
-The Chick-fil-A Bowl Changed Everything (Blutarsky)
-Watkins jab at UGA Should Serve as Reminder (Barrett Sallee)

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