Clemson converted just five of 14 thirds downs in last Thursday’s win at Louisville, and eight of them ended without any points to follow.
Two of the third downs the 10th-ranked Tigers converted went for touchdowns—a 32-yard Deshaun Watson to Hunter Renfrow pass and a 25-yard Watson to Jordan Leggett score—while two more were followed by Greg Huegel field goals.
That’s not bad, but it could be better.
Interceptions ended two other drives, while Watson missed a wide open Leggett in the first quarter and again in the fourth quarter, which resulted in punts.
“It is something we can coach off of,” co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Jeff Scott said on Monday. “We are only three games in so we don’t expect to be playing our best ball in Game 3 but there is definitely a lot we can improve on and really it is at every position.”
The execution in those key moments overshadowed what was a very balanced offensive production for Clemson. The Tigers threw for 199 yards and ran for another 202 in a 401-yard performance against a defense that limited them to 229 yards a year ago.
Clemson (3-0, 1-0 ACC) averaged 5.1 yards per carry against what Scott called a very talented front seven.
“We knew if we were going to win the game, we were going to have to run the ball,” he said.
The Tigers will need to run it against their next opponent, too. Clemson will host No. 6 Notre Dame at 8 p.m. on Oct. 3. The Irish are coming off an impressive 30-22 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday, a game in which they limited Tech’s powerful triple-option offense to 216 rushing yards.
Notre Dame, who plays UMass this coming Saturday, also held Texas to three points in the season opener.
“They are very fast. They are very athletic and they will get up in your face and challenge you,” Scott said. “They have great players across the board and great depth. They play a lot of guys. It will be a big challenge, but we know that.
“When you are playing those quality teams you are going to get a very talented defense but initially when watching them for two days, I don’t see a weakness in all eleven guys. The good thing is we have two weeks to get our guys ready.”
And that means the Tigers will have to execute better if they are going to win.
“The execution at every position we can improve on, but overall we are pleased with the poise the guys had, getting a little taste of adversity and responding the right way. I think that experience will help us down the road,” Scott said.