The Clemson Tigers are a couple of weeks away from their playoff semi-final against No. 3 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl and the team is preparing for its toughest test of the season.
When it comes to defensive talent, Notre Dame’s 4th overall defensive ranking in S&P+ is by far the strongest defense the Tigers have seen all season. Texas A&M (42nd) was the highest ranked defensive team Clemson has faced all season, so the Tigers will look to make the most of their preparation time.
While Notre Dame is as tough as a matchup Clemson (1st) will see in a game, they do practice against the best defense in college football every week. What the Tigers don’t see every week in practice is a secondary unit as dangerous as the Fighting Irish’s secondary.
With Notre Dame’s pass defense ranked 7th in the country in S&P+, the Clemson offense will have to combat what the Fighting Irish bring to the table on defense. There are quite a few things the Tigers need to take advantage of, but the first will be something we all should want to see.
Run, run, run, Travis Etienne
The main key for this Clemson offense is to run the ball and give it to Travis Etienne as much as they possibly can. Before even breaking down Notre Dame, let’s look at the problems Clemson can handle internally, regardless of the defense they play.
Etienne has been a monster on the ground this season, running for 1,463 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was incredibly efficient in his carries as well, averaging 8.3 yards a carry. Possibly the best running back in the country, Etienne has been a major focal point within the Clemson offense.
At many points throughout the season, however, those among the Clemson community have always wondered, why aren’t they giving him the ball more? The star running back had 12 or less carries in nine of Clemson’s games this season, including just 8 carries in Clemson’s close 28-26 win over Texas A&M. While Etienne could have very well been the best of the best this season, his name fell out of the Heisman race rather early due to this lack of touches.
Giving Etienne the carries make sense, especially coming into this Notre Dame matchup. The fighting Irish are ranked 18th in rushing defense S&P+ which obviously is good, but not nearly as good as their top 10 ranked pass defense. The Notre Dame rushing defense is respectable in the run, but don’t stand out in any category. They allow 3.7 yards a carry (34th), 134 yards per game (33rd) and 1.3 touchdowns per game (46th).
If it’s the best part of your game and can exploit a weakness in a defense, why not use it right? The Clemson offense can possibly take advantage of some big mismatches on the ground if they choose to try and exploit that early.
Don’t be afraid to air it out
Yes, I know I’ve been talking about running the ball and how crucial it is, as well as how good the Notre Dame secondary is. Cornerbacks Julian Love and Troy Pride Jr. have been amazing this year for the Fighting Irish. Love was awarded First Team All-American honor recently making him one of the nation’s top two cornerbacks.
The secondary of Notre Dame is dangerous, but it is fairly situational. The Fighting Irish secondary is allowing 20.8 completions per game which ranks them at 115, near the bottom of Division I football. Not only are they near the bottom in completions allowed, their completion percentage allowed of 56 percent (34th) per game and passing yards allowed a game of 198 (36th) fail to break the top thirty in their categories defensively.
So what is it that makes this Notre Dame defense worthy of their No.8 pass defense ranking in S&P+? It is the fact that once this team gets into the red zone, their secondary is a different monster. The Fighting Irish defense ranked 3rd in the country in passing touchdowns, allowing just 0.6 touchdowns through the air a game. Throughout the season, the defense allowed just six passing touchdowns in the red zone.
Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence may still lack some experience, but he should definitely be given the green light to air it out. Lawrence has had a great year throwing the ball totaling 2,606 yards and 24 touchdowns on the season. Completing 65 percent of his passes with only 4 interceptions, Lawrence has the talent to get the ball down field.
Once in the red zone, although running should take priority, the Clemson offense has the tools to take a shot in the back of the end zone. Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross both stand at 6-foot-5, testing their size in the end zone is too hard to pass up on when the opportunity presents itself.
Target Renfrow and Rodgers
With how deep the Clemson wide receiver depth chart goes, two of the Tigers’ top small guys are going to have to get involved heavily. Both are have produced fairly different numbers throughout the season, lining these two in the slots consistently, particularly in the red zone, can give Clemson the advantage they need.
When it comes to big play in big games, Hunter Renfrow has planted himself firmly amongst the most clutch players in Clemson football history. Time and time again, Renfrow has come up big for the Tigers and the team should continue to lean on him in their matchup with Notre Dame.
Too the surprise of many, Hunter Renfrow is currently having his least productive season in a Clemson uniform. His 43 receptions are the 3rd lowest of his career and his 472 yards and one touchdown are both his lowest. Although he has not been as present in the offense his senior year, Renfrow is at his most dangerous when the game is on the line.
On the other side, Amari Rodgers is having his best season in a Clemson uniform. Rodgers 47 catches rank second on the team while his 519 yards and four touchdowns both ranked third.
With Rodgers’ explosive quickness and Renfrow’s crisp route running, the Clemson offense can exploit matchups that aren’t lined up against either Julian Love or Troy Pride Jr.