In his eight seasons at Clemson, Brent Venables has produced some really good defenses.
His 2014 defense led the nation in total defense, while his 2018 unit led the nation in scoring defense. The Tigers have also led the nation in sacks and tackles for loss in most of those seasons, while ranking in the top five in rushing defense, yards per carry allowed and passing defense as well.
However, Venables best coaching job might be this season. Despite losing seven starters, including six of its front seven, from last year’s national championship defense, Clemson has not missed a beat and some might argue they are a better defense this year.
“It is a standard. You certainly don’t take it for granted,” Venables said.
This past Saturday, the fifth-ranked Tigers held NC State to 10 points, marking the 13th consecutive game they have held the opposition below 20 points. That has not been done at Clemson since the 1958-’59 seasons when Frank Howard was walking the sidelines at Memorial Stadium.
That’s especially impressive considering this day and age of college football when offenses are spreading defenses out and throwing the ball all over the yard.
“I don’t know if it is crazy or not. I mean we got good players and we have had, for the most part, good continuity. We have not had guys that are here for just one or two years … transfers and things of that nature. I think that really helps us have a little carry over from year to year.”
That continuity has allowed Clemson to rank third in the nation in points allowed per game (11.5 pts) this season and fourth nationally in total defense (251.5 yds/game).
“There is a lot of hard work that goes into it. Tremendous investment and commitment to develop and perform at the high level, and again, sustaining the success and sustaining the competitive drive is a big deal,” Venables said.
Even more impressive is the fact the Tigers (10-0, 7-0 ACC) have held all 10 of their opponents under 300 yards of total offense, just the second team in the country in the last 19 years to do it and the first Clemson defense to do it.
“It is hard to do. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it,” Venables said. “So, it is not just showing up on game day. Really, it is everything else in between, which makes it even harder.
“It is recovering from arriving at five in the morning road trip and then getting right back into your routine. Or guys that are on the verge of leaving and finishing their career but staying focused. But it is about maintaining two hands on the wheel for all of us. That is what it takes and that is why you see teams, again, that go through things near the end of the year and that is a big part of it.”
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