IthacaMatt
Old Timer / Unofficial Contributor for 25+ years
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Taking a look at the NCAA statistics after 4 games, we will see the following:
Total Offense: we still rank 9th, with over 507 yards a game. But Clemson is not far behind, at 474 ypg, good enough for 21st in the country.
On the offensive side of the ball, we are both throwing it efficiently, and are 29th and 35th, respectively, completing 67.9% and 66.9% of our passes (including those thrown by the back-ups).
Our running game is performing better than Clemson to date, out-gaining them 213 to 199 yards per game (16th and 28th in the country). They are 3rd in First Downs with 111; we are right behind them in 8th with 108 through 4 games.
We are 22nd in passing offense with 294 yards per game; they are 37th at 275 ypg. We are both pretty good converting 3rd down opportunities - 50.9% for us, 47.4% for them. Not a huge difference, but again, we are a bit better so far, statistically speaking. Neither team is insane like Army about going for it on 4th down. Neither of us are in the Top 50 in that category.
On defense, Clemson has given up only 57 first downs so far this year, good for 9th fewest in the nation. Even though they have lost a couple games, people must be doing it with long plays or turnovers.
Syracuse is not far behind, tied for 29th fewest first downs allowed in the nation - with only 67 allowed - and 12 of them were from penalties awarding the opponent first down. (Clemson had 5 of those ...)
In terms of total defense, Clemson is 8th and we remain 15th, giving up only 14 yards more per game than they have.
However, we are FIRST IN THE NATION in red zone defense. How about that?? This is a relative weakness on a very good Clemson team so far this year.
Both teams have generated two TDs from their defense so far.
Another big factor is turnover margin - we are tied for 9th so far, at +5 after 4 games. Clemson is not doing well in this area and is not in the Top 50 in the country.
Turning to special teams, Stone Foot bounced back in a big way after his poor game at Purdue. He now ranks 11th in the nation in net punting yardage, with a net of better than 43 yards per kick. Clemson is not in the Top 50. Another area of opportunity.
All in all, we should have a puncher's chance in this game. Clemson will probably be a little less fired up than they might have been, since they are pretty much out of the National Championship picture and it's still only September.
Dino has coached well against Dabo in the past. Dabo made some really dumb calls at the end of the Florida State game. We maybe have a coaching advantage, if you can believe it.
If our offensive line doesn't completely get over-run, the rest of the game looks pretty even.
Total Offense: we still rank 9th, with over 507 yards a game. But Clemson is not far behind, at 474 ypg, good enough for 21st in the country.
On the offensive side of the ball, we are both throwing it efficiently, and are 29th and 35th, respectively, completing 67.9% and 66.9% of our passes (including those thrown by the back-ups).
Our running game is performing better than Clemson to date, out-gaining them 213 to 199 yards per game (16th and 28th in the country). They are 3rd in First Downs with 111; we are right behind them in 8th with 108 through 4 games.
We are 22nd in passing offense with 294 yards per game; they are 37th at 275 ypg. We are both pretty good converting 3rd down opportunities - 50.9% for us, 47.4% for them. Not a huge difference, but again, we are a bit better so far, statistically speaking. Neither team is insane like Army about going for it on 4th down. Neither of us are in the Top 50 in that category.
On defense, Clemson has given up only 57 first downs so far this year, good for 9th fewest in the nation. Even though they have lost a couple games, people must be doing it with long plays or turnovers.
Syracuse is not far behind, tied for 29th fewest first downs allowed in the nation - with only 67 allowed - and 12 of them were from penalties awarding the opponent first down. (Clemson had 5 of those ...)
In terms of total defense, Clemson is 8th and we remain 15th, giving up only 14 yards more per game than they have.
However, we are FIRST IN THE NATION in red zone defense. How about that?? This is a relative weakness on a very good Clemson team so far this year.
Both teams have generated two TDs from their defense so far.
Another big factor is turnover margin - we are tied for 9th so far, at +5 after 4 games. Clemson is not doing well in this area and is not in the Top 50 in the country.
Turning to special teams, Stone Foot bounced back in a big way after his poor game at Purdue. He now ranks 11th in the nation in net punting yardage, with a net of better than 43 yards per kick. Clemson is not in the Top 50. Another area of opportunity.
All in all, we should have a puncher's chance in this game. Clemson will probably be a little less fired up than they might have been, since they are pretty much out of the National Championship picture and it's still only September.
Dino has coached well against Dabo in the past. Dabo made some really dumb calls at the end of the Florida State game. We maybe have a coaching advantage, if you can believe it.
If our offensive line doesn't completely get over-run, the rest of the game looks pretty even.
