The decline of the Clemson program has been well documented. They are merely an OK football team. Searching for anything that might suggest Clemson can get back into the upper echelon of the ACC has been hard to find. There might be something positive to point to now.
The Clemson coaching seemed very risk-averse to freshman QB Tait Reynolds throwing downfield. Maybe it was because of his early turnover issues; maybe they didn’t trust him with the playbook. Whatever it was, it was handcuffing the Clemson offense. There was no vertical threat. At some point, you have to try something, even it Reynolds makes mistakes.
Against Florida State, Clemson didn’t exactly air it out, but they did let Reynolds throw 32 passes. He completed 18 of them for nearly 200 yards and 2 TDs without any turnovers. That created more balance in the offense, as Reynolds had 14 rushes for 85 yards, including a game-clinching 79-yard run.
Clemson’s offense had a balanced 350 yards total and put up 36 points. That was the most from Clemson against any P4 team this season. Now we don’t want to make this more than it is. Florida State has been the ACC’s worst program over the last 3 years, but they’ve had some credible moments over the years. Clemson’s offense couldn’t move the ball on anyone this season with any consistency, so this was a step forward.
If Tait Reynolds can build on this performance through Clemson’s last 4 games, then where Reynolds truly turned the corner and gained the trust of the Clemson coaching staff came in the Tigers win over Florida State.
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