Clemson Matchup

407cane

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note*
The games against Toledo and UVA skewed our defensive stats downward heavily. Two dominant performances in those two games and we could have been looking at top 20 across the board. So don't let the stats scare you in any way because we could right up there with clemson in any metric (other than 3rd down pct)


all stats are against FBS teams (Clemson played 1 FCS team in the Citadel and we played BCU).

Going to put these long scrimmage play stats first since I think it's important and main reason why Clemson is beatable

Before the USCe game, not sure how many were completed Saturday, Bryant was 0-15 in his last 15 deep passes (20+yards). Expect us to pack the box and try to make him beat us, similar to the way we played wimbush

Long passing plays from scrimmage (20+yards)
Clemson: 29 (2.9 per game)
Miami: 43 (4.3 per game)


Long passing plays from scrimmage (30+ yards)
Clemson: 12 (1.2 per game)
Miami: 20 (2 per game)


Plays per game
Clemson: 76
Miami:66

Points Per game
Clemson:32.8 (30th) PUSH
Miami: 31.0 (40th)

Yards Per Play

Clemson: 5.78 (50th)
Miami: 6.21 (31st) they are TERRIBLE in down the field throws, running game is what we need to stop

Redzone Scoring
Clemson: 91% (21st) PUSH
Miami: 93.9% (11th)

Redzone TD %
Clemson: 74% 28/38 touchdowns in redzone
Miami: 60% 20/33 (not the huge problem that we made it out to be as we are slowly climbing back up toward normalcy

3rd down conversion %
Clemson: 45.6% (17th in the country) huge gap here, 2nd best 3rd down team we've played all year (GT)
Miami: 29.46% (123rd)

drop off from 100th to where we are at 123rd is 9%, which is incredible and we are absolutely terrible at this. all comes back to Oline in my opinion getting zero push on early downs


Rushing yards per attempt
Clemson: 5.01(30th)
Miami: 4.66 (41st)

Kicking
Clemson: 56.3% --> okay so the F'n pitt guy made a long field goal and he sucks, how? idk, but clemson guy is trash too so i expect a career day for him
Miami: 83.33%

Offensive play breakdown
Clemson: 56% rushing 44% passing
Miami: 53% passing 47% rushing

Time of Possession
Clemson: 30:00
Miami: 27:00

Allowed Sacks
Clemson: 1.83/game (55th)
Miami: 1.83/game (55th) PUSH

Total Yards per game
Clemson: 439 (31st)
Miami: 410 (50th)

DEFENSE

Opponents Yards per play
Clemson: 4.41(4th) --> Elite
Miami: 4.74 (11th) up from 49.8%, huge skewed metric from virginia qb, we were 3rd

Opponent's 3rd down conversion %
Clemson: 28.57% (6th) (Virginia Tech is #2 for reference)
Miami: 38% (57th)

Tackles For Loss
Clemson: 8.2 (7th)
Miami: 8.8/game (2nd)

Sacks
Clemson: 3.55 (2nd) (VT and UVA are tied for 42nd for reference
Miami: 3.80 (1st) (this is even after a lousy performance and minimal sacks vs pitt

Turnover Margin
Clemson: +1 (+0.09/game (60th in the country))
Miami: +15 (+1.5 per game (1st in the country)) we will win because of this stat more than anything else, Bryant still a freshman. we have forced 13 more this year than clemson has

Defensive Passing Efficiency
Clemson: 7th
Miami: 11th (we were above clemson until UVA happened)

Scoring Defense
Clemson: 14.5 (4th) (virginia tech is 3rd for reference)
Miami: 18.3 (14th)


*note, as you can see by my many VT references, this isn't the best defense we have played this year in my opinion. Talent wise? Yes by far, but not the best. Vennables is no joke but we should not be terrified of a defense that performs worse than one we walked all over earlier in the year. Will it be a battle? yes, especially if the Offensive line doesn't get any push, but they have played in the same conference as VT and i don't see anything that should scare us more than VT did ( i have a lot of respect for foster and he has proven it this year, less talented and they play some amazing ball)

*Clemson is great in the TFL and sack department (right behind us), but they don't do the thing that matters most, they only have forced 13 turnovers this year and are only +1 on the season against FBS teams. This stat makes me feel a lot better as this is the biggest game of Bryant's career

*Clemson does not have a downfield passing game. This is how UVA scared us. I don't think Clemson will have same success, Benkert was not amazing, but he was a senior who knew how to play coverages, Bryant will struggle and I don't expect many big plays against us (hopefully)

*they score touchdowns in the redzone, we have to force field goals if we are going to win (their kicker is 56% on the season)



Final Thought
we CAN win this game, and it shouldn't shock people if we do. Will we? I have no idea, definitely the best team we play all year, but we match up well IF our offensive line can hold we will win.

game lies on rosier's shoulders, because their secondary will allow big plays. Need to hit the open man and we need the Offensive line to get push. Really worried about our offensive line in this game. VT was great but they play differently and don't cause as many negative plays as clemson does.

Need to see the chain, they are BAD in turnover margin and we are the BEST, needs to stay that way saturday if we are going to win



what do you guys think? if you find any other noteworthy stats please post (not just stats that are good for us, trying to look for true indicators of how good each team is) I added a few here to show how great clemson is


source: cfbstats.com - 2017 National
 
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Yea their secondary is not all that great, i think one of their wide-receivers turned into a DB
 
The thing I gather the most from this is a point you alluded to.

Clemson's kicker will go 8/8, with a long of 63 in the final seconds and we'll lose 24-21
 
note*
The games against Toledo and UVA skewed our defensive stats downward heavily. Two dominant performances in those two games and we could have been looking at top 20 across the board. So don't let the stats scare you in any way because we could right up there with clemson in any metric (other than 3rd down pct)


all stats are against FBS teams (Clemson played 1 FCS team in the Citadel and we played BCU).

Going to put these long scrimmage play stats first since I think it's important and main reason why Clemson is beatable

Before the USCe game, not sure how many were completed Saturday, Bryant was 0-15 in his last 15 deep passes (20+yards). Expect us to pack the box and try to make him beat us, similar to the way we played wimbush

Long passing plays from scrimmage (20+yards)
Clemson: 29 (2.9 per game)
Miami: 43 (4.3 per game)


Long passing plays from scrimmage (30+ yards)
Clemson: 12 (1.2 per game)
Miami: 20 (2 per game)


Plays per game
Clemson: 76
Miami:66

Points Per game
Clemson:32.8 (30th) PUSH
Miami: 31.0 (40th)

Yards Per Play

Clemson: 5.78 (50th)
Miami: 6.21 (31st) they are TERRIBLE in down the field throws, running game is what we need to stop

Redzone Scoring
Clemson: 91% (21st) PUSH
Miami: 93.9% (11th)

Redzone TD %
Clemson: 74% 28/38 touchdowns in redzone
Miami: 60% 20/33 (not the huge problem that we made it out to be as we are slowly climbing back up toward normalcy

3rd down conversion %
Clemson: 45.6% (17th in the country) huge gap here, 2nd best 3rd down team we've played all year (GT)
Miami: 29.46% (123rd)

drop off from 100th to where we are at 123rd is 9%, which is incredible and we are absolutely terrible at this. all comes back to Oline in my opinion getting zero push on early downs


Rushing yards per attempt
Clemson: 5.01(30th)
Miami: 4.66 (41st)

Kicking
Clemson: 56.3% --> okay so the F'n pitt guy made a long field goal and he sucks, how? idk, but clemson guy is trash too so i expect a career day for him
Miami: 83.33%

Offensive play breakdown
Clemson: 56% rushing 44% passing
Miami: 53% passing 47% rushing

Time of Possession
Clemson: 30:00
Miami: 27:00

Allowed Sacks
Clemson: 1.83/game (55th)
Miami: 1.83/game (55th) PUSH

Total Yards per game
Clemson: 439 (31st)
Miami: 410 (50th)

DEFENSE

Opponents Yards per play
Clemson: 4.41(4th) --> Elite
Miami: 4.74 (11th) <--- 8th before UVA and Pitt games

Total Defensive yards allowed per game
Clemson: 289 (6th)
Miami: 359 (35th)

Opponents Rush Yard per attempt
Clemson: 3.10 yards (8th) (VT is #1 5 for reference)
Miami: 3.65 (28th)

Opponents completion %
Clemson: 51.9% (13th) (VT is #1 for reference)
Miami:54.7% (29th) --> up from 49.8%, huge skewed metric from virginia qb, we were 3rd

Opponent's 3rd down conversion %
Clemson: 28.57% (6th) (Virginia Tech is #2 for reference)
Miami: 38% (57th)

Tackles For Loss
Clemson: 8.2 (7th)
Miami: 8.8/game (2nd)

Sacks
Clemson: 3.55 (2nd) (VT and UVA are tied for 42nd for reference
Miami: 3.80 (1st) (this is even after a lousy performance and minimal sacks vs pitt

Turnover Margin
Clemson: +1 (+0.09/game (60th in the country))
Miami: +15 (+1.5 per game (1st in the country)) we will win because of this stat more than anything else, Bryant still a freshman. we have forced 13 more this year than clemson has

Defensive Passing Efficiency
Clemson: 7th
Miami: 11th (we were above clemson until UVA happened)

Scoring Defense
Clemson: 28.4 (4th) (virginia tech is 3rd for reference)
Miami: 18.3 (14th)


*note, as you can see by my many VT references, this isn't the best defense we have played this year in my opinion. Talent wise? Yes by far, but not the best. Vennables is no joke but we should not be terrified of a defense that performs worse than one we walked all over earlier in the year. Will it be a battle? yes, especially if the Offensive line doesn't get any push, but they have played in the same conference as VT and i don't see anything that should scare us more than VT did ( i have a lot of respect for foster and he has proven it this year, less talented and they play some amazing ball)

*Clemson is great in the TFL and sack department (right behind us), but they don't do the thing that matters most, they only have forced 13 turnovers this year and are only +1 on the season against FBS teams. This stat makes me feel a lot better as this is the biggest game of Bryants freshman year.

*Clemson does not have a downfield passing game. This is how UVA scared us. I don't think Clemson will have same success, Benkert was not amazing, but he was a senior who knew how to play coverages, Bryant will struggle and I don't expect many big plays against us (hopefully)

*they score touchdowns in the redzone, we have to force field goals if we are going to win (their kicker is 56% on the season)



Final Thought
we CAN win this game, and it shouldn't shock people if we do. Will we? I have no idea, definitely the best team we play all year, but we match up well IF our offensive line can hold we will win.

game lies on rosier's shoulders, because their secondary will allow big plays. Need to hit the open man and we need the Offensive line to get push. Really worried about our offensive line in this game. VT was great but they play differently and don't cause as many negative plays as clemson does.

Need to see the chain, they are BAD in turnover margin and we are the BEST, needs to stay that way saturday if we are going to win



what do you guys think? if you find any other noteworthy stats please post (not just stats that are good for us, trying to look for true indicators of how good each team is) I added a few here to show how great clemson is


One thing you left out.

Their field goal kicker is worser than Stevie Wonder.
 
Statistically VT may have a higher ranked D but their schedule was pretty light whereas Clemson beat up on Auburn, Louisville, South Carolina, FSU etc.
 
Here’s an interactive site where you can compare different metrics between different teams. College Football Analytics - Side by Side Comparisions

Below find a comparison of Miami’s and Clemson’s offense.

Miami Clemson
Offense (Rank) Offense (Rank)
45.90 (95) 53.00 (22) % of 1st Downs w / 4+ Yards Gained
6.34 (40) 5.53 (88) Avg Yards Gained on 1st Down
7.61 (110) 6.31 (10) Avg 3rd Down Distance
30.70 (122) 46.40 (14) 3rd Dwn Conv %
66.70 (14) 75.00 (4) 4th Dwn Conv %
1.46 (85) 1.70 (28) 1st Downs / Poss
67.03 (30) 68.37 (56) Avg Field Position
30.10 (68) 31.00 (59) % of Poss Made Red Zone
30.89 (59) 33.95 (29) Yards / Poss
 
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Statistically VT may have a higher ranked D but their schedule was pretty light whereas Clemson beat up on Auburn, Louisville, South Carolina, FSU etc.

South Carolina is not a good team and that Auburn win was like week 2 or 3 I believe, totally diff team now
 
I'm assuming your defensive scoring stat is a misprint?

ATLANTIC CONF OVER PF PA
Clemson 7-1 11-1 422 163


ESPN is showing Clemson allowing 13.5 ppg
 
Defense comparison

Miami (Florida) Clemson
Defense (Rank) Defense (Rank)
% of 1st Downs w / 4+ Yards Gained 43.70 (30) 40.40 (12)
Avg Yards Gained on 1st Down 5.28 (34) 5.18 (28)
Avg 3rd Down Distance 7.48 (31) 7.66 (21)
3rd Dwn Conv % 39.00 (61) 29.10 (7)
4th Dwn Conv % 43.50 (30) 56.00 (92)
1st Downs / Poss 1.46 (60) 1.06 (7)
Avg Field Position 71.52 (18) 75.19 (2)
% of Poss Made Red Zone 22.10 (23) 15.80 (2)
Yards / Poss 26.74 (44) 21.16 (4)
Plays / Min 2.31 (67) 2.22 (106)
Average Time on Field 32.85 (119) 29.38 (50)
Average Drive Time (Min) 2.39 (101) 2.20 (51)
Plays / Poss 5.54 (103) 4.89 (30)
Poss / Gm 13.73 (42) 13.33 (57)
Yards / Gm 367.09 (44) 282.17 (6)
Plays / Gm 76.00 (118) 65.25 (24)
Yards / Play 4.83 (15) 4.32 (4)
% of Avail Yards Gained / Allowed 37.40 (37) 28.10 (4)
 
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Nice writeup.

Another thing not mentioned is STs - Feagles vs McCloud.

Big potential mismatch
 
Statistically VT may have a higher ranked D but their schedule was pretty light whereas Clemson beat up on Auburn, Louisville, South Carolina, FSU etc.

I said Clemson was more talented, it's all opinion based to be honest

And beating up on fsu and USCe is not impressive in my opinion, but it's all subjective


not to mention VT just shut out the team that dropped 28 on us
 
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I'm assuming your defensive scoring stat is a misprint?

ATLANTIC CONF OVER PF PA
Clemson 7-1 11-1 422 163


ESPN is showing Clemson allowing 13.5 ppg

yeah. i got the rank right, 4th in the country but the number wrong, thanks

they average 14.5 scored against FBS opponents according to cfbstats.com
 
Nice writeup.

Another thing not mentioned is STs - Feagles vs McCloud.

Big potential mismatch
College Football Analytics - Side by Side Comparisions There is a ton more data at this site. I just highlighted a few.

it is a cool site, but not as customizable. I have no way to filter out FCS stats (that i can see at least) and all the stats i researched were against FBS team solely
I get your point and I agree that it has its limits, but I think it’s important to include the FBS numbers as well. The first signs that the defense was not performing like a top-5 defense showed it’s head in those games. Toledo was a good precursor for UVA and Bethune showed playing down to the competition.
 
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Nice writeup.

Another thing not mentioned is STs - Feagles vs McCloud.

Big potential mismatch
College Football Analytics - Side by Side Comparisions There is a ton more data at this site. I just highlighted a few.

it is a cool site, but not as customizable. I have no way to filter out FCS stats (that i can see at least) and all the stats i researched were against FBS team solely
I get your point and I agree that it has its limits, but I think it’s important to include the FBS numbers as well. The first signs that the defense was not performing like a top-5 defense showed it’s head in those games. Toledo was a good precursor for UVA and Bethune showed playing down to the competition.

i only excluded FCS

all fbs was included, so the only games left out of our comaparison

was clemson vs citadel
and us vs bethunecookman

toledo is FBS, they just aren't power 5.. but i included them
 
Nice writeup.

Another thing not mentioned is STs - Feagles vs McCloud.

Big potential mismatch
College Football Analytics - Side by Side Comparisions There is a ton more data at this site. I just highlighted a few.

it is a cool site, but not as customizable. I have no way to filter out FCS stats (that i can see at least) and all the stats i researched were against FBS team solely
I get your point and I agree that it has its limits, but I think it’s important to include the FBS numbers as well. The first signs that the defense was not performing like a top-5 defense showed it’s head in those games. Toledo was a good precursor for UVA and Bethune showed playing down to the competition.

i only excluded FCS

all fbs was included, so the only games left out of our comaparison

was clemson vs citadel
and us vs bethunecookman

toledo is FBS, they just aren't power 5.. but i included them
My bad, I mistyped. I obviously meant FCS.
 
College Football Analytics - Side by Side Comparisions There is a ton more data at this site. I just highlighted a few.

it is a cool site, but not as customizable. I have no way to filter out FCS stats (that i can see at least) and all the stats i researched were against FBS team solely
I get your point and I agree that it has its limits, but I think it’s important to include the FBS numbers as well. The first signs that the defense was not performing like a top-5 defense showed it’s head in those games. Toledo was a good precursor for UVA and Bethune showed playing down to the competition.

i only excluded FCS

all fbs was included, so the only games left out of our comaparison

was clemson vs citadel
and us vs bethunecookman

toledo is FBS, they just aren't power 5.. but i included them
My bad, I mistyped. I obviously meant FCS.

yeah i gotcha

i just had to clarify that toledo is not FCS, they are 10-2 and gonna win the MAC, a decent-good FBS team. but i know what you meant
 
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