SMU is still new to the ACC and will come to Death Valley for the first time on Saturday at 3:30pm. Clemson seems to be turning their season around — even if it is too late for any of the major goals the team
had. SMU has two losses but still a perfect conference record. As such, SMU can still beat Clemson, beat Miami, and win the ACC and return to the college football playoff. In all, this is a big game and will have a seismic impact on our weekly ACC Power Rankings.
We don’t have good connections with the newbie Mustangs yet so we decided to do our own Q&A between Ryan Kantor and Matt Goldin. Enjoy!
Ryan Kantor: Clemson’s defense got embarrassed in the game against Syracuse. Off hand, I can’t think of a worse performance by Clemson football since that Winston-led 2013 FSU squad tore through Clemson like they did the rest of the sport that year. Since then, Clemson regrouped during their bye and allowed just 10 points to UNC and 10 to Boston College. Obviously, UNC is atrocious, but Boston College seemed to have a somewhat competent offense. How much has this defense improved vs. simply playing bad teams?
Matt Goldin: We’ll learn a lot about this defense this week for sure. While the last two opponents weren’t much to write home about, you have to note the defense is playing with a new level of intensity since Tom Allen started coaching from the sidelines. It feels like if nothing else these guys got their confidence back, which was sorely needed. There are still things that need to be cleaned up, but I’ve been very happy with the last two weeks. Again, I think Saturday will give us a good idea if there have been actual improvements made or if this is just a defense teeing off on some of the ACC’s worst teams.
Ryan: SMU QB Kevin Jennings got off to an uneven start to the season, but since their ACC slate began (vs. Syracuse and vs. Stanford) he has thrown 6 TDs vs. just 1 INT. He has 532 passing yards and a 78% completion percentage in those two games. He hasn’t run the ball much, but we know that’s a weapon he has too. Clemson couldn’t stop GT’s Haynes King running the ball. Do we think they can stop Jennings who is also more dangerous through the air?
Matt: With the way the defense has settled in the last two games, I’m cautiously optimistic about Clemson’s ability to contain Jennings on the ground, and really mostly concerned on what happens in the passing game. We’ve seen improvement from Ashton Hampton and Ricardo Jones in the last two weeks, but we’re going to need them to hold strong here. Teams know it’s not worth testing Aveion terrell, so if Hampton can give us a solid performance, I’ll be happy. I hope we can also continue to help the the young DBs by pressuring the QB into bad throws. Now, earlier I said that I’m more worried about passing than Jennings running but I need to clarify: that’s more on designed runs. I do worry about Jennings ability to scramble and how Clemson has had some issues keeping contain, especially when rotating in backups for depth. Jennings could really hurt Clemson if he can escape that pocket and either run from yards or avoid a sack for a completion. We really need a good performance from Clemson’s DL in this regard.
Ryan: While the defense has improved over the last two games, the offensive improvement may be even more stark — especially the play from Cade Klubnik. How do we think about how much is playing weak defenses vs. genuine improvement? This SMU pass defense isn’t good. They rank 134/136 in average passing yards allowed at 330 per game. Can Klubnik and company torch them like they did the last two opponents or will the pressure of keeping up with the Mustang offense undermine that?
Matt: Even in the Syracuse game I felt that we were seeing the wide receivers improving. While I’m sure playing bad teams has helped, getting Antonio Williams back has really helped Clemson’s passing game open up. Clemson’s also done a better job of utilizing it’s talented tight end rooms, particularly Christian Bentancur. I think Bentancur, Olsen Patt-Henry, and Josh Sapp will need to be a factor in the offense in this game. Now, the other big question is will Cade play and if so, how limited is he? The buzz on social media is currently that Chris Vizzina has taken the bulk of the first team snaps this week. Dabo has been very guarded with Klubnik’s status. Personally, I think we see Cade play, but the question to me is how effective will he be? A huge part of Cade’s game is his ability to scramble and extend plays, so if he’s hampered by this ankle injury it limits what Clemson’s offense could typically do.
Ryan: Clemson is somewhat surprisingly a double-digit favorite in this contest. Does that surprise you? How do you see this contest playing out? What are the most favorite and least favorable game-scripts for the Tigers?
Matt: Clemson’s gotta strike first. If SMU is able to get an early double digit lead like we’ve seen with a few Clemson games, I think it becomes like the Syracuse game where even if the Tigers’ offense starts to click a bit, it’s a tough hole to dig out of. Clemson also needs to force turnovers and protect the ball. SMU’s offense has some studs. Don’t give them a short field, and make sure when they make a mistake we capitalize on it. Currently the QB situation is a big factor on it, and while I think Clemson can win with Chris Vizzina or Trent Pearman under center, if that ends up being the situation, or if Cade plays but is limited, it’s really going to require Clemson’s defense holding things down and offensive stars like Adam Randall, Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco, and others to play smart, mistake free football.
