CLEMSON, S.C. — It took only a month for Clemson to plummet from a top-10 offense in each of the last three seasons to the bottom 10 in 2021.
Instead of simply plugging in sophomore quarterback DJ Uiagalelei for Trevor Lawrence and heading for a seventh consecutive College Football Playoff run, the No. 25 Tigers are 2-2, have not scored more than three touchdowns in a game against an FBS opponent and are averaging just 4.73 yards per play. Coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott are under pressure to figure it out.
Industry experts this week provided insight to The Athletic about Clemson’s drastically different circumstances, from a questionable offensive line to staleness and signs that this was on the way even before Lawrence, the No. 1 draft pick, and Travis Etienne, the ACC’s all-time leading rusher, left after last season for the NFL.
“It would be silly if you’re Clemson to look at the last three times that you’ve been on the field with a team that has similar talent as you, and think that your coaching has maximized the talent gap. It didn’t against LSU. It didn’t against Ohio State and it didn’t against Georgia,” said former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovksy. “For you to sit there and not address, ‘Hey, schematically, can we do the same stuff that we did in 2017? Can we?’ Right now, that answer is no.”
Evaluating the big picture
“The world is not ending,” Orlovsky said.
