Miami Hurricanes 2015 Opponent Preview
Week 8
Clemson (October 24th)
The 2015 Miami Hurricanes Opponent Preview continues
with the preview of the Clemson Tigers, who come into Sun Life on October 24th. For Clemson, they are a legit National
power. In the last four years, they’ve won 10+ games, but only 1 ACC title to
show for it (2009). As good as the Tigers are, in big games, they’ve come up
small. Dabo Sweeney is back for year 7 in the South Carolina upstate. The
expectations are very high, but if they are going to take that next step to
elite, they will have to do so with a younger group.
Let’s talk about Clemson’s defense.
Under
Defensive Coordinator Brent Venables, who came over from Oklahoma in 2012,
he has turned the Tigers defense into one of the best in the nation. To
emphasize that point, in 2014, you could make a strong case that they were the
best D in the country, holding opposing offenses to a measly 260.8 yards
per game, tops nationally.
In 2015 though, Venables will face one of his biggest
trials yet, and that’s trying to duplicate last year’s success without two
1st round NFL Draft picks in 2014 ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Vic Beasley (drafted 8th overall by the Atlanta Falcons) and Butkus
Award semifinalist linebacker Stephone Anthony (drafted 31st overall
by the New Orleans Saints).
The biggest hit the defense took was on the D-Line. In
addition to Beasley’s loss, they also lost All-ACC First Team
selection Grady Jarrett (drafted as the top pick of the 5th
round by the Atlanta Falcons). Those three guys were the heart and soul of that
defense, combining for half of the team’s sacks in 2014. A bigger hit to the
line was that sophomore DE Ebenezer Ogundeko, being kicked off the team in
May after
getting arrested for credit card fraud.
So
now, it’s going to be up to Junior DE Shaq Lawson to step up and be the
leader of that line that’s going to have a lot of youth on it. In 2014, he was second
on their team in tackles for a loss last year with 11.5.
The down side there is that he doesn’t have much experience himself;
He has a grand total of one career start. The good part is that a strong
recruiting class gave them 7 skilled linemen to replace all the outgoing
seniors, which are headlined by DT Albert Huggins (South Carolina) and
Christian Wilkins (Connecticut), as well as weak-side DE’s Clelin Ferrell and
Austin Bryant.
These four are ranked within the top 15 in their positions
nationwide, and two of those players (Huggins and Wilkins) are the highest
ranked recruits in their states.
As
for the linebackers, while they didn’t lose as many players as the D-Line did,
it will have to find players to make up for the production of Anthony,
who was the most athletic player on the defense and was their team leader in
tackles (75), and Tony Steward. It’ll be up to Junior Ben Boulware, who
had 40 tackles as a backup, and others will have to take responsibility of
the linebackers and fill the void left behind by the losses there. With Chad Smith
coming in, it will definitely help pull the load here.
The heart and soul of the 2015 defense will be in the secondary.
However, it will be without All-ACC first team selection Garry Peters
(signed as UFA by Carolina Panthers) and Robert Smith (signed as UFA by
Indianapolis Colts). The up side here is that this is still a very deep bunch
back there, which have back studs like CB Mackensie Alexander and S Jayron
Kearse.
Let’s talk about Clemson’s Offense
Yes,
some key players are gone, they will have back a lot of great players. While
Chad Morris is now in Dallas as the Head Coach at SMU, and Jeff Scott being
promoted to Offensive Coordinator, the Tigers will still have to work to get
all this youth in shape, but they will have a large amount of talent to work
with.
Back as the signal caller is Sophomore Deshaun Watson after
fighting through injuries in his freshman season that offered so much promise. He
started the season as Cole Stoudt’s backup before Dabo decided to give him game
action, and he produced for Swinney. In 2014, he completed 67.9 percent of his
passes for 1,466 yards, 14 touchdowns to only two interceptions and his 188.57
rating would have led the nation if he had enough attempts to qualify. If this
kid stays healthy, this is a Heisman candidate for sure, if not the leader to
win it.
He’ll
have a receiving core that’s one of the better one in the country. Their top
three receivers from 2014 return. That includes WRs Mike Williams and
Artavis Scott, who were 4th and 5th in the ACC in
receiving yards.
To compliment them, they added in their recruiting class two top
level talents in in Deon Cain, ranked 2nd
in the nation among WRs, and TE Garrett Williams, ranked 4th in the
nation among TE, according to 247 Sports Composite Rankings.
The backfield has back RS Sophomore Wayne Gallman,
following a decent 2014 season that saw him be their top rusher in the season’s
2nd half. He ended his Freshman campaign with 769 rushing yards and
4 touchdowns on 161 carries. While there isn’t much talent here at this
position, it will suffice here for them.
As
for the O-Line, they do lose two starters from last year. The upside is that
there is some good experience returning with six players back and all as
Seniors. On top of that, they are also getting four high-quality recruits
in: Mitch Hyatt, Jake Fruhmorgen, Noah Green, and Zach Giella. Hyatt and
Fruhmorgen are both ranked in the top 10 in the nation at offensive
tackle. With a mix of youth and experience, this line will be one few
teams are going to want to have to face in 2015.
What to expect
from Clemson
Looking at them on tape, while
they lost a lot in key areas on both sides, make no mistake, this team is still
a force to be dealt with.
Below is their last game of the 2014 season vs Oklahoma in Orlando:
As you can see from the videos here, with Dabo teams, you know you’re
going to see a team that’s tough and physical, but the thing with Dabo teams
are in big games, can they finally take that next step and be an elite program
like the FSU’s, the Ohio State’s, the Oregon’s. They are the preseason favorite
to win the ACC this year.
In this game, it’ll be at home,
if Clemson is going to an elite team and get to the playoffs, winning this game
is critical. I expect the CANES to come out ready for this game. If Al ever
needed a true signature win vs a top level opponent, and for a shot to win 11,
they need this one. I think it’ll be
close, and like FSU, it’ll come down to who executes in the 4th quarter.
I want to say CANES are ready to be back on the National stage, but in the end,
I don’t think it’ll be in this one. Clemson wins a tightly fought game here.
I think the Canes get em. Go Canes
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