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CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney had mixed emotions about his defense on Saturday.
The Tigers (3-1, 2-0 ACC) took down Stanford (2-2, 1-1) 40-14 at Memorial Stadium, but their defense gave up 230 yards, including 168 rushing, were 5-for-10 on third downs and allowed the Cardinal’s offense into their territory three times.
“Defensively, really terrible in the first half. Just really poor,” Swinney said. “They had a few things that we weren’t ready for.”
Yet Swinney was enthusiastic about how his team performed in red zone defense, which entered Saturday tied for 99th in the category. Stanford went 1-for-4 in the red zone, scoring a touchdown only at the end of the second quarter.
Cornerbacks Avieon Terrell and Jeadyn Lukus both recorded an interception on back-to-back Stanford red zone possessions in the first quarter, and the Tigers’ defense forced a turnover on downs in the red zone in the third quarter.
Clemson held Stanford without points on three of its four red zone possessions for the first time since the 2022 ACC championship game. Clemson’s defense didn’t bend or break; it made decisive plays to stall the West Coast team.
“To see our defense make those plays, that will give them a lot of confidence,” Swinney said. “If you just do your job (in the red zone), it shouldn’t be hard because it’s a small field, (and) you don’t have a lot of room to stretch the field.”
The defense was crucial as Stanford stifled the Tigers’ offense. Clemson scored a touchdown and field goal on its first two drives, then punted twice and had a turnover on the next three. To begin the second half, it scored a field goal, then punted twice again on the following drives. While the Tigers’ offense kept Stanford around, their defense did not allow the Cardinal to capitalize on those stops.
With their offense facing adversity for…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/win-vs-stanford-proves-clemson-070902974.html
Author : Greenville News
Publish date : 2024-09-29 07:09:02
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