Late in the quarter, Clemson’s Ray-Ray McCloud dropped a sure punt return for a touchdown on the one yard line, and after a lengthy video review, Troy took over on a touchback.
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Coming off of the bench in the first game and getting his first start in Clemson’s game against Troy, Lawrence has played like a man possessed in his first two collegiate games, serving as a constant threat in the Auburn backfield during the first game and making multiple big tackles against Troy.
Clemson’s offensive leaders contend the early season sloppiness is just that, easily correctible that all will chuckle about once the Tigers start rolling.
Whatever it is, Deshaun Watson is taking responsibility for it.
“He needs his playmakers to make plays”, Swinney said of Watson.
“You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season”. McCloud finished with seven catches and a career best 86 yards receiving. The offense looked completely out of sorts as a whole but the most shocking thing was that none of Clemson’s nationally acclaimed receivers could hold on to the football.
Clemson puts its school-record 16-game home winning streak on the line when it hosts Troy on Saturday. If not, that player could end up costing his team the game. “I’ve just got to find myself and be back, be the Deshaun Watson I always will be”. I can understand playing the young guys to a certain extent since Clemson Wide Receivers have had problems with a bunch of dropped passes in the first two game.
The Tigers (2-0) needed three fourth-quarter scores to finally build a lead on the Trojans (1-1), who trailed just 13-10 in the fourth quarter.
And while defenses are taking away the middle of the field, Clemson’s lack of success on the perimeter has altered the way the passing game has succeeded in the past.
The star junior suggested the attention has affected his play and led to a display of negative body language, despite a 2-0 start for the Tigers.
“That’s the Heisman front-runner, you know what I’m saying”, Brandon Silvers, Troy’s quarterback, said in praise of the Trojan defense.
Troy, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, gouged Clemson for 386 yards and 21 first downs. Watson was off target throughout the contest, going for 248 yards with one touchdown and one interception on 19-of-34 passing. “We built this team when we went Division I on having the mantra, ‘We will go anywhere and compete down to the very end.’ We did that today”.
Last weekend at Auburn, Clemson lined up in the jumbo package and Wilkins and Lawrence were lead blockers for Wayne Gallman to score on a 1-yard run. Clemson needs to find its gear soon before Atlantic Coast Conference play begins at Georgia Tech on September 22.
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Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said the message this week has been to tell Watson and the entire offense to just relax and let loose against South Carolina State on Saturday.
