Instead of being up presumably 20-10 at halftime, Clemson would enter the second half with only a three-point lead on Group of 5 Troy at home in Week 2.
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However, the joy was short-lived.
Clemson’s Ray-Ray McCloud was headed for the end zone when he dropped the football before crossing the goal line.
“I thought they started slow”, Swinney said of the offensive line.
CLEMSON: Get ready for a late-summer slide for the Tigers. Clemson, the No. 2-ranked team in the nation representing the elite SEC conference, played mid-major school Troy on Saturday, and this play proves that no team should be exempt from making bonehead moments.
The Tigers dodged a potential upset in their opener, holding on for a 19-13 win over Auburn, while Troy opened with a 57-17 rout of Austin Peay.
“I’m sorry we disappointed them”.
Whether or not Clemson will use this version of “The Pledge” or “The Apology” — or whatever name will be placed on Watson’s mea culpa – to spark play reminiscent of the Florida Gators in 2008 remains to be seen. There is simply too much talent on this team for it to be playing sloppy football. “I think there was mistakes by pretty much every player on the field”. If Clemson wants to have any success this year they will want the Offensive Line to play better so Deshaun Watson can have time to make plays. Last game, it was Kevin Steele who led Auburn’s defense and who was in charge of Clemson’s group under Swinney from 2009 through 2011. On Monday, Deshaun called Saturday’s matchup “probably [his] worst game” of his 22 starts. Nelson has passed for 695 yards, six touchdowns, and has completed 81 percent of his passes.
Cooper Rush lofted up a Hail Mary pass that hit Kroll just inside the 10.
Watson sounded as if he was worn down by all the hype and accolades that came his way as a sophomore as he led the Tigers to the national championship game and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting. “We did not play our best”. However, they are really small on defense, which hurt them last week with a bunch of missed tackles.
James Conner ran for 117 yards and a touchdown and caught another and cornerback Ryan Lewis intercepted Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley in the end zone with just over a minute to play as the Panthers held on for a victory on Saturday before 69,983 fans. Last week, Louisiana Tech beat them, 53-24, in a game that was delayed over three hours due to lightning in the area. I believe if you give AJ Turner a hole to run through, that he can be very risky once he gets to the second level.
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TROY: The Trojans out-rushed Clemson 141-122 and did it by limited the Tigers’ two 1,000-yard rushers previous year in Watson and Wayne Gallman to a combined 89 yards. The game airs at 12 p.m. ET on regional sports networks. “When things aren’t going quite the way we want, it’s good for a leader like Deshaun to grab everybody and get everybody on the same page”.
