Digging into some of the weekend’s telling statistics…
Clemson’s ugly O, terrifying D
For the third straight game without quarterback Deshaun Watson, Clemson struggled to find the end zone Saturday, but for the third straight game, the defense did more than enough to secure the win.
Clemson beat Syracuse 16-6, getting into the end zone early in the fourth quarter for the game’s lone touchdown. It’s the fifth time this season the Tigers have failed to score at least 24 points, something that had happened just seven times in the previous three years with Chad Morris as offensive coordinator.
There are myriad issues for Clemson’s offense, but start with the red zone. The Tigers scored just one TD on five red-zone trips against Syracuse, and for the season, its 72.7 percent scoring rate in the red zone ranks 112th nationally, and its 45.5 percent TD rate is 111th.
Another huge concern has been the lack of a deep-ball threat in the passing game. Of the 93 quarterbacks in the nation to have attempted at least 150 passes against FBS competition, only SMU’s Garrett Krstich has averaged fewer yards per completion this season than Cole Stoudt. The lack of a downfield attack certainly hasn’t made life easier for the ground game either, with Clemson averaging just 3.48 yards-per-rush on non-sack plays vs. FBS competition, the fifth-worst rate in the nation.
That Clemson keeps winning is pretty impressive though. In the last decade, only Boston College won more than three games in a row in which it failed to crack 24 points. It won five straight in 2010.
Credit the defense, which has been spectacular. Since Week 1’s loss to Georgia, Clemson’s D is allowing just 3.55 yards per rush on non-sack plays (fifth-best nationally) and has generated 77 negative plays (tops in the nation). Overall, 208 of the 441 plays Clemson’s D has faced since that loss to UGA (47 percent) have failed to gain yardage. Opposing QBs have posted just a 13.7 Adjusted QBR against Clemson during that time, the second-best mark in the country behind Ole Miss.
Johnson, Conner cross 1,000 yards
Miami tailback Duke Johnson certainly hasn’t shown any rust from the ankle injury that cost him the final five games of last season. With his 249 yards against Virginia Tech on Thursday, Johnson is now the No. 8 rusher in the nation with 1,036 yards for the season.
Meanwhile, Pitt tailback James Conner ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns in a losing effort against Georgia Tech. He now has 1,079 yards on the ground this year, good for seventh nationally.
Prior to this year, just two other ACC running backs — BC’s Andre Williams last year and Virginia Tech’s David Wilson in 2011 — had topped 1,000 yards in their first eight games of the season.
For Johnson, it’s the continuation of a hot streak. Hes hahad at least 90 rushing yards in 10 straight games, which is the second-longest active streak in the nation behind Toledo’s Kareem Hunt (11). Overall, Johnson has had 17 games of 90 rushing yards or more in his career. Over that same time period, Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah, Georgia’s Todd Gurley and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon are the only other active Power 5 running backs with more.
Georgia Tech capitalizes on turnovers
In the last decade, no Power 5 team had fumbled away the ball six times until Pitt did it Saturday. Only BYU (in 2011) and FIU (in 2005) had as many in a single game. That Pitt fumbled away so many balls is surprising. That Georgia Tech capitalized on them is not.
In seven games vs. FBS competition, Georgia Tech has scored 87 points off turnovers -- an average of 5.4 points per takeaway. Only Ole Miss, which has eight more takeaways on the season, has scored more points following turnovers. The 87 points off turnovers for Tech account for 34 percent of all its scoring this season. Tech’s +66 margin in points off turnovers vs. FBS foes is better than all but 10 other teams in the country.
Virginia Tech’s woes
Virginia Tech mustered just six points against Miami on Thursday, its lowest total since a 23-3 loss to Clemson in 2011. In the last decade, it’s just the third time Virginia Tech has scored six points or less.
On the ground, the problem has been far too many small plays and not enough big ones. Against FBS competition, 47.8 percent of Virginia Tech’s non-sack rushes went for 2 yards or less. Only three other Power 5 teams have a higher rate. Meanwhile, just 11.2 percent of its non-sack rushes have gone for 10 yards or more, which accounts for the 10th-lowest rate among Power 5 teams.
But if the Hokies have struggled to run the ball, they’ve been particularly generous to opposing runners. With Luther Maddy and Chase Williams out against Miami, Johnson and Gus Edwards each topped 100 yards rushing, and in five games vs. Power 5 competition this season, Virginia Tech has allowed six different players to run for at least 115 yards (not counting lost sack yardage). From 2011 through 2013, the Hokies had allowed just eight players to do that total.
Quick hitters
Only six Power 5 teams have turned the ball over in the red zone at least four times. Three of them — Miami, Virginia and Wake Forest — are in the ACC.
North Carolina’s Mack Hollins has 26 catches in his career. Six of them have gone for 30 yards or more.
In its 28-27 win over Virginia, North Carolina held the ball for the final 6:09 of the game to secure the victory. But prior to that, Virginia had an edge in time of possession of 37:35 to 16:14. For the season, UNC is averaging just 24:23 possession time per game against FBS foes. Only Temple has held the ball for less time.
Wake Forest is on pace for just 414 rushing yards as a team this season. In the last decade, only one Power 5 team has finished a year with fewer yards on the ground -- 2012 Washington State (349 yards on 252 carries). The Deacons’ 1.1 yards-per-carry average is easily the lowest of any Power 5 team in the last decade, with only two others (2012 Washington State and 2006 Baylor) averaging less than 2.0.
Boston College is 3-0 away from Chestnut Hill this season. In the previous five years, the Eagles were 9-22 in road/neutral-site games.