CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Tigers say they fell short of 'standard' on offense against Orange
Trevor Lawrence finished 27-of-43 passing for 289 yards and two scores. (ACC photo)

Tigers say they fell short of 'standard' on offense against Orange


by - Staff Writer -

Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott is eager to review the video from the 47-21 win over Syracuse.

If you didn’t take the game in on ACC Network or at Death Valley Saturday, the final score may lead you to believe it was a smoother day for his group, but an offense that put up 73 points the week before at Georgia Tech had its stumbles on Saturday against the Orange. Elliott has some teaching points on the area of consistency now.

“I think it's a struggle with any individual, whether they're 18-22 or a 40-year-old like myself or older to be consistent every single day,” Elliott said. “This is a great opportunity for us to learn. The message to our guys was 'We're not entitled to rolling the ball out there and win. Nobody is going to lay down for us.' We're not entitled that just because we went through the process, it's going to work out. We gotta go out and finish the work and finish the process on the field so we can play our best game. And our guys will respond.

“This is a great opportunity when you don't play your best and find a way a way to win and still be able to win by a good margin. I'm glad that they were -- it got tight there.”

Coming in as over 47-point underdogs at kickoff, Syracuse tightened things up to a one-score game in the third quarter, but the Clemson defense did its part to get the ball rolling shortly after with a scoop-and-score from Andrew Booth.

The Tiger offense tacked on a TD from there with Travis Etienne and Amari Rodgers prominent features on it. Another Clemson defensive play set things up for their final score with Etienne’s third touchdown rush of the day.

“The defense made a play and we were able to come back offensively and get going a little bit and score some points,” said Elliott. “The alternative is a couple years ago (the loss at Syracuse in 2017). Some teams may not win that game but our guys found a way. There are some positives to build on but a great opportunity to challenge our guys to grow. From a standpoint of 'This is why we tell you.' This is why you have to be committed week-in and week-out to every portion of the preparation process so that we can have the success. They have to be reminded that the success that they've had to this point isn't by accident. It was because of how they handled the preparation standpoint.”

Syracuse bottled-up Clemson’s running game early and Elliott credited the Orange for a variety of schemes to make the Tigers go more to the air. Trevor Lawrence threw his first career interception for a touchdown and had another near pick in the first half.

Etienne ended up inching closer to the all-time ACC rushing record with 86 yards on 16 carries (now 43 yards from breaking the mark).

Both Clemson offensive superstars said postgame that they took responsibility for different issues in the game.

"I think it's obvious we didn't play our best game,” Lawrence said. “Probably played our worst game to this point and that starts with me. I didn't play the worst game of my career but I didn't play great. Was pretty inaccurate at times. Missed four or five throws I should have made that would have kept drives alive...Ball placement wasn't great and I take responsibility for that. I just think our energy wasn't where it needed to be and at the end we picked it up and finished well. We're definitely going to have to play better down the stretch if we're going to get where we want to go."

"I think the offensive line is doing great," Etienne said. "It's up to me to make more plays. There were a couple times where I could've did more. Where I went a little too slow trying to see too much. I could definitely help my offensive line and more create that energy when we need it and make a play."

Elliott believes his group will do what it takes to learn from the effort.

“We know what the standard is. Today we didn't quite play up to that standard,” Elliott said. “We'll go back and we'll watch the film. It won't be as bad as you think and then there will some things that you thought were good that you still need to clean up. It's really about us going back to and recommitting to the process. Our guys have done a great job up to this point. Things have been -- wouldn't say easy for them, but kinda smooth. From my perspective and my mindset, I welcome the adversity because it's an opportunity for us to humble ourselves. Hey, nobody is going to lay down for us. We gotta stay committed. We can't short-cut anything. We gotta bring that right mindset and energy every single day or every single game or you're going to have days like this.”

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