Koenning’s defense gets a bad rap at Clemson

By Marc Hudgens  |   Thursday, November 06, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Clemson Tigers
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Clemson’s defense has been hammered by media and by fans the past few weeks, with the point of attack being that the unit has allowed opponents to score their winning points late in games. Maryland, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech all scored go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter en route to Tiger losses, so the criticism is based in fact.

Boston College even scored a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter this past Saturday, but a Cullen Harper-to-Aaron Kelly touchdown pass inside the nine-minute mark put Clemson back on top for the win.

Nevertheless, blaming the Tigers’ losses on the defense is a cop-out; in truth, the real problem with Clemson’s defense, quite frankly, is its offense.

Everyone knows if your offense can’t stay on the field, your defense will collapse -- it’s just a matter of when. The Tiger 'O' is currently 11th in the ACC in time of possession (105th nationally) with under 28 minutes of field time, and it's dead last in the conference on third-down conversion rate (30 percent, which is 115th in the nation). Because of such total ineptitude, there is no way to expect the defense to be just as effective at the end of the game as it was in the beginning. In that light, perhaps the core reason Clemson was able to escape Chestnut Hill with the win last weekend was because the Tigers won the time of possession battle for once (32 minutes versus the Eagles’ 28).

This weekend will be defensive coordinator Vic Koenning’s biggest test: Clemson travels to Florida State to face its best offense to date. The Seminoles are 39th nationally in total offense (390 yards a game) and 21st in scoring (35 points per week). If Clemson’s offense can win the clock battle, the Tiger defense should have a fighting chance to keep running back Antone Smith and company at bay.

Of course, if the Tiger offense regresses back to its three-and-out ways, Koenning’s men will be severely undermined and will have zero chance of helping Clemson win.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He...
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