Clemson finds itself in pretty unfamiliar territory following their 27-17 road loss to Pitt Saturday. It's the first time since 2014 Clemson has dropped three regular season games. The Tigers 3rd ACC loss of this season matches the total number of league losses since 2015. The year marks the fastest Clemson has reached the 3 loss mark since the 2010 season, in which they finished 6-6 in the regular season.
Clemson fans have soured on D.J. Uigalelei and reasonably so. The former blue chip recruit was presumed to be the next star at that position for Clemson. However, Uigalelei has not shown the desired progress over the course of this season. Saturday, he was 12 of 25 for 128 yards and two picks. Currently it is nearly impossible to win in Power 5 football when throwing for less than 150 yards in a game. The Clemson offense again averaged just over 5 yards per completion. You couple that with the opposing QB going 25 of 39 for just over 300 yards, 2 TD's and O picks and you have a disastrous recipe.
The back up QB on a struggling team is always the most popular guy around. However, it's a reasonable perspective in the situation. It's clear to see why Clemson fans want to see more of Taisun Phommachanh at QB1. The Clemson faithful have seen very few signs of progress with D.J. at the helm of the offense over halfway through this season. Phommachanh did see some action in the Pitt game, he directed a scoring drive in the 3rd quarter. That came after Pitt scored 21 unanswered points prior to that point, Phommachanh was 3 for 7 in limited snaps.
Clemson's defense while giving up a season high 464 total yards, did give them a chance especially early. The Tiger defense held Pitt scoreless until the last 3:30 of the 1st half. The Panthers broke through for two Kenny Pickett TD passes to lead 14-7. The Clemson offense scored early in the game, then sputtered. That has been a theme that seemingly points out Clemson's play calling inefficiencies under OC Tony Elliott. The Tigers have shown ability to score on early pre-scripted drives but have not shown ability to call the game on the fly as it progresses.
Pitt held a 14-7 halftime lead and they seized complete momentum when D-lineman Sirvoeca Dennis scored on a pick 6. Dennis jumped the inside gap on a shovel pass and D.J. made a bad read which led to him being taken out. Phommancanh came in and directed a FG drive on a crucial possession. That kept Clemson within spitting distance at 21-10. Pitt answered with a FG later in the 3rd quarter to take a 24-10 lead into the fourth.
Pitt would take its largest lead of the game early in the 4th when Sam Scarton hit another FG. That put Pitt up 27-10. Clemson put Uigalelei back in and he did engineer a TD drive. However, it's important to note that Clemson only completed one pass on that drive and they benefitted from two Pitt penalties.
James Skalski was a bright spot for Clemson's defense, he had 16 tackles on the day. Dabo Swinney looked to be at a loss for a solution when spoke to the media following the game. Swinney did say that all offensive positions will be up for grabs in practice this week. Clemson is now 4-3 with 5 games left. This week, they host an FSU team that struggled early in the year, but has since won three straight. Saturday's game is set for a 3:30 kickoff.
