Clemson Defensive Inconsistencies Highlighted in ESPN Metric

The Clemson Tigers enter Week 7 at 2-3 on the season after a blowout win over Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tarheels last weekend, but they still face a multitude of concerns on both sides of the ball.

One of the most criticized aspects of the Tigers’ season thus far – and last year – is the inconsistencies exhibited from Dabo Swinney’s defense.

ESPN college football analyst Max Olson released the latest version of his College Football Stop Rate, which is essentially a measure of “success” on the defensive side of the football against FBS opponents. Success, according to Olson, is “the percentage of a defense's drives that end in punts, turnovers, or a turnover on downs.”

“Stop rate is a simple metric but can offer a good reflection of a defense's effectiveness on a per-drive basis in today's faster-tempo game,” Olson said.

Clemson ranks at No. 39 in this metric with a stop rate of 66.7%, and is allowing an average of 1.76 points per drive through five games.

For reference, Texas Tech and Ohio State top the list with an 85.5% and 85.1% stop rate, respectively. Clemson sits as the fourth-highest ranked team in the ACC, behind only Louisville, Miami, and Pittsburgh.

The Tigers haven’t exactly performed horribly, but considering the load of future NFL talent like Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, and Avieon Terrell that Clemson’s defense boasts, many expected more from this unit.

One of the most prominent concerns that emerged in 2024 was the inability to stop the run, allowing 160.6 yards per game to rank 85th in FBS last season – a significant reason why Clemson went out and hired Tom Allen from Penn State to take over as defensive coordinator.

However, so far, it’s been lackluster, with the Tigers allowing over 100 rushing yards in three of their first four games, including a season-high 154 against Syracuse and 147 at Georgia Tech – both of which Clemson lost.

Despite also giving up a season-high in points (34) and total yards (433) to the Orange on its home turf a couple of weeks ago, Clemson showed signs of promise in Chapel Hill last Saturday.

Although North Carolina is one of the biggest disappointments in college football this season, the Tiger defense held the Tar Heels to just 57 yards on the ground. Allen also moved down from the box to coach from the sideline last week, which provided a much-needed boost to his squad and made a massive difference overall.

The passing defense also hasn’t been great, averaging 234.8 yards allowed through the air – good for 10th in the ACC. And looking forward to this weekend’s clash at Boston College, the matchup between the Golden Eagles’ passing attack and Clemson’s secondary should be interesting to watch.

Boston College ranks second in the conference in passing yards per game with 313.4. Syracuse ranks first with 320.7 yards per game – an offense that diced up Clemson’s pass defense. However, the Golden Eagles are the worst rushing team in the ACC, posting just 85.0 yards per game on the ground.

Thus, although Clemson’s struggles to stop the run were a main concern in the few games of the season, the Tigers’ focus should lie in the secondary, as the ground game will likely sway in their favor on Saturday.

All in all, Clemson has all of the talent necessary to be a stout defense – it’s just a matter of if Allen and company can put the pieces together.