Clemson OC Garrett Riley Seeks Offensive Rebound After Slow Start in SMU Loss

After a week off to regroup, Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley hopes his unit can rediscover the rhythm it had earlier this month before hosting Duke (4-3, 3-1) Saturday in Death Valley.

Coming off their first bye week of the season, the Tigers had averaged nearly 500 yards per game in blowout wins over North Carolina and Boston College. But in the 35-24 loss to SMU, that rhythm evaporated in a sluggish first half that featured seven empty drives netting just 67 total yards on 25 plays.

The lone bright spot before halftime came on a quick four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with 8:51 left in the second quarter — Clemson’s only points of the first half.

Riley said the staff spent the second bye week reevaluating every aspect of the offense, comparing what worked during their midseason resurgence with what went wrong against the Mustangs. 

“Now, you're kind of really cross-referencing the self scouts from both of those time periods, comparing both of those that we did during each of the bye weeks,” Riley said on Tuesday. “So that's been great for us. I mean came out of the first bye week, and you're 2-1, and I thought that we improved in some areas that we needed to on offense in that three-week span.”

The Tigers (3-4, 2-3) finished with 352 total yards against SMU, well below their recent average, and only 35 rushing yards on 30 attempts. The ground game never found traction behind an inconsistent offensive line. Running back Adam Randall managed 26 yards on 10 carries, and quarterback Christopher Vizzina, starting in place of injured Cade Klubnik, finished with just four yards on 15 attempts while being sacked four times.

“Obviously, the biggest thing is running efficiently and effectively,” Riley said. “We did that in spurts in that three-game stretch. You know, certainly against Boston College, had a really good day and was efficient running the football that day. So, as coaches, the big takeaways are trying to manufacture more of what we are doing well.”

That inconsistency up front remains a major point of emphasis.

“We've had flashes where we've been pretty good up there, and we've been solid, and we've had other flashes, like any other position on our team, where we've got to be more consistent that way,” Riley said. “So, I think it's just continuing to grind, continuing to let the front know, our offensive line, tight ends, backs, everybody understand, ‘Hey guys, if we want to be successful, we have to get this done.’”

Despite the slow start, Vizzina showed poise in his first collegiate start, throwing for 317 yards and three touchdowns on 29-of-42 passing.

“You saw toughness with him,” Riley said. “He will hang in the pocket. He'll get hit. He'll try and stand in there and deliver. So, you saw a lot of great things and some good attributes with CV (Vizzina) in that game, and his ability to bounce back. So those were certainly some things that was great to see him with meaningful snaps and playing a full game of him having to go through that. That'll be experience that he's going to carry as long as he plays football.”

Klubnik, who injured his ankle against Boston College on Oct. 11, practiced Monday. Head coach Dabo Swinney said the third-year starter “was able to do everything we asked of him,” but stopped short of declaring him ready for Saturday’s matchup against Duke.

If Klubnik can’t go, Riley expressed confidence that Vizzina’s performance against SMU gave both player and staff reassurance moving forward.

“Now that the guy's played, and he's had to battle through some ups and downs and was able to create and make plays,” Riley noted. “I mean, that certainly gives him confidence, and it's going to give coaches confidence, just like anything when you have dependability as a player coaches are going to favor that. And that, to me, is one of the most important characteristics players can have, and coaches can have — is dependability.”

Clemson’s passing game took another hit with the loss of sophomore wide receiver Bryant Wesco, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering a back injury on a punt return against SMU. Before the injury, Wesco led the Tigers in receptions (31), receiving yards (537), and was one of the nation’s most dynamic playmakers.

In his absence, T.J. Moore stepped up with a breakout performance — 124 yards and two touchdowns while Tristan Smith added his first career score and 51 yards. Smith and Cole Turner are listed as co-starters this week, joining a rotation that will also rely heavily on Moore, Antonio Williams, and Tyler Brown.

“Tristan Smith, obviously, Cole Turner, they're certainly going to have to step up for us, and excited to see them do that,” Riley said. “They've been rotating more and more the last few games, but obviously this is going to provide a lot of reps for those guys and then still got to be able to move around. TJ and Antonio can certainly play anywhere as well as Tyler Brown. So just those collection of guys, they're just going to have to be probably a little more ready to play different spots than maybe what we typically would.”

The Tigers, who are just 1-3 in Death Valley this season, will look to reset once again when they host Duke at noon.