The final score didn't offer much encouragement for Clemson.
There were, however, moments Saturday night when Tait Reynolds offered another glimpse of what the Tigers believe their offense can eventually become.
Facing No. 4 Miami and a pass rush that made him uncomfortable throughout Clemson's 41-13 loss, Reynolds completed a career-high 29 passes on a career-high 44 attempts for a career-best 295 yards. He was sacked six times, but repeatedly moved within and outside the pocket to extend plays and find Clemson's receivers downfield.
Bryant Wesco Jr. saw something more than numbers.
“I just think that kid's gonna be special, you know?” Wesco said. “He's got a real sense of confidence to him whenever he gets on a roll. He's more than just a game manager; he's a game changer.”
Wesco was Reynolds' biggest beneficiary on Saturday.
The junior produced career highs with nine receptions for 152 yards, including a 55-yard reception in the fourth quarter that became Clemson's longest pass play of the season.
It was Wesco's seventh career 100-yard receiving game, tying Mike Williams, Chansi Stuckey and Tony Horne for sixth-most in Clemson history.
But Wesco wasn't alone.
Tyler Brown caught a career-high 10 passes for 76 yards, giving Clemson multiple receivers with at least nine catches in the same game for the first time since Williams and Artavis Scott did it against Pitt in 2016.
T.J. Moore also extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 32, tying Perry Tuttle for the eighth-longest streak in Clemson history.
Without much help from the running game and with Miami consistently creating pressure, Clemson increasingly put the offense in Reynolds' hands.
For a freshman making only his third start, that represented another significant step.
“It's starting to slow down for me a little bit,” Reynolds said. “Just week by week, just take the coaching every single time. They do an amazing job with me.”
There were freshman moments, too.
Reynolds acknowledged that some of Miami's six sacks could have been avoided by getting the football out sooner.
“Maybe I should have just bailed out a little quicker,” Reynolds said. “Hit my reads a little earlier.”
Those are the lessons Clemson will have to live with as Reynolds develops.
And to be honest, anyone who watched the game likely feels like I do that Reynolds is falling on the sword for his porous offensive line with those comments.
As for Wesco, he believes he's already seeing that development from one week to the next.
“Today he just trusted his receivers a little bit more than last week, and then I'm hoping that keeps on rolling over to next week,” Wesco said.
That willingness to give his receivers opportunities showed up on Wesco's 55-yard catch. Isolated against a safety, Wesco hauled in Reynolds' pass, made a move and raced deep into Miami territory before being brought down.
The play didn't result in a touchdown, which was part of Clemson's larger problem Saturday night. The Tigers moved the football but repeatedly failed to finish promising possessions.
Wesco believes that's where the difference lies between Clemson and the nation's best teams.
“I'd say the only gap is execution,” Wesco said. “You know, we go out here, we put together good drives, and then we just end up not executing on one or two plays. It's killing the whole momentum we have going, but I mean, that's the thing between great teams and good teams, the execution is there.”
The 41-13 score makes that argument difficult to sell on its face. Clemson has now been handed another decisive defeat against elite competition.
Reynolds, though, shares Wesco's belief that the Tigers aren't as far away as the scoreboard suggests.
“I think we're a lot closer than what we showed,” Reynolds said. “I mean, the game was a lot closer the whole time, and we kind of made some mistakes there at the end, and it kind of brought a gap, but we're a lot better football team than that.”
Now Clemson enters its bye week with plenty to fix.
But the Tigers may also have something to build around.
And perhaps most importantly, Clemson's receivers appear to be developing confidence in the freshman delivering the football to them.
Wesco says that confidence isn't based solely on what happens on Saturdays.
“He's a real hard practicer,” Wesco said. “He’s watching film till 10 o'clock at night, every night. That's the thing that's gonna make him great. It’s the way that he pushes himself.”
Reynolds isn't claiming Clemson has arrived.
He's promising that something is coming.
“It's going to pop at some point,” Reynolds said. “You guys just be ready for it."
— Swanny
