State of the Clemson Tigers

Every Wednesday at 8:05 a.m., Dayne Young joins Mickey Plyler's show on 105.5 The Roar in Clemson. It is usually a Georgia update for the crossover of fans in the 69 miles between the two campuses. This week, Dayne flipped roles and interviewed Mickey Plyler about the state of Clemson before it opens the season versus Georgia in Atlanta.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Plyler: "Cade Klubnik is a completely different kind of quarterback [than D.J. Uiagalelei] . He makes some of the same mistakes D.J. made, but D.J. was scared to death in that game. Clemson is better at wide receiver than they were at that point in time. Klubnik is the exact opposite. He is going to sling it. He is going to throw some picks. He is going to throw some nice balls and touchdowns. He is going to try to fit things into windows where D.J. was scared. He was seeing ghosts that night."

"I think Clemson’s offensive line is a little bit improved since then. Clemson’s defense now without Brent Venables is good, maybe not elite like they were heading into that game in 2021. Offensively, Clemson is different. Garrett Riley is different than what you saw in play calling that night. Clemson might be a bit more run-oriented. They are more experienced now with Phil Mafah at tailback. Clemson is experienced on offense. Maybe it is a little less experienced on defense, but still very talented on defense."

Plyler: "Critical mistakes. That is what fans got last year. It was the catastrophic turnovers. Clemson fans are worried a bit about what they saw in the spring game. Even in the bowl game last year, he was making some of the same mistakes. It is a high-risk, high-reward quarterback. He is going to put it in jeopardy. He is not scared to put it in jeopardy. Like Bobby Bowden said about one of his quarterback years ago: somebody is going to score. It might be us. It might be them. Get your popcorn because somebody is going to score. I think we will see a higher scoring game in Atlanta than we did in Charlotte."

Plyler: "It is still too early to tell. Last year, they had offensive line and turnover issues. Dabo talks about it all the time. If you take away the turnovers last year, Clemson would have been right back in the thick of things. Turnovers cost them the Duke game. Turnovers cost the Florida State game. They cost them the Miami and N.C. State games. All of their losses last year were due to catastrophic turnovers. In the later part of the season, when they scored 31 against Notre Dame and 42 against Georgia Tech, Clemson ran the football really well. I think Clemson fans still trust and like Garrett Riley."

Plyler: "The offense has to sustain something. If you go back to the game in Charlotte, it was so many 3-and-outs. Georgia did not have a whole lot of offensive success. The pick-6 was the difference. Clemson’s offense wore down its defense because it could not sustain anything. It is tough to do against Georgia. You can’t give up non-offensive touchdowns against Georgia. One thing Clemson did not have last year at all was big-play capability. It is so hard in today’s football. to drive the football – 12 plays, 80 yards. That’s what Clemson had to do. The hope is that Clemson has improved on big-play capability."

Plyler: "It is Carson Beck. If you ask me that this time last year, there is no way I would have thrown for almost 4,000 yards, 24 touchdowns and six picks. If you beat Georgia now, you almost have to outscore Georgia, which is tough to do. Carson Beck is the face and he is throwing to a good receiver group. You can’t give up the big plays. You have to find ways to make Carson Beck pat the football, get to him, and rattle him. The reason Kirby Smart is so good is because he has good players. Right now, that player is Carson Beck."

Plyler: "The run Clemson had with six straight playoff years, four national championship games, two national championships, and those epic Alabama and Ohio State battles – fans long for that. That said, Clemson fans understand what Clemson was pre-Dabo. They weren’t winning ten games. They weren’t winning championships. They weren’t winning divisions. He is still in great standing with the fanbase. He is a positive and likable guy. Most of the fanbase wants him to use the transfer portal. He is still very popular. Even his ‘bad years,’ they have gone 30-10 in the last three years. That feels awful by Dabo Swinney standards. Averaging ten wins a year, that is their ‘bad’ years. He has won 170 football games since 2008. He does well on the field and has won championships. He means a lot off the field and in the community."

Plyler: "Enjoy it while it happens. Right now it seems like Kirby Smart has everything and he does. Georgia has it now and it is great. Enjoy it because it is not guaranteed that it will be this way forever. If you have a quarterback mistake, injuries, turnovers, staff turnover – it is not a foregone conclusion you will always be on top. I’ve seen Georgia on top. I saw it with Vince Dooley. I’ve seen Georgia not on top. Kirby is great, but it is not a birthright that Kirby will always be on top. Somebody will get hurt and they will make a mistake on somebody at quarterback. Some coordinator is going to leave and you will get caught. Other teams can get going and be great. Enjoy it while on top. As great as Kirby is, it just does not last forever."