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There's an overused Vince Lombardi ethos floating around in football that winning isn't just the most important thing, it's the ONLY thing, and that any win you can get is a good win. Well... perhaps, but the Tigers tested that assumption to the bitter limits on Saturday against the Terps in Death Valley, pulling out a 10-7 win with just 23 seconds to go in severely ugly fashion. It was a win, indeed, but it was nonetheless the sort of win that produces great disquiet as well as satisfaction in some aspects when one breaks down the film and review the game.

The stat line reports that Clemson netted just 36 yards on 40 rushing attempts, though if one subtracts the 72 yards Clemson lost on five quarterback sacks and numerous tackles-for-loss - including one ill-conceived and ill-advised end-around that was snuffed out for nearly a 25-yard loss, the rushing stats look somewhat better.

One positive factor that fairly leaped off the film was the obvious resurgence in left guard Cedric Johnson's game. Johnson was being talked about as a dark horse for possible All-ACC honors this off-season, though he had frankly been a liability through midseason. On Saturday, he looked markedly quicker and was often devastating as an in-line blocker, easily performing as Clemson's best lineman. This lends one to the notion that Johnson's problem was poor conditioning and excess weight, and now that the cooler weather has set in he's no longer wilting in the heat, and is rapidly regaining his 2003 form.

Right guard Nathan Bennett was also effective at times, though the center position was essentially a non-factor in most instances, and both tackles, again, struggled against Maryland's pumped-up two-gap ends.

Sophomore back Reggie Merriweather put up 60 yards on 17 carries, and both No. 37 and junior Duane Coleman did show a refreshing tendency to finish their runs by lowering their shoulders and delivering the strike.

Clemson's run game wasn't devastating, but at the very least it got on the right side of the chains on most downs against a very hard-nosed and stout Maryland defense, and that isn't half-bad.

One does however question the end-around plays and whether or not they need to be ripped out of the playbook, as they have usually resulted in negative yardage. Grade: C

Describing Clemson's passing game has become a bit repetitive: it was ugly, again. The stat line was modest. Junior quarterback Charlie Whitehurst completed 14 of 31 passes for 170 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions, but these modest stats don't change the fact that Clemson's receivers dropped numerous balls and ran numerous bad routes. The offensive line again showed it wasn't exactly the Great Wall in protecting its vulnerable backfield real estate from invaders.

Senior wideout Airese Currie caught five balls for 89 yards and showed once again he's a top-echelon complementary #2 vertical speed receiver. But the rest of Clemson's corps again proved fairly definitively there's not a clear No. 1 go-to possession catcher on the roster.

Former four-star-rated sophomore Kelvin Grant has the physical tools to be that guy and again showed he could separate fairly easily, but to belabor the obvious, Grant made all the catches except the ones that truly mattered, catching only four balls for 49 yards. He also dropped one touchdown pass clean and failed to secure another inbounds.

Nobody else contributed significantly. Sophomore Chansi Stuckey, again, was a non-factor, and the Tigers never threw to tight end Ben Hall.

Pass-protection was poor, most notably off the edges where Clemson's tackles were slow to adjust to Maryland's shifting. Falcon-style edge rusher - usually linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, who shifted from side to side looking for an overload - and Maryland's big two-gap ends, really manhandled Clemson's tackles for much of the day.

Sophomore right tackle Marion Dukes struggled, and both left tackles - senior Jesse Pickens and true freshman Barry Richardson - had notable issues in protection, Pickens in anchoring and Richardson off the edge.

In what's become a recurring pattern for the year, Clemson started out fairly hot passing the ball, then lapsed into abject ineffectiveness through most of the second half as the hits, drops, and crumbling protections piled up and the simmering frustration that's plagued this offense much of the year set in. More than anything, the passing game seems to be looking for a go-to possession receiver... and it's not finding one.

Maryland’s defense is legit. We know that. But Clemson’s offense should be better. Grade: D

Maryland signal-caller Joel Statham's numbers are almost identical to Whitehurst's - 14 of 31 - with two minor caveats: he only threw for 111 yards and he also tossed two picks.

Clemson didn't generate much pressure with its front four, and Statham did have too much time to linger, and often too much pocket to linger in, but Clemson's defensive backs were smothering. Both junior rover Jamaal Fudge and junior corner Justin Miller came away with picks, but junior corner Tye Hill again made a case for himself in that he might be challenging Miller as the team's best pure cover-corner. Hill made at least two acrobatic pass-breakups, and incessantly smothered his receiver.

You'd like to see Clemson's ends generate more pressure off the edge, and you'd definitely like to see more pressure up the gut, but generally speaking, Clemson's secondary vice-clamped the admittedly ersatz Terp passing game admirably. Grade: C

Ever since Ralph Friedgen arrived in the Beltway, the Terrapins' unremarked-upon offensive staple has been its power-run game, which could have spelled trouble for the Tigers' defensive front if it had continued to play as soft as it had in games prior.

It didn’t.

Perhaps the biggest culprit in the rushing defense’s "softness" in weeks past was undersized junior tackle Trey Tate, but Tate at least broke even on Saturday, showing quickness, disruptiveness and scrappiness, most of which he had not always demonstrated over the course of the first half of the season.

Former junior college transfer Cory Groover again flashed some great plays, as when he burrowed under a double-team and stuffed a runner behind the line on one play. There were also inconsistencies, as when he was pulled inside and enveloped, countering behind for a 12-yard rush a few plays later.

Nevertheless, he is clearly emerging as an impact tackle. Defensive line coach Ron West no doubt wishes he had Groover for more than just one more season.

Senior middle linebacker Leroy Hill was his usual ubiquitous self, accounting for 10 tackles (unofficially) and a sack. Sophomore whip linebacker Tramaine Billie demonstrated great range and a nose for the ball. Billie is himself emerging as an impact fixture and is not likely to just hand the starting whip gig back over when incumbent senior Eric Sampson returns.

This unit finally played a "complete" game against a significant opponent, and while not truly overwhelming, this group never really permitted a very hard-nosed Maryland rushing attack to get on track, holding the UM to a very modest 83 yards on 37 plays. Grade: B

Cole Chason got his first punt blocked, which accounted for the Terps’ first and only touchdown of the day. Other than that misfire, Clemson - at the very least - broke even against what has been clearly the ACC's best special teams squads ever since Friedgen took over four years ago.

Wild man returner Steve Suter was bottled up and stuffed.

Chason doesn't kick tremendously long, but as usual he hung his punts high and Clemson's cover guys were waiting at ground zero when the ball arrived. The sophomore punter reeled off seven consecutive punts of more than 40 yards during one stretch.

Miller handled both punts and kickoffs and never quite broke loose, though he did net at least five additional yards a kick and again matched Suter's trademark fearlessness in refusing to fair-catch punts.

It was all-in-all a quiet special teams day. With the exception of the blocked punt, Clemson's special teams broke even, and against what is the conference’s premiere special teams unit, that's definitely not half bad. Grade: B-