Clemson Defense Rounding Into Form With Rival Gamecocks Coming to Town

Wes Goodwin had been waiting to see a full four-quarter performance out of his defense and on Saturday he finally got one.

Jason Priester All Clemson

CLEMSON- Wes Goodwin had been waiting to see a full four-quarter performance out of his defense and on Saturday he finally got one.

Led by a suffocating defensive effort, Clemson held Miami to less than 100 yards of offense as the ninth-ranked Tigers rolled to a 40-10 win to extend the nation's longest home winning streak to 40 games.

It was the complete performance that Goodwin knew his unit was capable of.

"I think so," he said.  "Obviously, wish we could take away that red zone drive right there that we gave up after the turnover. I mean, to hold them to 98 yards, what a tremendous day for our guys."

The Hurricanes' 98 yards of total offense was its third-lowest output in program history and lowest since 1965. Clemson completely shut down the Miami running game, allowing just 30 rushing yards and 1.3 yards per carry. 

The Tigers also registered five sacks on the day and held the Miami offense to just 3-of-11 on third down.

"Tremendous accomplishment to send these seniors out on senior day and just really proud of our defensive effort," Goodwin said. "It comes from preparation. We had another tremendous week of practice. Just guys getting the focus, the details, the alignments, and they've just taken what they've learned throughout the week and it's shown on Saturday."

With the annual rivalry game with South Carolina up next, Clemson's defense is rounding into form at an opportune time. The Gamecocks are fresh off an impressive 63-38 win over No. 5 Tennessee that saw QB Spencer Rattler have a career night, throwing for 438 yards and six touchdowns, as South Carolina rolled up more than 600 yards of offense.

"It's the biggest game of the year because it's the next one," Goodwin said. "But obviously, there's a little more juice for this one. We'll enjoy this one tonight, then get locked in tomorrow and let's roll."

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