Crazy Year Taking Toll On Clemson Pass Rush

The Clemson pass rush has not been immune to the craziness of what is 2020, and if the Tigers are to win a sixth straight ACC Championship, it is an area Brent Venables unit must improve in.

The dominance of the Clemson defensive line has played a huge role in the Tigers success during the current run of five consecutive College Football Playoff appearances. 

After what some would describe as a down season up front in 2019, in which depth along the interior impacted the teams ability to put pressure on the quarterback, the general consensus was that an influx of talent and more experience, would solve those issues. That the 2020 defense would more closely resemble those defensive fronts Brent Venables fielded in the seasons prior to last year. 

Due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, that just hasn't been the case. 2020 has wreaked havoc everywhere and the Tigers defensive line has been no exception. 

Xavier Thomas has played just 72 snaps all season. Justin Foster has yet to suit up. That's both starting defensive ends. Tyler Davis, the anchor along the interior of the defensive line has appeared in just three games and played just 59 snaps. 

K.J. Henry and Justin Mascoll, along with freshmen Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee, have filled in admirably in their absence, but the fact remains that this team has been without three key starters up front and it has taken its toll. 

While the team had been able to survive through the first seven games of the season, the losses were never more apparent than they were in South Bend. Notre Dame was able to rush for 209 yards, the most Clemson has given up since the 2016 national title game, and as the Tigers head into the bye week, the focus is on getting healthy.

"The takeaway, moving forward is, Clemson, get healthy," Kirk Herbstreit said on Monday's episode of the CFB Podcast with Herbie, Pollack & Neghandi . "We've been so spoiled over the years watching Clemson rush the quarterback and they're having a problem getting home. They're really having a problem getting to the quarterback consistently."

Although, while the team did suffer its first regular season loss since 2017, all is not lost. All the goals the Tigers started the season with are still on the table, including making a sixth straight appearance in the playoff and even winning a third national title in the past five years. 

However, if they are going to do so, this Clemson defense will have to be better than it was in South Bend when it comes to getting to the quarterback. More often than not Ian Book had to much time to throw, and when they did get some pressure, the Notre Dame quarterback was able to escape and make plays with his legs. 

Over the next few weeks Venables will have to find ways to improve the effectiveness of the Tigers pass rush and it all starts with getting some guys healthy. If not, this team could fall short of winning a sixth straight ACC Championship. 

"Venables is as good as there is on that side of the ball," Herbstreit said. "He's going to have to come up with ways, once they get healthy, on trying to dial up pressure and be able to make quarterbacks uncomfortable. They've got to be able to affect the quarterback the rest of the way, and they did not do a very good job of that. And when they did, Ian Book stepped away from it and then shook a guy or two and then picked up viable yards. So that's a thing they're going to have to clean up if they have to play Notre Dame again."

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