Tennessee 14 Clemson 3: Halftime Analysis

Tennessee leads Clemson 14-3 at the half.

JP Priester | Dec 30, 2022

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

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MIAMI, FL- It was a first half full of special teams miscues for the Tigers.

Clemson's defense has played well enough, holding the prolific Tennessee offense to just 14 first-half points, forcing the Volunteers to go three and out on three different occasions in the half.

The Tigers offense has moved it as well, outgaining Tennessee in the opening half, but it's an unsuccessful fake FG attempt along with three B.t. Potter misses that have been the difference in the game as the Volunteers lead 14-3 after one half of play.

Halftime Analysis

Five different times the Tigers were in a position to score points in the first half, yet came away with nothing, as Clemson crossed the 50-yard line on every first-half possession.
Clemson went for a fake FG on 4th and 4 from the 27 on its opening possession. Drew Swinney kept the ball instead of pitching it to B.T. Potter and was stopped short. If he pitches it, Potter has the first down and might have scored. That play kind of set the tone for the rest of the half as Potter would miss on his next three FG attempts. The first was from 55 yards out, the second was from 49 yards out, and the third from 42. The veteran kicker finally hit on his fourth attempt, this one from 31 yards out with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
The final possession of the half might have been the most costly. Cade Klubnik had executed the two-minute drill almost to perfection, driving the Tigers down to the Vols 13, but took off running on a third down play with Clemson having no timeouts left, and was tackled inbounds, and time would expire.
Both teams are having success moving the ball. Clemson has outgained the Vols totaling 273 yards, while Tennessee has 191.
Clemson is just 3-of-10 on third downs.
No accuracy issues for Joe Milton in the first half. The redshirt senior was sharp, completing 12-of-17 for 149 yards with one touchdown.
Cade Klubnik has also played well, connecting on 16-of-29 for 201 yards. He also has 32 rushing yards and has been on the receiving end of several extremely hard hits.
Joseph Ngata has looked like a different receiver since Klubnik took over the offense. The senior has a team-high 57 yards on four catches.
Will Shipley only has three carries in the half.
The Tigers have sacked Milton three times, with Tyler Davis, Bryan Bresee and Ruke Orhorhoro each recording one.

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