Dabo Swinney stresses importance of Clemson getting run game going in second half

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney wants to see his offense make some progress heading into the second half against South Carolina. The Tigers managed to take a 13-7 lead into the locker room, but have still yet to score an offensive touchdown on the evening.

Their lone TD came when Khalil Barnes recovered a fumble on the opening drive to start the scoring off. Other than that, Clemson managed just two field goals and came out of the first half with just 121 yards.

Swinney spoke with SEC Network at the break, commending his defense for the job it did while also sending a challenge to the offense.

“We struggled early on,” the coach said. “They popped a quarterback draw and one long run. Good, long drive. They did a good job on third down and fourth down a couple of times. But we settled in this last part of the second quarter. Now we just gotta complement them a little bit with the offense.”

The Tigers held South Carolina to under 100 yards of offense in the first half. They also forced turnovers against the Gamecocks on their first two drives of the game. South Carolina’s lone touchdown came on a one-yard QB sneak from Luke Doty with 6:39 remaining in the first quarter.

Still, Clemson struggled to move the ball as well with Cade Klubnik coming away with just 32 yards passing in the opening half. The Tigers had 89 yards rushing, but Swinney wants to see them make more of an effort to move the ball on the ground.

“We’ve gotta get that run game going,” he said. “Just make some of the plays that are there. We’ve had a couple of plays there, we just haven’t made ’em.”

South Carolina’s Jalon Kilgore out remainder of game vs. Clemson

South Carolina safety Jalon Kilgore is out for the remainder of the game Saturday against Clemson, it was reported on the SEC Network broadcast. Kilgore apparently suffered a hamstring injury and had to be taken to the injury tent and was later seen with ice wrapped around his leg.

“He got hurt after that last drive,” Alyssa Lang reported. “Came out with a bag of ice taped to his right hamstring. Typically means you’re done for the day.”

Prior to the injury, Kilgore had managed two tackles on the day. The true freshman has made quite the impact this season with 74 tackles, one interception, six passes defended and a forced fumble.