Joel Klatt praises growth of Clemson offense after Week 1

It didn’t seem possible after Clemson got blasted by Georgia and held to just three points in the season opener, but five weeks into the season, the Tigers have one of the hottest offenses in the country.

But the Clemson offense has more than turned a corner, as offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and quarterback Cade Klubnik have helped lead the way for one of the top scoring offenses in the country. FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt called the offensive surge one of the pleasant surprises of the season so far.

“And this pops up a little bit after their first game, but since their first game, a good surprise has been Clemson,” Klatt said. “How about Clemson’s offense and what they’ve been able to do since, basically being shutout. I know they didn’t technically shutout, but they didn’t do anything against Georgia Week 1. And maybe Georgia is that good, I’m not sure, although ‘Bama seemed to move the ball just fine on them last week in the first half.

“But what Clemson has done since then, because let’s be honest, after last season, they had high expectations, fell woefully short. Had expectations again coming into this year, and then fell flat on their face in Week 1. So since then, it has been a pleasant surprise to watch this offense get better and better and better.”

So far this season, Klubnik has completed 66.4% of his passes for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns with two interceptions in four games. The Tigers are also averaging nearly 180 rushing yards a game a six yards a pop. All this has helped contribute to a 3-0 run since losing the opener to Georgia.

“So you see more of a maturation and a combination of this Garrett Riley offense with Cade Klubnik at quarterback,” Klatt said. “And since that loss to Georgia, Clemson leads the country in scoring at 55 points per game. That’s nothing to scoff at. Their schedule only has one ranked team on it, home against No. 22 Louisville, in November. Like, folks, Clemson is on their way.”

Klatt continued, arguing the Tigers could make a run to the ACC Championship Game if something like the current pace keeps up.

“I would be very surprised if they don’t wind up in the ACC Championship Game,” Klatt said. “And the way that they look and the way that they’re trending versus the way that Miami looked, specifically last week against Virginia Tech — if that game happened this week, I would probably pick Clemson straight up against Miami.”