Riley Says Offense ‘Didn’t Stay on Gas’ in Past Two Games
Garrett Riley wishes he had chosen to be a little more aggressive late in Clemson’s last two games.
One of those was a loss to rival South Carolina, where the offense seemed to get a little conservative late in the second half. While the Tigers did rack up close to 200 yards of offense over the final two quarters against the Gamecocks, Cade Klubnik and company had back-to-back three-and-outs late in the contest that allowed South Carolina to come back and win it. The Tigers were outscored 10-0 over the final 15 minutes.
“We had some chances to really put them away in both games, honestly in the first half,” Riley said. “Didn’t make a play here and there.”
Against SMU, the Mustangs scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, while erasing a 31-14 deficit. While the Tigers threw the ball twice as many times as they ran it in the final quarter, Riley believes they could have even been more aggressive.
“And just the way the games have gone, we probably didn’t stay on the gas as much as I would have liked to,” Riley added. “That’s always… hindsight is 20/20 coming off the game.”
With Clemson now heading to Austin to face a Texas defense that ranks as one of the best in the country in almost every statistical category, Riley is hoping to draw off some of the lessons learned in the past two games to give his offense a better chance at being successful late, when it matters most.
“Trying to draw off the last two weeks for sure, on how we can hopefully close a little bit better,” Riley said. “Or keep the momentum going a little bit longer with what we’ve had offensively the last couple of games.”
A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available! Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!
