Clemson pitched a 37-0 shutout against Charleston Southern on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, but former Tigers offensive lineman and current ACC Network analyst Eric Mac Lain walked away from Death Valley with lingering frustration over an aerial attack that continues to search for answers.
Appearing on this week’s episode of the Gramlich & Mac Lain podcast, Mac Lain voiced disappointment with the Tigers’ persistent struggles to push the ball downfield. While Mac Lain entered the matchup wanting to see Clemson “throw the ball really effectively” with explosive vertical gains, the offense once again failed to produce a single touchdown through the air against its lone FCS opponent.
Clean Pocket, but Empty Aerial Production
The outing delivered at least one positive development for the Tigers: the offensive line kept the pocket clean, surrendering zero sacks on the afternoon. However, Clemson’s inability to find the end zone through the air left the program dead last in the FBS with just two passing touchdowns all season.
Mac Lain characterized the lingering touchdown drought as “a little sad” for a program with Clemson’s talent and pedigree.
“I don’t think it’s that much to ask for, and we didn’t get it. Instead, we got two picks — not from Tait [Reynolds], praise God — but we got two picks,” Mac Lain said. “I don’t know, man. You got the win. … I think it can be a little sad maybe. I don’t know. The fact that, again, the throwing touchdown thing. No sacks, huge deal. Very impressed. Got hit a couple of times, but no sacks. Thank goodness the ball got out. He tripped and like stretched it to the one inch over the sack line, the line of scrimmage.”
True freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds completed 17 of 26 passes but managed only 127 passing yards. While Reynolds avoided throwing an interception, the Tigers turned the ball over twice via interceptions thrown by backup passers.
End-Zone Drops Cost Reynolds and the Offense
Reynolds’ modest yardage total was compounded by missed opportunities on the perimeter. On Clemson’s opening offensive drive, Reynolds delivered consecutive scoring opportunities to junior wide receiver T.J. Moore, but the wideout dropped both passes in the end zone. Moore missed another potential touchdown catch on a subsequent drive, while fellow wideout Bryant Wesco also dropped a pass.
“I was pretty disappointed in T.J. Moore, too,” Mac Lain said. “You gotta help your guy, right? And I get it. I’m sure there’s a frustration. I can only imagine when you’re as talented as he and Wesco and Tyler Brown, and to not have multiple touchdowns at this point. The fact that T.J. is the only one with one. … And you gotta help him. There was probably two or three that, just, T.J.’s got to do better, and he has to score. He’s got to make that happen. Wesco, maybe one catch that he dropped there that I was kind of disappointed in.”
Swinney’s 11-Man Standard and the Missing Piece
Prior to the contest, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney emphasized that the Tigers needed “to dominate somebody,” explaining that true dominance requires full-unit execution with all 11 players carrying out their assignments. Swinney noted that “too many times” this season, only nine or 10 players had executed correctly on a given down.
Mac Lain agreed that single breakdowns continue to derail Clemson’s offensive rhythm.
“It kind of just is the theme of this team for the last handful of years here is, you got 10 guys on the same page and the 11th isn’t,” Mac Lain said. “And the 11th, unfortunately, is a big piece of whatever happens, whether that’s the quarterback or the running back going the wrong way or wrong cut lane there, the offensive line missing a block or the wide receiver dropping the ball. It just shows up too much. A frustrating amount of much on the offensive side of the ball there.”
Following the shutout, Swinney offered high praise for his freshman signal-caller, declaring the performance “Tait’s best game, by far.” Mac Lain, however, remained skeptical of that evaluation.
“I think Coach [Swinney] called it their best game or Tait’s best game or something. I don’t know if I’m taking too much from that,” Mac Lain said.
Critical ACC Test Looms Against Virginia Tech
Now sitting at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in ACC play, Clemson shifts into a critical five-game conference stretch, beginning Saturday night when Virginia Tech visits Memorial Stadium (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The Hokies enter allowing 227 passing yards per contest—a benchmark Reynolds has surpassed only once this season, during Clemson’s Week 5 loss to Miami.
“You got a big one coming, and we’ll preview that ad nauseam with Virginia Tech this weekend. I can’t state how big this game is, really for both teams,” Mac Lain said. “It’s a night game. Glad it’s at home for Clemson. But you kind of got weakness on strength, strength on weakness, which is going to be really interesting to see how it plays [out].
“We’ll talk about more of that throughout the week. But it’s, we need to see it. We need to see improvement. And I wanted a lot more than I got in that Charleston Southern game.”
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