Five Things We Learned About Clemson in the Opener

1. Tajh Boyd is ready for a Heisman campaign. Boyd scored 5 total TDs in front of a big audience. And most importantly, he had no turnovers. Boyd has to avoid a lapse and put on a show against FSU and South Carolina. With a very good year, he should be invited to the Heisman Trophy presentation.

2. Rod McDowell can carry the load for the Tigers. McDowell was solid all night. He showed that he could get the tough yards up the middle. Hot Rod showed his versatility rushing for 132 yards. Big performance for him.

3. Charone Peake and Martavis Bryant aren't quite there but came through when it mattered most. Both dropped passes but made the catches when they were needed most. Peake hauled in a few receptions that went for critical 2nd half 1st downs. Bryant had no receptions the whole night. He was out of sync until he was determined to catch the ball on the most important play of the game; the onside kick. Each will have ample opportunities but can they avoid mental lapses moving forward?

4. The front 7 on defense came through for Clemson. After giving up 3 touchdowns in the first 17 minutes the Clemson D allowed only 2 more touchdowns for the rest of the game. The defensive line and linebackers kept the pressure coming. Murray was visibly uncomfortable from the second quarter on when Clemson raised the pressure. Georgia was only 4 for 14 on 3rd down. It was a respectable performance against a high caliber offense.

5. The defensive backs are still a work in progress. They continued to show that they were unable to make many plays in the passing game. Only one DB had any pass breakups and that was Garry Peters with 2. That has to be a huge cause for concern. The DBs constantly gave too much space to the Georgia defenders; likely in fear that they would give up the deep pass. If the front 7 didn't perform well against Georgia, the outcome of the game would have been different.

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