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Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley left TCU following a national championship appearance to take over play calling duties at Clemson in 2023. This year, he’ll have a chance to lead a second team in the College Football Playoff with the Tigers set to take on Texas.
He spoke on his offense’s outlook with the postseason contest looming. He’s trying to learn from past mistakes with the Longhorns‘ vaunted defense looking to pounce.
Through two seasons, Riley’s offense has been up and down. Last year, the Tigers moved the ball consistently but shot themselves in the foot with turnovers. Clemson led the ACC in fumbles while QB Cade Klubnik threw eight interceptions in his 11 games vs. P5 competition.
This year, they’ve cut down on the giveaways. Unfortunately, they’ve found it difficult to close out games. Clemson’s held at least a seven-point lead entering the fourth quarter in each of its last three P4 games.
They’ve been outscored a combined 40-10 in those final periods. It resulted in one loss to South Carolina, who held the Tigers scoreless in the fourth quarter during a 17-14 win. It nearly came back to bite against SMU, who overcame a 17-point deficit in the final 15 minutes only to lose on a last second field goal.
Garrett Riley attributed it to letting off the gas in terms of play calling. He says he wasn’t as aggressive as he should’ve been. Those comments enraged Clemson fans. He might’ve been better keeping them to himself.
Clemson OC Garrett Riley says that in hindsight he wishes the Tigers “put their foot on the gas” a little more in the second half of the South Carolina and SMU games (two games where Clemson’s offense struggled to put the game away in the fourth quarter)
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) December 17, 2024
The comments section was filled with criticisms of the coordinator, who entered the year as the third-highest paid offensive play caller in college football with a salary of $1.75 million.
Riley likely meant to voice his observation in an attempt to let Tiger fans know that he wouldn’t make the same mistakes in the College Football Playoff. It backfired miserably!