ACC Championship 2015: Game Grades, Analysis for North Carolina vs. Clemson
As many expected, Clemson and North Carolina went down to the wire in Saturday night's ACC Championship Game, but it was the undefeated and No. 1 Tigers who edged out a feisty Tar Heels squad that just wouldn't stay down on the mat. Clemson won 45-37.
Clemson built what looked like an insurmountable lead in the fourth quarter, but the Tar Heels hung around long enough to be in a position to make plays at the end to give themselves a chance. The game eventually ended on a controversial onside kick, which was recovered by UNC but called back on a penalty.
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There's plenty to go over in these game grades, so let's dive right in!
Here is the box score, via NCAA.com.
| Pass Offense | C | B+ |
| Run Offense | C | B |
| Pass Defense | C- | C |
| Run Defense | C- | D+ |
| Special Teams | B | B |
| Coaching | B | B+ |
Tar Heels Pass Offense
We tend to boil down one-score losses to the final few plays in the fourth quarter. UNC fans will certainly be talking about the finish to this game for a while, but plenty of other missed opportunities could have changed the eventual outcome.
Marquise Williams is the unquestioned star for UNC, and the Tar Heels' success depends so much on his success. In this game, when it came to passing the football, he was anything but an unqualified success.
Williams was 11-of-33 for 224 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
The interception deep in the red zone was costly enough, but so too was a sack-fumble in the fourth quarter and his first half of almost constant incompletions (3-of-13 before halftime).
Williams never looked comfortable in the pocket, thanks in large part to the Clemson pass rush, and his throws were often high and outside.
While his overall performance—or lack thereof—won't get as much attention as the officiating, it's at least as responsible for UNC's loss.
Tar Heels Run Offense
Williams was, perhaps unsurprisingly, UNC's top rusher. He picked up 81 yards and a touchdown on his 17 credited carries. Elijah Hood tallied 65 yards on 14 carries (including one for a touchdown), but that was it for the Heels.
Not to put too fine of a point on it, but if you want to beat Clemson, you're going to need to find some sort of success in the ground game to even out the Tigers defense. For most of three quarters, UNC was unable to do that. Hood's longest run of the night was just 16 yards, and Williams only managed a long of 28.
Take away those big plays and you start to see why Clemson's defense controlled the ebb and flow of this game.
Tar Heels Pass Defense
We'll get to Deshaun Watson's performance soon enough, but with the exception of a fantastic individual effort from Naz Jones, North Carolina didn't have a ton to celebrate on the defensive side of the ball.
In the fourth quarter, Jones tipped a pass from Watson at the line, and as the ball flew high in the air, Jones dove underneath the football to come down with it.
It's not often defensive linemen come away with such a spectacular play, so we're giving a big shout-out to the big man for such a highlight-reel play.
Tar Heels Run Defense
Wayne Gallman looked like a man among boys. For much of the second half, he ran right over the UNC defense, picking up big chunks of yardage as if he was running down the hill at Memorial Stadium in Death Valley.
Gallman led all rushers with 187 yards, and UNC gave up 319 total rushing yards and three touchdowns—way too many for any realistic chance to knock off Clemson.
If you buy into the old adage that defense wins championships, you can see why UNC didn't win Saturday night.
Tar Heels Special Teams
We were waiting to see Ryan Switzer break off another big return. We waited. And waited. And it never really materialized.
Clemson obviously knew the threat posed by Switzer, and although he did manage to break off a 29-yard punt return at one point, his only other credited return on the evening went for nothing. Sure, an average of 14.5 yards on punt returns isn't bad by any stretch, but we expected more—and the Tar Heels could have used a momentum-shifting return from Switzer.
It just wasn't meant to be.
Tar Heels Coaching
Larry Fedora put his team in a position to compete with the No. 1 team in the nation, and the Tar Heels almost pulled it off. Despite questioning his team's body of work, the entire nation was shown Fedora's Tar Heels truly deserved their Top 10 ranking coming into the evening.
North Carolina is known as a basketball school and probably will be for some time. But nothing says you can't be both a basketball power and a football power (think Michigan State). It's possible that Fedora has his program heading toward Michigan State-esque dual greatness.
| Pass Offense | B+ | A- |
| Run Offense | B+ | A- |
| Pass Defense | A- | B- |
| Run Defense | A | B |
| Special Teams | B+ | C+ |
| Coaching | B+ | B |
Tigers Pass Offense
Deshaun Watson finished the evening with 289 passing yards, connecting on 26 of his 42 throws. That's pretty darn close to the usual 70 percent completion rating we've come to expect, and again, it was key to Clemson's victory.
Granted, it wasn't all there was—wait for it—but Watson's performance showed us all yet again why he should at least be considered for some postseason hardware.
Tigers Run Offense
What really makes Watson one of the most dynamic players in the nation is his ability to combine that great passing with some electric running. He picked up 131 yards on the ground and scored two rushing touchdowns to go along with his three passing scores.
Add in 187 yards from Gallman and 5.7 yards per carry from the team as a whole, and you start to get a complete picture of Clemson's lethal offense.
Watson is shifty and speedy, while Gallman is elusive and hard to bring down. The Tigers have the best of both worlds in the run game, and Watson's ability to beat defenses with his arm has to give the rest of the defenses heading for the College Football Playoff some real concerns.
No one has been able to stop Clemson yet. Can Alabama? Oklahoma? Michigan State?
Let's find out.
Tigers Pass Defense
For most of the night, Clemson was fairly successful at getting pressure on Williams, forcing him into some ugly-looking throws. As we've already mentioned, he looked uncomfortable in the pocket for better than three quarters, and the front seven for Clemson is the big reason why.
Late in the game, however, Clemson's defense seemed to be playing not to lose rather than going in for the kill. Williams was able to move the ball down the field quickly in the fourth quarter and got his Tar Heels in a position to make a run at the game.
Clemson gave up 240 yards and three scores in the end. While that was good enough to beat a team like North Carolina, we have to wonder how Clemson's "playing not to lose" strategy will work against a team of the caliber of any of the three other playoff participants.
Tigers Run Defense
The run defense was spectacular for the Tigers in the first half, limiting UNC to just 37 rushing yards before halftime.
After the half, however, the Tigers gave up 105 yards and two touchdowns—again mostly in a prevent-style of defense, as they played to preserve a victory rather than secure a blowout.
Clemson should be aware that playing with fire too often will result in some ugly burns, and any offense in the College Football Playoff is capable of burning even stout defenses.
Tigers Special Teams
Yes, we have to talk about the massive, glaring error by punter Andy Teasdall. We're not quite sure what was going through his mind when he decided to take off with the football instead of punting it, but we're pretty sure we have a good idea what was going through his mind as a red-faced Dabo Swinney berated his punter on the sideline for quite some time afterward, including after UNC's resulting touchdown.
Still, it didn't cost Clemson the game, and Teasdall came back in after his costly error and performed admirably. But we do have to wonder about any lasting effects such a complete disaster might have on him in the coming weeks.
Tigers Coaching
Dabo Swinney has been working for this moment ever since he came to Clemson. He now has his team in a position to play for a national title. The Tigers are one win away from the national championship game, and despite a close call against UNC (and a few others, for that matter), it's probably safe to say at this point that if anyone can get the Tigers over their long national title drought, it's Swinney.
It wasn't the best-called game, and we really don't see the benefit of spending several minutes screaming at the punter on the sideline after an admittedly stupid error, but in the end, Clemson is 13-0, No. 1 and heading to the College Football Playoff. So, any complaints should be taken with an Orange Bowl-sized grain of salt.
Unless otherwise noted, quotes or references to quotes were obtained firsthand by the writer.
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