Clemson vs. Maryland: 5 Halftime Adjustments the Tigers Must Make

Not the greatest start for the No. 8 Clemson Tigers as they take on the Maryland Terrapins at Byrd Stadium and trail by a 28-17 score. The Tigers are looking to continue their ACC dominance with a healthy and explosive Tajh Boyd at the helm. 

Here are five halftime adjustments the Tigers must make if they want to comeback for the win. 

1. Play Some D—Stop the Man-to-Man Coverage

Where was the Tigers' D in the first half? 

Clemson's defense NEEDS to step up for the remainder of the game and stop the surprisingly efficient Terp offense. The Tigers need to keep QB C.J. Brown contained and watch for the draw up the middle. Brown has torn apart the Tigers' man coverage and has been a dual threat both on the ground and through the air. Clemson must start to bring more pressure and stay away from man coverage in the second half. 

2. Don't be Overconfident 

The Tigers have already learned a big lesson from the first half of this game as their overconfidence has severely hurt them. Watkins' poor choices on special teams gave the Terps their first touchdown of the game and swung the momentum in their favor. If they want to avoid the upset, Clemson cannot continue to sleep on the Terps. 

3. Ellington Downhill

In the final half the Tigers need to continue to pound the ball north/south. Ellington has been able to break off huge gains over the middle because of the Terps inexperience at LB. Clemson should continue to look to Ellington to control the pace of the ball game with runs up the middle.

4. Limit Mistakes

Clemson's turnovers have killed them in the first half. Both of the Terps' first quarter scores came directly off of the Tigers' mistakes. Clemson needs to clean up their act in the second half because Maryland has a huge upset in their sights. 

5. Watkins for the Big Hit

The Tigers need to get Watkins looks in space in the second half. He has already shown his ability to breakaway from the Terps' on special teams and Clemson should continue to try and get him touches with room to run. In order to do this the Tigers need to run more reverses or screen passes in the backfield and possibly take a shot with him deep.