The Clemson Tigers will make an extraordinary voyage across the ACC savannah this week, shedding the tranquil comforts of rural South Carolina for the heathen hills of Berkeley, California. For Dabo Swinney and Defensive Coordinator Tom Allen, Friday night will be so far from God, but so close to the Tenderloin. If it is Cal’s ambition to hold a requiem for this storied era of Clemson football, it will have to crucify a Clemson defense that is one of the most talented it will face on an individual basis.
Overview: DC Tom Allen
Allen has had a long career at the upper echelons of college football, having coached Indiana before Curt Cignetti’s arrival and running James Franklin’s defense in Happy Valley for the 2024 season. Brought in to modernize the Clemson defense that had sunk into a state of torpor after the heady Brent Venables days, Allen runs a 4-2-5 scheme that is meant to neutralize the Spread offense. Given Cal’s protection struggles and the talent that the Tigers have at the edge position, there is certainly potential for a cataclysmic effect on the Bears’ ability to move the ball downfield.
One fact that sticks out like a Clemson graduate in Haight-Ashbury is the quantity of players who are multi-year returners. Particularly, for the Transfer Portal era (on which Swinney’s views regarding this harlotry are well known), it is striking to see how many high school recruits Clemson retains over the duration of their careers. Despite a noticeable drop in on-field success over the past few seasons, it is essential to note the impressive relative cohesion as a sign of the potential of this defense.
Players to Watch
The throttling Clemson took against LSU a few weeks ago certainly betrays the headline skill set the Tigers will bring to Strawberry Canyon After Dark. At the line of scrimmage, Cal must devote their attention to defensive end Will Heldt. The 6’6” senior has 4 sacks this season, and could add handsomely to that total against a questionable Cal tackle group. Backing him up is linebacker Sammy Brown, who has already logged 25 tackles in 3 games and earned the distinction of PFF No. 8 returning LB for the 2026 season.
In a revamped secondary, cornerback Ashton Hampton will provide veteran experience and quality play while Penn State transfer Elliot Washington II is coming off a game-winning INT that sealed a determined comeback win over UNC. Safety Cory Myrick has played very well so far and has an impressive pedigree, earning an outstanding 86.2 PFF grade last season at Southern Miss. On the whole, the back five for Clemson received a solid mid-70s PFF grade last week against a relative Cal peer. This should be a solid indication of what the Bears will face this Friday evening.
Vulnerabilities
The defensive tackle spot is a source of struggle for Clemson, as they failed to generate above a 5% stuff rate against Power 4 competition and created little disruption at the point of attack outside Will Heldt.
If this Clemson defense has an Achilles’ heel, it is without a doubt tackling. The Tigers earned paupers PFF grades of 52 and 51.5 respectively against their Power 4 opponents. Given the proficiency that Cal RB Adam Mohammed has at gaining yards after contact, look for the Bears to have a real opportunity to scrape together extra yards on runs and potentially generate additional explosives off this issue.
Gameplan
Coaches rarely make clear their intentions pregame, but during his press conference Tuesday, Swinney put a heavy focus on the transformative capabilities of JKS and WR Ian Strong. While the emphasis there is certainly understandable, one wonders if the Clemson staff will wake up Saturday morning, regretful that they did not dedicate greater focus towards stopping the run, particularly after they were gashed for 220+ rushing yards the week prior.
In terms of schematic approach, Clemson likely will try to get home with its front four, given Cal’s vulnerabilities and their desire to thwart Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. A key sign to look out for early is whether they are able to cause significant trouble for the Bears, along their precarious Right Tackle spot.
For Cal’s offensive staff, now is the time when creativity in scheme and play design will be essential. Bubble screens will not be sufficient to defeat a defense of this caliber. A talented quarterback has to be given the chance to throw the ball through the heart of this defense, even if the pass protection unsettles the nerves at times. Make no mistake: this game will be won or lost based on whether Cal can create explosive plays that, until this point, they have not been able to generate.
Conclusion
Clemson, even in its fallen state, will be an imposing challenge which, when properly configured, could be as difficult to decipher as a Dabo Swinney acronym. They showed flashes of this last week against North Carolina. The fundamental question is whether they can continue their real—if incremental—improvement during a tough road trip.
We will find out the answer when (still unbelievable to say) Clemson travels to Northern California for a conference game this week.
Love the calgorithmic tone achieved here...long live our heathen hills and may we send a losing Clemson side post game to the Tenderloin in a late night search for, well whatever one finds there late at night ( I shudder). Go Bears Forever!