Syracuse Football: Clemson breakdown (Behind Enemy Lines)

All we heard before the season was the Clemson defensive line could be one of the best ever with multiple first round picks on it. Has the unit lived up to the hype?

"Here’s a crazy stat I found when looking at the defensive line following the Georgia Tech game: Clemson is tied for second in the nation in total team sacks (16). Three of the four teams the Tigers played are option teams. Clemson has only had 66 passing attempts to defend. That’s a 24 percent sack rate. Pretty impressive. Basically, the Tigers are on pace that every 30 times a quarterback drops back to pass, he’s going to be sacked 7.2 times. What’s so impressive to me is the depth along the defensive line, though. Everyone knows about the guys that could go in the first round next year- Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant- but the Tigers have some other talented guys behind them that have made impacts. Justin Foster, Xavier Thomas, Albert Huggins, Logan Rudolph and many others. Especially against that Syracuse spread offense, you’re going to see the Tigers rotate a ton of guys in along that defensive line. You can probably expect to see anywhere between 11-15 players rotate in before the game is over Saturday."