Staff score predictions for Clemson’s Week 7 game vs Charleston Southern

Clemson has had an extra week to address its problems. Saturday offers the first look at whether that time produced meaningful progress.

The Tigers welcome Charleston Southern to Memorial Stadium for a noon ET kickoff on ACC Network, looking to build some momentum before returning to conference play. At 3-2 overall, Clemson still has plenty to accomplish, but its latest loss left Dabo Swinney’s team with considerable work ahead.

Pass protection will be among the biggest areas to watch. Miami repeatedly disrupted Clemson’s offense in its 41-13 victory, recording six sacks and nine tackles for loss. Giving freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds more room to operate would be an encouraging starting point coming out of the open date.

There were productive moments through the air despite that pressure. Reynolds finished with a season-high 295 passing yards, while Bryant Wesco Jr. delivered nine catches for 152 yards. Clemson will look to turn those individual performances into a more consistent offensive showing.

Charleston Southern arrives at 3-3 after beating South Carolina State 49-39, with quarterback Jared Echols throwing three touchdown passes in the win.

For Clemson, the question extends beyond whether it can get back into the win column. How convincingly can the Tigers take control, and what will their performance reveal about the weeks ahead?

Here is how our staff sees Saturday’s matchup playing out.

Alex Turri: Clemson 42, Charleston Southern 9

Clemson coming off the bye week should be a good thing for the Tigers. Tait Reynolds gets some time to figure out his game a little mkre and the offensive line hopefully figures out a way to at least be passable. The defense is no concern.

The reason I say should, however, is how many letdowns we’ve seen from the Tigers coming off of some free time. Expectations high, downfall comes in a shocking fashion. Just feels like a recent trend. That being said, Clemson is way better and going to dominate.

Steve Holley: Clemson 45, Charleston Southern 6

Tait Reynolds showed some promise in the loss to Miami. This is a chance for him and others to gain some confidence once ACC play resumes next week against Virginia Tech. Reynolds, Gideon Davidson and the rest of the offense has a big game and Clemson heads into the second half of its season 4-2.

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Staff score predictions for Clemson’s Week 7 game vs Charleston Southern