Pure randomness coming at ya this week.
Someone Owes Brandon Streeter an Apology
Raise your hand if you thought the stagnant Clemson offense was going to be fixed when rigid old Dabo hired the wunderkind, Garrett Riley….(sheepishly lifts hand). Well… crap. It has been a damn near identical result as Streeter’s production in 2022 that got him fired after one season. Now, we are just seven games in, so there is still time for Riley to work his magic. But the efficiency and explosiveness data suggest otherwise.
Streeter improved the Clemson offense by 7 PPG and 50 YPG in his lone season as Tiger’s OC with what was supposed to be the inferior QB to what Clemson has now. Dabo is on his fourth OC in the last five seasons, and things still seem stale.
Speaking of QB Gurus Named Riley
Looks like mama and papa Riley aren’t going to like this edition of The Pulse. Lincoln’s QB hasn’t been much better than Garrett’s over the last three weeks. In fact, Caleb Williams has actually been outproduced by his opposing QB over that stretch. Here is the really wild part- two of them weren’t even starters a few weeks ago. Noah Fifita, Sam Hartman, and Bryson Barnes have outscored Caleb by an average of nine fantasy PPG over their matchups. Of course, this would probably be different if Caleb got to face the USC defense each week.
Fading Skattebo
Full disclosure: Skattebo has become one of my absolute favorite players to watch in all of CFB. However, the return of a healthy Decarlos Brooks should be concerning for us Skatt stans. In the last three games with Brooks out of the lineup, Skattebo took 86% of all RB carries for the Devils. A stark contrast to the 56% of the RB carries Skattebo has received in the three games in which Brooks has played, including a drop to 50% in Brooks return last week vs UW. Fortunately, Skatt does have some insulated value because he is such a stud in the receiving game. It just looks like his days as a volume hog may be limited. Oh, and he still faces the #2, #6, and #9 stingiest defenses in the country against the run.
Not So Action MACtion
Half way through 2023 conference play, the league scoring average is 21.8 PPG per team. That puts the total game average at 43.6 PPG in MAC contests. Over the prior two seasons, the MAC combined scoring average was 28.15 PPG for a game total of 56.3 PPG. Basically, MAC conference matchups have been shorting us almost two touchdowns a game less than what we are used to seeing. And we haven’t even had the dreadful weather that we generally see in this part of the country come November! Let’s hope the upcoming switch to consistent mid-week MACtion provides with the madness that we crave.
Stock Up for KJJ?
Let’s end on a positive note. I’m buying KJ Jefferson stock! Yeah, I know he has been pretty bad this year and flat out terrible of late. He’s seen his production tank from over 30 PPG last year to 18 PPG this season. Yikes. But the firing of OC Dan Enos can only be viewed as a positive thing. It can’t be worse, right? The new play-caller, Kenny Guiton, has ties to Tom Herman, Major Applewhite, and Urban Meyer, so he’s no stranger to the QB run game. The schedule also softens up after the bye with Florida, Auburn, FIU, and Missouri remaining. The Hogs are definitely on quit watch, but there is a chance this staff let’s her rip in an attempt to save their jobs and while KJJ tries to put out some solid tape for the NFL or transfer portal.
Cheers and good luck in week 9!
