What happened to Clemson's offense?

CLEMSON, S.C. - Tailback C.J. Spiller&#39;s first season at Clemson was more than he could&#39;ve hoped for the victories came easily, the offense looked unstoppable and a big gain was only a handoff away.<br> <br> Suddenly, Spiller and the Tigers can barely move out of the backfield, their potent attack shut down and their dreams of an Atlantic Coast Conference title all but gone.<br> <br> Runners James Davis and Spiller, nicknamed ``Thunder and ``Lightning,&#39;&#39; were the toast of the ACC their first eight games. The two combined for 332 yards on the ground and four touchdowns in a rousing 31-7 win over Georgia Tech on Oct. 21 that made the Tigers 7-1 and stamped them the conference&#39;s top team.<br> <br> These days, ``Thunder&#39;&#39; doesn&#39;t crack so loud and ``Lightning&#39;s&#39;&#39; flash has faded.<br> <br> The combo managed 71 yards in a 24-7 loss at Virginia Tech , which kept eight or nine players near the line of scrimmage.<br> <br> Maryland followed a similar blueprint last week in its 13-12 victory at Death Valley. Take away Davis&#39; early 42 yard run and Clemson&#39;s high-profile backfield wound up with 90 yards and no TDs.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s been frustrating,&#39;&#39; Spiller says. ``We started off good, we battled excellent. Now, we&#39;ve had two losses, (it&#39;s) been a tough time.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Tigers&#39; ground game featured all the pieces for success. Davis, called ``Thunder,&#39;&#39; was a powerful runner who combined an ability to break tackles with vision that found openings. Spiller lived up to his ``Lightning&#39;&#39; reputation with breakaway speed.<br> <br> In front of them was a large, strong and experienced offensive line of four seniors and a junior. Clemson had a first-year starter at quarterback in Will Proctor, but that didn&#39;t concern coach Tommy Bowden who joked in August that offensive coordinator could easily teach anyone to handoff.<br> <br> Things worked great for two months as Clemson piled up the yards it had four games with 300 yards rushing between Sept. 23 and Oct. 21 and became the ACC&#39;s most dominant offense.<br> <br> ``It was fun getting the attention. That doesn&#39;t happen to a freshman,&#39;&#39; Spiller said.<br> <br> But the Hokies exposed Clemson&#39;s deficiencies in the passing game Proctor completed only 11 of 28 throws for 86 yards and the Terrapins piled on a week later.<br> <br> ``I guess the book is out on how to stop our offense,&#39;&#39; center Dustin Fry said after the Maryland loss.<br> <br> Virginia Tech held Clemson to 166 yards, nearly 300 fewer than its average coming in.<br> <br> Spiller has seen more defenders in his face the past two games than he had all season. Downfield passes would help, but Spiller says Proctor hadn&#39;t stretched it out like he should&#39;ve because the run game was so spectacular.<br> <br> ``It takes time to get that timing back with the quarterback and the receivers,&#39;&#39; Spiller said.<br> <br> Clemson had accounted for 45 touchdowns its first eight games, but just one in its past two losses. Four times, the Tigers got inside Maryland&#39;s 20 and four times they left with a field goal.<br> <br> ``We need to score touchdowns, obviously,&#39;&#39; Bowden said. ``Had we done that against Maryland we would have won the game. We&#39;re going to have to really study some ways to convert one of those drives to a touchdown.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Tight end Thomas Hunter thinks the Tigers hadn&#39;t shown the same fire the past two games it had earlier, particularly near the goal line.<br> <br> ``We need to get back to that mental toughness. I think we need to come with a mean attitude in the red zone and say, &#39;Hey, we&#39;re not coming away with less than seven points,&#39;&#39;&#39; he said.<br> <br> Bowden has liked how Davis and Spiller came out to practice this week with energy and enthusiasm. He thinks the two are bothered more by Clemson&#39;s losses than their falling production.<br> <br> Even with his subpar performance last week, Davis became the first Clemson back since Travis Zachery in 2000 to rush for more than 1,000 yards. Davis needs two more rushing TDs to surpass Zachery&#39;s single-season mark of 18, also set in 2000.<br> <br> The Tigers (7-3) have much left to play for, including their first 10-victory season since 1990. They face North Carolina State on Saturday, then South Carolina, and then a bowl game.<br> <br> ``We understand we fought hard,&#39;&#39; Proctor says. ``By no means is our season over.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Although, Spiller has learned about the down side of college football. He stayed home after last week&#39;s defeat and hasn&#39;t felt the excitement or attention he did early on.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re keeping our heads up,&#39;&#39; Spiller said. ``We&#39;ll try and get back on track this week.

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