Folks, I can't remember a time when I was less sure of what to expect from a Clemson football game. On paper, Clemson should run away with this one like they did last year. But the games aren't played on paper, otherwise we would never have lost to South Carolina. Neither team is playing particularly well right now, and both desperately need a win to stay in control of their respective destinies. I really don't even feel like getting into potential match up issues, because there are so many it would take too long to break down. Plus Clemson coaches make it a point not to key on potential mismatches. They'd rather let their massive egos and shitty schemes makes the players look bad. Wake has the home field advantage and a vastly superior coaching staff. But Clemson has vastly superior talent. There are 5 key issues to focus on in tonight's game:
1. Clemson must run well for TWO full halves. Keeping Wake off the field, while at the same time not letting their opportunistic defense create turnovers, will give Clemson the best shot to win this game. Wake is weak against the run, but look for them to stack the box. Clemson's OL should be better than it has been since opening day with the return of Chris Hairston.
2. Get to Riley Skinner. Last year we showed what can happen when you get to Skinner early and often. We rattled him completely out of his game. Unfortunately, our pass rush this year has resembled a French retreat more than the German blitzkrieg we all long to see. If Skinner gets enough time to find an open man tonight, he will. Clemson must chase him around and knock him down.
3. The absence of Sam Swank. Rarely would it matter if a team's kicker was out of the lineup, but Swank is one of the best in America. Wake may end up having to leave some points on the field without their AA foot-man. And it could also have an impact on the field position battle.
4. If it rains real hard tonight, Clemson could have a decided advantage in this one.
5. Spence v. Grobe. The game against Wake Forest last year is the best game Clemson has played since the start of the 2007 season. It was an outstanding performance by everyone involved, most notably, Rob Spence. He had WF confused and off-balance from the opening kick. DO NOT expect to see that again tonight. Spence is scared of his shadow right now, as well he should be. I think his job, and not necessarily Bowden's, is on the line tonight.
The good news for Clemson is that Wake's offense, at least up to this point, is very one-dimensional. That won't give Coach Vic too much to think about, and he can focus on not finding someone, anyone, else to blame.
Clemson 37, Wake Forest 13
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
10 comments:
That was the worst game I have ever seen. Do we have an O or D line? Unbelievable. We are lucky the score didn't reflect how handily we lost.
1. Clemson must run well for TWO full halves. Keeping Wake off the field, while at the same time not letting their opportunistic defense create turnovers, will give Clemson the best shot to win this game. Wake is weak against the run, but look for them to stack the box. Clemson's OL should be better than it has been since opening day with the return of Chris Hairston.- FAIL!
2. Get to Riley Skinner. Last year we showed what can happen when you get to Skinner early and often. We rattled him completely out of his game. Unfortunately, our pass rush this year has resembled a French retreat more than the German blitzkrieg we all long to see. If Skinner gets enough time to find an open man tonight, he will. Clemson must chase him around and knock him down.- FAIL!
3. The absence of Sam Swank. Rarely would it matter if a team's kicker was out of the lineup, but Swank is one of the best in America. Wake may end up having to leave some points on the field without their AA foot-man. And it could also have an impact on the field position battle.- TRUE, BUT YOU STILL FAIL.
4. If it rains real hard tonight, Clemson could have a decided advantage in this one.- EPIC FAILURE EITHER WAY YOU LOOK AT IT.
5. Spence v. Grobe. The game against Wake Forest last year is the best game Clemson has played since the start of the 2007 season. It was an outstanding performance by everyone involved, most notably, Rob Spence. He had WF confused and off-balance from the opening kick. DO NOT expect to see that again tonight. Spence is scared of his shadow right now, as well he should be. I think his job, and not necessarily Bowden's, is on the line tonight.- SPENCE= FAIL.
The good news for Clemson is that Wake's offense, at least up to this point, is very one-dimensional. That won't give Coach Vic too much to think about, and he can focus on not finding someone, anyone, else to blame.- EPIC FAIL X 100.
Clemson 37, Wake Forest 13 = Yet another beautiful Owner prediction going right to shit. Way to go, buddy. Way to fucking go.
My prediction really wasn't that far off. A few circumstances here and there dictated a slightly different outcome than I expected. But I'm still pround of the way I blogged yesterday.
Yeah, Clemson is not very good.
But you are a damn fine blogger.
I'm proud you, too.
Seriously, though-with Chris Smelley at QB, the Ol Ball Coach calling the shots, I really think this is the year...don't you?
Owner. As a Carolina fan, I enjoy your blog as much as the next guy. And no, that isn't sarcasm. I enjoy reading it. Good material. But after watching last night....Any Clemson fan who can still talk trash about Carolina's offense is an idiot. That offense was horrific. I actually started to feel bad at one point. With all that talent it's simply amazing how ineffective they are. 11 days to prepare and that? No direction, no attitude, confusion, no consistency, and I could go on forever.
Seriously. What's up. Okay, okay. Spence, and Bowden suck, blah blah blah. The defense did its job last night, for the most part. But the offense. It was painful to watch- I don't care what team you pull for.
Score was way off, but your points were valid. Them having Swank would have only made it worse because their freshman kicker was almost as horrible as Clemson's offense, if not worse.
Actually, here are a few random thoughts throughout the game:
1)Jesse Palmer must buy his ties at a beer-and-bait store. Those are atrocious.
2)C.J. Spiller is Puff Daddy. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. He looks exactly like him.
3) Wake's freshman kicker makes Courtney Leavitt look like Adam Vinatieri.
4)That took some cojones. Clemson went for it on fourth-and-17 and got it. Nothing like having your neck on the chopping block to help out that decision, eh?
5)Bowden has got to be the greatest politician in the world, working that $4 million buyout. I think the collection plate has already been passed.
6)Why does Rob Spence still have a job? The guy deliberately tries to do stuff that’s unexpected, despite having one of the best tailback tandems in the country, a terrific wide receiver and a solid quarterback. Just use what works; there’s a novel concept. Tommy Bowden’s even got the precedent now after Auburn axed Tony Franklin yesterday.
7)“The Mad Scientist” – to quote a great former sports editor, “Yeah, the genius it must have taken to come up with a 3-yard bubble screen."
8) "The Paw says it all." Not last night.
9) Where the hell was Erin Andrews?
Dave I appreciate your comments and the fact that you read the blog. You are exactly right in almost everything you say.
I would like to make 2 points:
1) The Clemson offense being bad doesn't necessarily preclude the South Carolina offense from being bad. My job here is to talk about both teams.
2) The opinions of the blog are not always a direct reflection of the opinions of the owner.
True, true. I wasn't basing the "being an idiot if you think Carolina's offense is worse than Clemson's" towards you. Just to a lot of Clemson fans in general who have given me shit because of our offense when nothing about Clemson's offense has stood out, especially from their two very talented runningbacks. I'm not on my soap box preaching about how good Carolina's offense is just because they had a solid week last week against Ole Miss because I'm not sold on it yet. We'll see what happens from here on out.
Anonymous, your post was good, but I'm sorry I had to delete it. It's the policy of the blog that nobody post anonymously. Please continue to leave comments, but pick a handle. It makes conversing in here much more efficient.
I just want to apologize to the fans on how we performed Thursday. This week we will practice.
Post a Comment