Sunday, November 30, 2008
Likely HC is Dabo, Bowl issues
P&C's Sapakoff says the job goes to Swinney
CLEMSON — The "interim" tag will be removed and Dabo Swinney officially will be named Clemson head coach within the next few days. Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips will conduct a formal interview with Swinney this afternoon, and Clemson sources indicate a formal news conference will be held Monday or Tuesday.
Swinney has not revealed his plans for a coaching staff. The most likely keeper is recruiting coordinator Billy Napier, promoted from tight ends coach to quarterbacks coach when Swinney took over. Napier has helped Swinney with play-calling.
Offensive line coach Brad Scott, the former South Carolina head coach hired as part of Tommy Bowden's original Clemson staff in 1999, also wants to stay. Jeff Scott, Brad's son, was promoted to wide receivers coach from graduate assistant when Swinney replaced Bowden.
I'm not 100% sold on Dabo Swinney. I look at him and say, "he's done everything right off the field to get this job with the fans." But people in large groups are idiots, and TNetters seem to take the cake. I see alot of improvement on the field, in X's and O's and intensity, so I'd give him 3 years. If he can't win the Division in 3, I will not support him any longer.
Some people might say "well you should give a coach time to get his players in, 4 years"....but Dabo brought these guys in himself. He knows exactly what he has to work with.
We also do not support keeping Brad Scott and his son on this staff, not by a longshot. I'd (DrB) rather offer a top-line OL coach, I'm reaching but perhaps Sly Croom would work for another Alabama grad? VK is likely out, and John Chavis is available from UT. I want Napier and Rumph to stay either way. Blackwell is over-rated in my opinion.
Cock-a-doodle-doo?
Strelow reports about the trick play that Ford scored on, that almost wasnt, when Cullen threw from his knees.
“I hadn’t seen that one since I ran it at Gaffney High School with the junior varsity,” USC defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson said. “And we scored on it, too.”
Ford went undetected along the left sideline and ran downfield uncovered at the snap.
However, senior quarterback Cullen Harper got unexpected quick pressure from USC defensive lineman Jordan Lindsey as he dropped back to throw.
Lindsey spun around Harper, who somehow managed to release the ball before hitting the ground.
Ford came back and caught the ball at the 34, then cut inside one defender inside the 15-yard line en route to the score.
Ellis Johnson is a former GHS assistant coach, smart man.
Champs Sports (Tangerine) Bowl likely
Strelow also says in Pawsitive Press that the Tangerine will likely go for us. I'd be happy with that so long as we do get the Big 10.
So here’s calling Clemson to the Champs, where they could face Iowa or Minnesota. Wisconsin is also under consideration, but the Badgers have been to four straight bowl games in Florida.
Although Meineke Car Care (lube and tire center) Bowl and Music City Bowls are possible. We beat Colorado 19-10 at the Tangerine, in Tom's only good bowl showing if you ask either of us.
Tammy to Miss. State?
Sapakoff mentions it in Tiger Tracks, and I think it would be a fit. Tommy has said that he would only come back to a BCS-level school (thats what Terry said, Tom has been mum). I just think that Tammy will likely sit out a year or two first.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
This is South Carolina Football....updated for 2008!
THIS IS SOUTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL
Following the 2008 season South Carolina has an all-time winning percentage just above .500 (528-525-44), which ranks 60th all-time in D-1A football. A few of the notable football programs who have been better than the Gamecocks include such powerhouses as: Western Michigan, Toledo, Navy, UAB, Central Florida, Ball St., North Texas, Nevada, East Carolina, Houston, Northern Illinois, Utah St., San Jose St., Vanderbilt, Akron, Baylor, UNLV, Kansas, and Rutgers just to name a few. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
In the 59 seasons Carolina has been affiliated with a conference, they have won that conference once...the ACC in 1969, with a 7-4 record. Since the Associated Press began ranking football teams in 1936, the Cocks have finished in the Top 20 of the rankings only five times in the 67 years. Carolina has never finished in the Top 10 of a major recognized poll...NEVER. The first year of Gamecock football was in 1892, Carolina won its first bowl game 103 years later under BRAD SCOTT. In 109 seasons of football, Carolina has yet to participate in one of the Big 5 Bowls (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Cotton). Guess what? As Carolina is set to begin its 110th season of collegiate football, they have won 10 or more games in a single season once. In 110 seasons, Carolina has won more games than it lost only 50 times. In 110 seasons, Carolina has won 6 or more games in a season 33 times, and lost 6 or more 35 times. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
South Carolina has had 32 different head coaches in its storied tradition...only five of them stayed longer than 5 seasons, 21 of them have losing records. Add to that the winning tradition the Cocks have enjoyed at home in Williams-Brice Stadium. Carolina is 18-36-1 at home in conference since joining the SEC. Lou Holtz is the devil. It’s another Carolina Touchdown! Not quite. Of the 56 programs, which have played more than 1000 games all-time, only four have scored fewer points than South Carolina in their schools history.
Since joining the SEC in 1992, Carolina has had a winning record in the conference twice. In the eleven seasons as a member of the SEC, Carolina boasts a conference record of 33-62-1 only two teams have been worse: Kentucky has 26 wins, Vanderbilt 11. Although Carolina has yet to finish in the top two of the Eastern division, they have finished last twice. Carolina has yet to win six conference games in a season, something only Kentucky and Vanderbilt have done in the last 11 seasons. And no one should forget the fact that Carolina went two consecutive seasons without winning one conference game, not one. Carolina had an impressive string of 21 consecutive games with a loss snapped in 2000 by beating New Mexico State (then let the rest of the country know what Carolina football was all about by tearing down the goal-posts). Since 1992, only three times has any non-probation member of the conference failed to win two or more games overall in a season .South Carolina has accomplished this feat twice, Kentucky once. Since 1992, only once has a conference member failed to win a game overall in a single season .You guessed it, South Carolina.
South Carolina’s all-time record versus other current conference members is even more impressive: 2-9 vs Alabama, 4-8 vs Arkansas, 1-4-1 vs Auburn, 3-18-3 vs Florida, 13-41-2 vs Georgia, 8-6-1 vs Kentucky, 2-14-1 vs LSU, 5-7 vs Ole Miss, 5-6 vs Mississippi St., 2-18-2 vs Tennessee, and 11-2 vs Vanderbilt. That’s correct, Carolina leads the all-time series against 2 SEC teams...Kentucky and Vanderbilt. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
But, the comparison of only 12 seasons in one conference does no justice to the tradition of South Carolina football. So lets compare the Cocks record versus D-1A schools they have played 20 or more times: 36-61-4 vs Clemson, 17-24-3 vs Duke, 3-18-3 vs Florida, 13-41-2 vs Georgia, 9-12 vs Georgia Tech,11-17 vs Maryland, 16-34-4 vs North Carolina, 25-26-4 vs North Carolina State, 2-18-2 vs Tennessee, 21-12-1 vs Virginia, and 34-20-2 vs Wake Forest. William Brice is a crap hole. That’s correct; Carolina leads the all-time series against 2 of these 11 teams...Virginia and Wake Forest. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
Gamecock fans justify their horrible football record thru the strength of the SEC conference. But let’s look at the Gamecock’s record against the other big 4 conferences. South Carolina is 172-221-18 vs the ACC, 6-8 vs the Big 12, 22-26-5 vs the Big East, and 3-5 vs the Big Ten. This is Carolina Gamecock Football.
But all this tradition and past records are meaningless. What is more important is the recent history. Only losers live in the past. We are in the best years of Carolina Gamecock football, and the future has never been brighter...or has it? Carolina is coming off another losing season, the 9th in the last 13 seasons. Overall record since the legend Lou Holtz became Head Coach: 27-32 (0.458). Since 1995: 43-59-1. Since Joining the SEC: 60-75-1. Since 1990 South Carolina is 69-86-3. Carolina has finished in the Top 15 once in the past 15 seasons, and been to three bowl games in that span. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
2003 would be the year that Holtz previous recruiting seasons would begin to pay dividends. The team no longer had any cancers and was again united. Team unity, young stars, and maturity at QB would get South Carolina back to a New Years Day Bowl game. Your most hated rival would be down and a Carolina victory at home on the seasons last game would likely lead to the departure of the rival coaching staff. The best High School Running Back to ever step on a field made a pledge in February to attend South Carolina, and bring glory to Columbia. That Running Back ended the season by leading the team with 58 yards per game rushing in his first season in Columbia.3 Freshmen Running Backs in the conference were better. Your QB who had matured, and finally had a grasp of the offense. He finished with the lowest completion percentage in the conference, as well as the fewest yards. Again, it was a sub .500 record overall, 2-6 in the conference, another 0-for against the Big 3 from the East. And the season finale that would send your in-state rival back to the drawing board and end the coaching career of Tommy Bowden instead ended in a 46-point home loss.
Seventeen of Twenty-two starters returned for 2004, and with it came high expectations. Returning was your entire offensive backfield. You brought in a new defensive coordinator who was going to implement a new scheme that would be a better fit for your young defensive talent. On offense, Lou took over play calling duties and was supposed take Carolina to the top by grinding it out on the ground. And when your Senior QB would be presented with the situation when he must throw, Coach Holtz said he was going to shock the conference. The season began with a blowout win over Vanderbilt, and a 16-point lead midway through the second quarter over highly touted Georgia. But, then the reality of what the true description of South Carolina football is occurred, South Carolina wouldn’t score again until the South Florida game. When the season ended, this group of Gamecocks etched their name next to failures of the past. Once again South Carolina failed to reach the postseason. Once again, they ended conference play without a winning record. For the third season in a row they went 0-4 against the big three from the East and in state rival Clemson. The lopsided defeats in the 2004 contests against these four teams brought the total point differential margin to 191 points that Carolina has been outscored by in those four rivalry games over the last three seasons. South Carolina has allowed 23 or more points in nine of those games, and scored 23 or more only once. The Quarterback who was going to shock the conference didn’t make it to the third game of the season. Gamecock players gave Coach Holtz an early retirement gift during the final contest of the season in a 22-point loss to Clemson by delaying the game nearly ten minutes midway through the fourth quarter. The reason for the delay was frustrated South Carolina players started an ugly on-field altercation. The actions led to a postseason ban by the University. A team that had positioned itself to accomplish what only 11 teams before them had accomplished, instead took their place in Gamecock history as the 100th team that failed to reach postseason. Coach Holtz called the scene, his biggest disappointment. For many it was just another chapter of This is South Carolina football.
On November 23, 2004, South Carolina named Steve Spurrier as the schools Head Football Coach. Spurrier brings to South Carolina a .777 college winning percentage. His resume includes six SEC titles, one ACC title, and one national championship. Coach Spurrier holds the mark with the all-time highest winning percentage in SEC play. Spurrier will also bring to Columbia the highest expectations in the schools history. Spurrier finished in the Final AP Top 15 twelve consecutive seasons at Florida, so that is what we should expect at South Carolina. Spurrier had a career record of 11-1 against Georgia while at the Gator helm, so that is what we should expect at South Carolina. Gamecock players have greeted Coach Spurrier’s arrival in emblematic Carolina fashion with an abundance of team rules violations and felony arrests. In January, six players were charged after a total of $18,000 worth of computer and video equipment and framed photographs were taken from South Carolina's stadium in late November. The incident resulted in Offensive Lineman Woody Telfort being charged with a felony count of grand larceny, and numerous other charges against players. On March 1st leading rusher Demetris Summers was dismissed from the team. A day later, Tackle Kevin Mainord was arrested for stealing televisions from dorm rooms. Defensive End Moe Thompson was also arrested on similar charges six days later. On April 16th, two more Gamecock players, Josh Johnson and Ty Erving, were arrested and charged with simple marijuana possession. Less than two weeks later, WR David Smith pled guilty to third degree burglary. In late May, Linebacker Dustin Lindsey was charged with DUI. On June 23rd, Cory Boyd was dismissed from the team. In all, twelve players have been arrested in the 2005 calendar year. It’s been a typical Gamecock offseason. But, all will be suppressed in less than two months, when 111 years of South Carolina’s losing tradition will be changed. The man who will single handedly change the program has arrived in Columbia sounds similar to what we were told before Holtz arrival. When Spurrier accepted the job to lead the Gamecocks, he commented, they really haven’t ever done much here. No kidding Steve, welcome to South Carolina football.
On October 20, 2007 South Carolina was ranked #6 and hosting the Vanderbilt Commodores. Vanderbilt triumphed 17-6 by defeating the highest ranked opponent for them since 1937. Next up was Tennessee which began the first leg of the Orange Crush with a come-from-behind overtime win 27-24. Then, Arkansas set rushing records galore with 542 yards rushing in the 48-36 win over the Gamecocks. Up next, Carolina bolstered another player’s Heisman Trophy chances when Tim Tebow rushed for five TD’s in a 51-31 win in Columbia. Lastly, the Orange Crush was completed for 2007 when Clemson defeated the Gamecocks 23-21. The loss gave Spurrier a career first of 5 losses in a row. South Carolina dropped from #6 midway through the season to 6-6 at its regular season conclusion. This is South Carolina Football.
In 2008, South Carolina went from a NCAA ranking of 77th to 96th in total offense from the year before, down from a high of 20th in Steve Spurrier's first year as head coach in 2006. The offense slightly improved after a loss to LSU, avoiding the first leg of the Orange Crush by defeating a bad Tennessee team and using a strange QB rotation for each play during the Arkansas game, putting the Gamecocks back in the Top 25 before a road trip to Gainesville. There, the defense that was ranked #1 in the SEC and #3 nationally was completely exposed and humiliated by Tim Tebow again 56-6. The 50-point drubbing was South Carolina's worst loss since falling 63-7 to Spurrier's Gators in 1995. Spurrier's only double-digit loss in Gainesville before this came in 1993. Again, the third leg of the Orange Crush struck the Gamecocks in Death Valley, where an interim coach defeated the Gamecock's legend 31-14, dropping the Gamecocks to 7-5 at the end of the regular season. This is South Carolina Football.
Following the 2008 season South Carolina has an all-time winning percentage just above .500 (528-525-44), which ranks 60th all-time in D-1A football. A few of the notable football programs who have been better than the Gamecocks include such powerhouses as: Western Michigan, Toledo, Navy, UAB, Central Florida, Ball St., North Texas, Nevada, East Carolina, Houston, Northern Illinois, Utah St., San Jose St., Vanderbilt, Akron, Baylor, UNLV, Kansas, and Rutgers just to name a few. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
In the 59 seasons Carolina has been affiliated with a conference, they have won that conference once...the ACC in 1969, with a 7-4 record. Since the Associated Press began ranking football teams in 1936, the Cocks have finished in the Top 20 of the rankings only five times in the 67 years. Carolina has never finished in the Top 10 of a major recognized poll...NEVER. The first year of Gamecock football was in 1892, Carolina won its first bowl game 103 years later under BRAD SCOTT. In 109 seasons of football, Carolina has yet to participate in one of the Big 5 Bowls (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Cotton). Guess what? As Carolina is set to begin its 110th season of collegiate football, they have won 10 or more games in a single season once. In 110 seasons, Carolina has won more games than it lost only 50 times. In 110 seasons, Carolina has won 6 or more games in a season 33 times, and lost 6 or more 35 times. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
South Carolina has had 32 different head coaches in its storied tradition...only five of them stayed longer than 5 seasons, 21 of them have losing records. Add to that the winning tradition the Cocks have enjoyed at home in Williams-Brice Stadium. Carolina is 18-36-1 at home in conference since joining the SEC. Lou Holtz is the devil. It’s another Carolina Touchdown! Not quite. Of the 56 programs, which have played more than 1000 games all-time, only four have scored fewer points than South Carolina in their schools history.
Since joining the SEC in 1992, Carolina has had a winning record in the conference twice. In the eleven seasons as a member of the SEC, Carolina boasts a conference record of 33-62-1 only two teams have been worse: Kentucky has 26 wins, Vanderbilt 11. Although Carolina has yet to finish in the top two of the Eastern division, they have finished last twice. Carolina has yet to win six conference games in a season, something only Kentucky and Vanderbilt have done in the last 11 seasons. And no one should forget the fact that Carolina went two consecutive seasons without winning one conference game, not one. Carolina had an impressive string of 21 consecutive games with a loss snapped in 2000 by beating New Mexico State (then let the rest of the country know what Carolina football was all about by tearing down the goal-posts). Since 1992, only three times has any non-probation member of the conference failed to win two or more games overall in a season .South Carolina has accomplished this feat twice, Kentucky once. Since 1992, only once has a conference member failed to win a game overall in a single season .You guessed it, South Carolina.
South Carolina’s all-time record versus other current conference members is even more impressive: 2-9 vs Alabama, 4-8 vs Arkansas, 1-4-1 vs Auburn, 3-18-3 vs Florida, 13-41-2 vs Georgia, 8-6-1 vs Kentucky, 2-14-1 vs LSU, 5-7 vs Ole Miss, 5-6 vs Mississippi St., 2-18-2 vs Tennessee, and 11-2 vs Vanderbilt. That’s correct, Carolina leads the all-time series against 2 SEC teams...Kentucky and Vanderbilt. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
But, the comparison of only 12 seasons in one conference does no justice to the tradition of South Carolina football. So lets compare the Cocks record versus D-1A schools they have played 20 or more times: 36-61-4 vs Clemson, 17-24-3 vs Duke, 3-18-3 vs Florida, 13-41-2 vs Georgia, 9-12 vs Georgia Tech,11-17 vs Maryland, 16-34-4 vs North Carolina, 25-26-4 vs North Carolina State, 2-18-2 vs Tennessee, 21-12-1 vs Virginia, and 34-20-2 vs Wake Forest. William Brice is a crap hole. That’s correct; Carolina leads the all-time series against 2 of these 11 teams...Virginia and Wake Forest. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
Gamecock fans justify their horrible football record thru the strength of the SEC conference. But let’s look at the Gamecock’s record against the other big 4 conferences. South Carolina is 172-221-18 vs the ACC, 6-8 vs the Big 12, 22-26-5 vs the Big East, and 3-5 vs the Big Ten. This is Carolina Gamecock Football.
But all this tradition and past records are meaningless. What is more important is the recent history. Only losers live in the past. We are in the best years of Carolina Gamecock football, and the future has never been brighter...or has it? Carolina is coming off another losing season, the 9th in the last 13 seasons. Overall record since the legend Lou Holtz became Head Coach: 27-32 (0.458). Since 1995: 43-59-1. Since Joining the SEC: 60-75-1. Since 1990 South Carolina is 69-86-3. Carolina has finished in the Top 15 once in the past 15 seasons, and been to three bowl games in that span. This is Carolina Gamecock football.
2003 would be the year that Holtz previous recruiting seasons would begin to pay dividends. The team no longer had any cancers and was again united. Team unity, young stars, and maturity at QB would get South Carolina back to a New Years Day Bowl game. Your most hated rival would be down and a Carolina victory at home on the seasons last game would likely lead to the departure of the rival coaching staff. The best High School Running Back to ever step on a field made a pledge in February to attend South Carolina, and bring glory to Columbia. That Running Back ended the season by leading the team with 58 yards per game rushing in his first season in Columbia.3 Freshmen Running Backs in the conference were better. Your QB who had matured, and finally had a grasp of the offense. He finished with the lowest completion percentage in the conference, as well as the fewest yards. Again, it was a sub .500 record overall, 2-6 in the conference, another 0-for against the Big 3 from the East. And the season finale that would send your in-state rival back to the drawing board and end the coaching career of Tommy Bowden instead ended in a 46-point home loss.
Seventeen of Twenty-two starters returned for 2004, and with it came high expectations. Returning was your entire offensive backfield. You brought in a new defensive coordinator who was going to implement a new scheme that would be a better fit for your young defensive talent. On offense, Lou took over play calling duties and was supposed take Carolina to the top by grinding it out on the ground. And when your Senior QB would be presented with the situation when he must throw, Coach Holtz said he was going to shock the conference. The season began with a blowout win over Vanderbilt, and a 16-point lead midway through the second quarter over highly touted Georgia. But, then the reality of what the true description of South Carolina football is occurred, South Carolina wouldn’t score again until the South Florida game. When the season ended, this group of Gamecocks etched their name next to failures of the past. Once again South Carolina failed to reach the postseason. Once again, they ended conference play without a winning record. For the third season in a row they went 0-4 against the big three from the East and in state rival Clemson. The lopsided defeats in the 2004 contests against these four teams brought the total point differential margin to 191 points that Carolina has been outscored by in those four rivalry games over the last three seasons. South Carolina has allowed 23 or more points in nine of those games, and scored 23 or more only once. The Quarterback who was going to shock the conference didn’t make it to the third game of the season. Gamecock players gave Coach Holtz an early retirement gift during the final contest of the season in a 22-point loss to Clemson by delaying the game nearly ten minutes midway through the fourth quarter. The reason for the delay was frustrated South Carolina players started an ugly on-field altercation. The actions led to a postseason ban by the University. A team that had positioned itself to accomplish what only 11 teams before them had accomplished, instead took their place in Gamecock history as the 100th team that failed to reach postseason. Coach Holtz called the scene, his biggest disappointment. For many it was just another chapter of This is South Carolina football.
On November 23, 2004, South Carolina named Steve Spurrier as the schools Head Football Coach. Spurrier brings to South Carolina a .777 college winning percentage. His resume includes six SEC titles, one ACC title, and one national championship. Coach Spurrier holds the mark with the all-time highest winning percentage in SEC play. Spurrier will also bring to Columbia the highest expectations in the schools history. Spurrier finished in the Final AP Top 15 twelve consecutive seasons at Florida, so that is what we should expect at South Carolina. Spurrier had a career record of 11-1 against Georgia while at the Gator helm, so that is what we should expect at South Carolina. Gamecock players have greeted Coach Spurrier’s arrival in emblematic Carolina fashion with an abundance of team rules violations and felony arrests. In January, six players were charged after a total of $18,000 worth of computer and video equipment and framed photographs were taken from South Carolina's stadium in late November. The incident resulted in Offensive Lineman Woody Telfort being charged with a felony count of grand larceny, and numerous other charges against players. On March 1st leading rusher Demetris Summers was dismissed from the team. A day later, Tackle Kevin Mainord was arrested for stealing televisions from dorm rooms. Defensive End Moe Thompson was also arrested on similar charges six days later. On April 16th, two more Gamecock players, Josh Johnson and Ty Erving, were arrested and charged with simple marijuana possession. Less than two weeks later, WR David Smith pled guilty to third degree burglary. In late May, Linebacker Dustin Lindsey was charged with DUI. On June 23rd, Cory Boyd was dismissed from the team. In all, twelve players have been arrested in the 2005 calendar year. It’s been a typical Gamecock offseason. But, all will be suppressed in less than two months, when 111 years of South Carolina’s losing tradition will be changed. The man who will single handedly change the program has arrived in Columbia sounds similar to what we were told before Holtz arrival. When Spurrier accepted the job to lead the Gamecocks, he commented, they really haven’t ever done much here. No kidding Steve, welcome to South Carolina football.
On October 20, 2007 South Carolina was ranked #6 and hosting the Vanderbilt Commodores. Vanderbilt triumphed 17-6 by defeating the highest ranked opponent for them since 1937. Next up was Tennessee which began the first leg of the Orange Crush with a come-from-behind overtime win 27-24. Then, Arkansas set rushing records galore with 542 yards rushing in the 48-36 win over the Gamecocks. Up next, Carolina bolstered another player’s Heisman Trophy chances when Tim Tebow rushed for five TD’s in a 51-31 win in Columbia. Lastly, the Orange Crush was completed for 2007 when Clemson defeated the Gamecocks 23-21. The loss gave Spurrier a career first of 5 losses in a row. South Carolina dropped from #6 midway through the season to 6-6 at its regular season conclusion. This is South Carolina Football.
In 2008, South Carolina went from a NCAA ranking of 77th to 96th in total offense from the year before, down from a high of 20th in Steve Spurrier's first year as head coach in 2006. The offense slightly improved after a loss to LSU, avoiding the first leg of the Orange Crush by defeating a bad Tennessee team and using a strange QB rotation for each play during the Arkansas game, putting the Gamecocks back in the Top 25 before a road trip to Gainesville. There, the defense that was ranked #1 in the SEC and #3 nationally was completely exposed and humiliated by Tim Tebow again 56-6. The 50-point drubbing was South Carolina's worst loss since falling 63-7 to Spurrier's Gators in 1995. Spurrier's only double-digit loss in Gainesville before this came in 1993. Again, the third leg of the Orange Crush struck the Gamecocks in Death Valley, where an interim coach defeated the Gamecock's legend 31-14, dropping the Gamecocks to 7-5 at the end of the regular season. This is South Carolina Football.
Clemson-Sakerlina Review
Game recap & review of the beatdown none of us expected from Clemson.
The keys to this game were the play of the Clemson secondary and the ability of Clemson to run the football adequately against a talented defense that was shaken badly in the loss to Florida last week. Ron Morris predicted a 42-6 SC victory, further proof that Morris loves to stir shit up.
Well we accomplished everything we set out to do, and though it didnt appear that way on the first drive, the first SC possession let us know.
Early in the first, we were held on downs and got a big break from SC with the holding call, then a huge catch, but Spiller fumbled on a direct snap back to the Cluckers.
After a couple holding calls put SC in a 3rd & long, the Ghost of Blake Mitchell rears his head and Smelley throws to Chancellor for his first INT at the CU 15.
At this point, Clemson was calling a few LB blitzes, but there was little pressure...and the LBs appeared to just walk to the line of scrimmage and simply stop?
On the next CU drive, the OL fails to open holes on most running plays. While the stats for the RBs looked good today, it was a direct result of a few big plays and not a consistent 4-5 yards per carry. But CJ makes his first big play and rips this vaunted SEC defense for a 39 yard gain at the end, sprung by a couple great blocks from Cloy and Diehl, and JD takes it in on the next play. Harper is doing a good job of checking down from his WRs and hitting the backs underneath. James Davis and Spiller both made some key catches in the game today.
10 plays, 85 yards on the drive. 7-0 CU.
After the defense forces a 3 & out, Jamie Harper comes up the gut untouched and the punt bounces off his chest. Clemson recovers but the SC defense does well and stuffs JD at the goal line. At this point I believed Spiller shouldve gotten a play out of those 3 in the goal situation, as he clearly had the hot hand early in the game. Clemson FG, 10-0 CU.
The Defense comes back out and puts some good hits on Smelley (one a stupid hit by Hunter out of bounds), and a hit by Maye rings his bell enough that Clemons and Hamlin nearly pick off another pass on the 3rd down play following. SC punts and Clemson recovers on the 3.
JD pulls us out of the hole, but Harper gets sacked twice inside the 10. The first was good pressure, the 2nd a coverage sack. Why didnt we have a quick hitch or slant to Jacoby called as one of the routes? Maners nails a 50 yard punt.
Following a stupid penalty by Jenkins to jump offsides on 3rd & 5, Clemons gets the 2nd pick on a ball thrown poorly behind the receiver. We get our 2nd INT, as I predicted.
The miracle play of the day soon followed. From the 50, Cullen dropped back and SC blitzed, and the DE basically came free unblocked and wrapped around his legs. Cullen, from his knees, tossed a prayer to the flat where Jacoby Ford was sitting wide open, and then juked & jived his way to the pylon. Ford was completely uncovered in the zone. 17-0 CU
On the next SC drive, they appear to be getting things going as McKinley makes a great catch and their OL stifles the Clemson rush....but, alas, the Chicken Curse strikes again and Hamlin picks off a pass at midfield intended for Jared Cook. There were 3 orange jerseys there in coverage.
Lightning began striking the Clucker D at will, gashing them for big gains, and JD takes in the TD from 20 yards out, made possible by a great block from Grisham.
SC gets the ball back and runs right back down the field, another underthrown ball was nearly picked off at the 10 by Chancellor, and to tell the truth we lucked out that it wasnt pass interference. Smelleycock chokes on 4th down, throwing the ball to the ground, but Harper shows his true colors and fumbles on the next play.
Somebody tell me WHY, when SC has no timeouts, and Clemson has a 24-0 lead, and just over 2 minutes on the clock, we would come out and throw the ball from our 30? You can run 2:20 off the clock from just kneeling on it. You could give it to JD three times and maybe get a 1st, but instead they call a pass. That was fucking dumb.
Clemson got screwed on the TD call. The reciever was supposedly pushed out of bounds, which means he can come back in and be the first to touch. The SEC officials in the booth apparently didnt look at his trajectory on the wheel route, or they'd have seen that he would've gone out either way. The man was out of bounds from the 10 to the goalline.
24-7 CU.
Just before the end of the half, Dabo goes for the jugular with a 42yd pass to Kelly to the SC 20. A high pass that Ford couldve caught sails out of the endzone. Buchholz misses the 36 yd FG to the left.
Halftime.
Davis 9-40, halfway to where I want him to be.
122yds rushing, 152 yds passing for Clemson in the first half.
Smelleycock 10-25 101 yds 1 TD and 3 picks, worse than I expected.
Halftime camera shots show the Coot sections in Death Valley already emptying.
At the half, I expected Spurrier to make some adjustments and that the Cock'N Fire would play better, and initially SC moved the ball right down the field with several big plays and its 24-14. 8 plays, 69 yards on the drive.
The CU defense, after only one drive that netted real pressure in the 1st half, had not adjusted to blitz Smelley.
Clemson gets the ball and what the hell happened on the first play? We have to take a timeout after halftime when we havent run a single play? The Refs got the call right on the Harper slide and we have to kick. I wonder why Harper would not go headfirst to the sticks between the two Gamecock defenders, his lack of toughness is not something I'm going to miss next year.
Maners kick put the Coots at their 14, where the defense forces 3&out. Clemson returns the punt to the Clucker 45. Clemson was not getting much on the ground early in the 2nd half, at least not consistently. SC brought another defender to the box and we were getting no push up front, but a few big 3rd down conversions put us at 1st and Goal at the 1.5 yard line, where JD took it in off a great cut block by Kelly.
9 play, 45 yard drive. 31-14
Clemson finally begins blitzing on the next SC drive. Crezdon Butler comes unblocked and he sacks Smelley and forces a fumble, but I dont know how Chavis didnt get the ball. McDaniel breaks off coverage of his Slot WR and nails the RB on a middle screen, forcing another fumble, bug Saunders recovers it for SC, again we had 3 guys in orange there to recover and nobody got it. SC punts, no return at the end of the 3rd quarter.
On the next drive, Grisham makes a great play on 3rd and long to nail a first down. Aaron Kelly does the same on a WR slipscreen on the next 3rd down, with a good block by #65 to spring him. All along, Spiller and JD are getting a steady diet of carries, but not breaking for good yardage. While the statistics for Davis and Spiller look good today, the truth is that they're inflated by a few big plays, and for the most part SC did ok against our running game. A coverage sack puts Clemson further back to kick the FG, and Buchholz misses to the left again.
SC drives back downfield, and Smelley misses open receivers in the endzone before throwing his 4th pick to Chancellor at the CU 7. The WR gave up on the ball and didnt try for it. Clemson just runs out the clock.
As we predicted before, if JD got 20 carries we'd win by 10. He got 23 and we won by 17. We predicted that the SC rush was a nonfactor, and aside from two drives it was.
While we hoped Clemson would blitz more, it never panned out. Clemson stayed in zone all day except for a few plays here and there.
A big worry of ours was that Jared Cook would have a big day, but Clemons came back from injury, and together with Hamlin, Cook was held to just one catch.
The team whose offense didnt screw up the most prevailed.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Clemson/Carolina Preview & Comparison
History
Series History:
Clemson leads 64-37-4
at Clemson: Clemson leads 15-8-1
at Columbia: Clemson leads 49-29-3
Last 10 Years: Clemson won 8, S Carolina 2 (theres that vaunted SEC toughness!)
•This will be meeting number-106 between Clemson and South Carolina and the 100th consecutive year the two schools have met. That is the third longest streak of consecutive years played in a rivalry in the nation.
Every year, its "We played tougher competition than you" or "I would sure like to see what Clemson would do with our schedule"(Spurrier) when Clemson is ranked and Sakerlina isnt. So lets look at how things stacked up this year.
What about the "superior SEC Schedule we always play"????
Strength of Schedule: Sagarin/USA TODAY ratings
Clemson-15
Sakerlina-16
Conference ratings:
1 ATLANTIC COAST
2 BIG 12
3 SOUTHEASTERN
I take this with a grain of salt. I would say the ACC is more even, though behind in "talent" to the other two conferences. That poses the question to you, what makes a conference difficult? Every team knows you, and what you run. Their players know your players, and they see them every year. IF all the teams are fairly equal (P A R I T Y) then every game is a toss-up.
Strangely that sounds like the same SEC argument Coots make.
Who has Sakerlina beaten?
NC State (34-0) with the NCSU starting QB out of the game after the 1st quarter.
Wofford (23-13) (1-AA) and only led by 3 until the last few minutes.
UAB (26-13)
Ole Piss (31-24) This I would say is a quality win. They beat Ole Piss on the road, and this Mississippi team is going bowling.
Kentucky (24-17) benefiting from a few calls and really bad play from UK on the road. They may go bowling at 6-5.
Tennessee (27-6)
Arky (34-21)
Which of those teams have a good passing attack? Arkansas is ranked 22nd nationally. The rest are poor save one. Ole Miss has a good QB and below-average receivers. Among those they lost, only Georgia is ranked in the Top 25 in pass offense, however SC played them very well, as they generally do.
What good running teams have they played? Well LSU and UGA are capable, but have been inconsistent if you look at the whole season. Florida is the best (#11 nationally), with Wofford as #2 in 1-AA. The best rushing offense they've played and beaten in Div 1 is Ole Miss.
National Statistical rankings
Clemson rankings (nationally)
Total Defense-15
Pass Defense-5
Run Defense-46
Total offense-85
Pass offense-53
Run offense-97
Sakerlina rankings
Total Defense-11
Pass Defense-2
Run Defense-35
Total Offense-96
Pass Offense-54
Run Offense-108
Defenses: Neither team is in a pass-happy conference like the Big XII, so our passing defense statistics are misleading. I would say after watching Sakerlina that their secondary is very good and is where most of their talent lies. Both teams play alot of zone coverages, which prevents opponents from hitting many big plays and pumping up the pass defense yards allowed. SC plays a 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 hybrid, with alot of S and CB blitzes. However, SC is still soft up the middle if you can handle the 500lb walrus at NG. LSU had considerable success running directly at them...dont bother with sweeps and pitches because their speed, together with our bad blocking, will negate any advantage Spiller's speed gives us. JD should get a steady diet of carries, and if he gets over 20 Clemson beats them by 10.
Cullen will be picked off at least once however.
Clemson's LB play has improved for most of the year, so the rushing yards allowed has been respectable for the most part this season, although the pressure from our Down 4 has not been good at all. The soft zone coverages will continue against the Cocks, and Jared Cook likely will have a big day against Sadat Chambers over the middle. The Fun N Gun excels at putting space between WRs and multiple defenders. Double teaming McKinley and holding Cook to a non-factor would guarantee a Clemson win. I do not expect Clemson to get more than a couple sacks, but I do believe they will pick off the Blake Mitchell Clones at least twice.
Offenses: Well we know CU's problem is entirely the OL and the bad coaching over the last few years that cannot be overcome in 6 weeks by Swinney. Cullen is hot one day and cold the next, and a big factor in that is poor protection. With Korn gone, Cullen will have to do it himself.
While SC can protect the Committee at QB, none of them have shined. They are just as awful as we are on offense, and Mike Davis is average at best. He might break a couple big gains against Clemson, but otherwise the running game is not a factor because of poor OL blocking on SC's part too.
Common Opponents and comparisons
NC State lost to Sakerlina 34-0 in Columbia, Clemson beat them 27-9 two weeks later. NCSU's only TD came on a INT return.
WF beat Ole Miss early in the season, SC beat Ole Miss, Clemson lost to WF in a big clusterfuck.
Vandy beat SC early, then lost to Duke. Clemson thumped Duke.
Not much can be gleaned from this. Vandy has gone down as the season progressed, Ole Miss has gone up the last 4 weeks. Wake Forest has gone down since the Clemson game. You can see that on paper its 2-1 for the ACC from these teams, but I never pay attention to that. I could go on to point out how the ACC has fared against SEC so far in other games, but it doesnt have anything to do with the one on saturday.
Our Predictions
DrB: If Clemson can run the football up the middle on them, and then Dabo decides to give the ball to JD, we'll have no trouble pounding them. I would blitz these terrible QB's on every 3rd down play and force them to beat us on 3-step drops. However, VK isnt the world's best at calling blitzes, and these teams are pretty equal in their shittyness.
Clemson 20, Carolina 14
Figurefour: Cullen Harper will need to "manage" this offense to avoid getting in trouble with the USC secondary. JD should have a nice day if the Tiger offense feeds him the ball inside the tackles (to the tune of 17+ carries). Defensively, CU must put pressure on whomever SOS puts under center to force poor decisions out of Smelley/Beacher/Garcia. With Sapp out of the lineup, depth at the end position could be an aspect to observe, particularly if Clemson's offense cannot move the sticks. The key matchup defensively will be TE Jared Cook vs. Clemson's secondary. Cook has good size, speed, catches well and is an offensive threat from the TE position.
This contest will be pretty bland to watch, and the team whose offense doesn't screw up the most will prevail.
Clemson 19 USC 17
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Race for a Coach is Winding Down
My how the outlook of the CU coaching scenario has changed. With less than two weeks until the final decision is made, this thing has turned into what looks like a three horse race. We have Dabo trying to cap off the season with a bowl appearance, Gary Patterson emerging from Fort Worth to get some serious run, and Bud Foster professing his love for the CU job.
With Foster, Va Tech is reeling while looking at the possibility of life without one of the best assistants in the land. I would not be surprised to see Va Tech make a big play to try to keep Foster in Blacksburg with immediate cash and the possibility of getting the head coaching position when Beamer moves along.
Foster really wants the job at CU. I do not think that Va Tech could keep him should the Tigers come calling. Unfortunately, the annual defensive powerhouse points gained over the years may be offset by the loss of street cred for this rediculous concert appearance:
Patterson has earned some street cred for firing through four straight Big 12 foes a few years ago (who can forget his epic blast in the presser following the Texas Tech game? SPEED BABY!). He has been at TCU for over a decade (DC then HC) and turned down $2 mil annually from Minnesota. What does that mean? Nothing really...who the hell wants to freeze their ass off in Minn.? Bottom line is that an offer from Clemson would be difficult for GP to turn down--provided he is not too terribly attached to TCU. I would be OK with this selection, provided we get more outbursts in the weekly PC (and a few of those double digit win seasons would help too).
Finally, we have the people's coach, Dabo Swinney. Folks like many of the things he brings to the table (see previous blog), including the attitude change that we have seen at CU and increased excitement level.
Fact remains that Dabo has the least experienced resume of the three (excluding his short stint as top dog this year). He does, however, get a vote of confidence from Gene Stallings and would probably carpool into Tigertown with DF if Danny wanted to leave the farm--nothing wrong with hanging out with winners.
A Clemson victory Saturday puts Dabo in the lead, a Clemson massacre (similar to the Nagasaki bombing
placed on the cocks in '89) secures the top spot.
Time is the only certainty in this game, as we all expect to know something early next week.
With Foster, Va Tech is reeling while looking at the possibility of life without one of the best assistants in the land. I would not be surprised to see Va Tech make a big play to try to keep Foster in Blacksburg with immediate cash and the possibility of getting the head coaching position when Beamer moves along.
Foster really wants the job at CU. I do not think that Va Tech could keep him should the Tigers come calling. Unfortunately, the annual defensive powerhouse points gained over the years may be offset by the loss of street cred for this rediculous concert appearance:
Patterson has earned some street cred for firing through four straight Big 12 foes a few years ago (who can forget his epic blast in the presser following the Texas Tech game? SPEED BABY!). He has been at TCU for over a decade (DC then HC) and turned down $2 mil annually from Minnesota. What does that mean? Nothing really...who the hell wants to freeze their ass off in Minn.? Bottom line is that an offer from Clemson would be difficult for GP to turn down--provided he is not too terribly attached to TCU. I would be OK with this selection, provided we get more outbursts in the weekly PC (and a few of those double digit win seasons would help too).
Finally, we have the people's coach, Dabo Swinney. Folks like many of the things he brings to the table (see previous blog), including the attitude change that we have seen at CU and increased excitement level.
Fact remains that Dabo has the least experienced resume of the three (excluding his short stint as top dog this year). He does, however, get a vote of confidence from Gene Stallings and would probably carpool into Tigertown with DF if Danny wanted to leave the farm--nothing wrong with hanging out with winners.
A Clemson victory Saturday puts Dabo in the lead, a Clemson massacre (similar to the Nagasaki bombing
placed on the cocks in '89) secures the top spot.Time is the only certainty in this game, as we all expect to know something early next week.
Gene Stallings visits team, Patterson interviews
Today at practice, Figurefour's favorite coach spoke to the team at the request of Dabo.
Stallings didn’t directly endorse Swinney for Clemson’s opening, but said he was ready for a program of his own.
“What is he, 38? I was a head coach when I was 29 (at Texas A&M),” Stallings said. “He’s had a whole lot more experience than I had. I think he’ll do an excellent job. He’s well-schooled, he’s knowledgeable, he’s likable, he’s a good recruiter, he’s a loyal individual, and I think he’s ready.
“I think the worst thing that can happen to a young coach is to get a job before he’s ready. And there’s been some jobs in the past I’ve advised him not to try and get because I didn’t think he was ready. But I do think he’s ready now, I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
This was arranged earlier on in the season, so I wouldnt read anything into it. He asked Ford to do the same, but Danny declined for now.
Today TDP was known to have met with the BOT about a "personnel matter", so it might reflect well on Dabo at the moment, but TDP is being (wisely) mum.
From reading that article, I'd interpret things in the following ways:
1. They may have discussed money. The President and the BOT must approve that.
2. TDP may have presented a list of candidates, though its unlikely he has interviewed all the Head Coaches he wants to.
3. TDP has picked his favorite.
Watching ESPNU's coaching spotlight tonight, Jim Donnan points to the job being Swinney's if he wins this weekend. Then again, Donnan (aka Georgia's version of Tom Bowden) also has said its Bobby Johnson's job all along.
I've said all along that my opinion on Dabo will wait until after the SC game, when I can see the whole body of his work. Right now I'm not 100% sold.
Patterson Interviewed
R. Philpott of CUTigers has reported that Gary Patterson did meet with TDP today. I'm not allowed to post the text of the article.
The powers-that-be at TCU are preparing for the departure of football coach Gary Patterson, sources close to the program tell CUTigers.com.
Now, bear in mind that CU Tigers does tend to post some bullshit. I trust Rivals reporting a little more, and they have not reported this as of midnight.
If Patterson was the subject of the BOT meeting today, I'd be quite happy.
Up til now, we know the following
-Troy Calhoun, Gary Patterson, Brent Venables, Bud Foster, Mike Locksley, and Lane Kiffin were interviewed for the job.
-The agent of Fulmer was contacted. Brady Hoke (Ball St) was contacted in some form.
-Lane Kiffin is a top candidate at Tennessee, and I think a good fit to re-energize the program there. Brian Kelly is mentioned alot as well. I reviewed both previously.
-Virginia Tech is reportedly looking to give Foster the same deal that Muschamp has, but if Clemson offers now, he's ours.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
TNet Post of the Year Award goes to...
Joe Cobb for this post yesterday.
Nothing Left To Win.
In November 1989, we didn’t have much to play for against USC. We had locked up a bowl bid, had lost the ACC championship, and had no national title hopes.
In the words of Coach Ford as he addressed the team on the Sunday prior to the USC, “We got Nothing left to win.”
This struck many of us as somewhat odd. In fact our faces must’ve been quite slack-jawed, because the next thing out of Coach’s mouth was… “What? You think we got something left to win?”
Stunned silence enveloped the room.
And on that the meeting was adjourned.
The week was a bustling environment of press, campus activity, and a bittersweet thought this was our last regular season game. But many of us seniors couldn’t shake the thought of Coach Ford’s words…. “Nothing Left To Win.” As I hurried to the senior meeting with Coach Ford on Thursday afternoon, I anticipated what he would say to give me comfort, to ease the troublesome statement he had stuck in my mind.
We talked briefly about the itinerary for our trip, and the fact that we might not have a curfew after the game and that we could ride home with friends or family instead of a team trip. Nothing unusual… and then Ricardo Hooper brought it up…
“Coach, can we wear Orange on the road?”
Coach Ford laughed. “Uh, ha ha, uhhh Why in the world… you don’t need no orange pants. Naw I don’t think so.” Well it was worth a shot, I thought. Coach Ford added. “Anythin’ else?” The room stayed silent. “Alright then… see y’all at practice.”
Nothing said to ease my fears, nothing.
The Thursday night practice was COLD, and it went by way to quick. Before I knew it we were on our way to Columbia. We checked into the hotel, and had a late dinner, as it would be a night game on Saturday. The next day the team chose “Harlem Nights” as our team movie. I hated it. I remember thinking this just isn’t ANY fun. How could Coach Ford, just give up on us like this… how could he say we didn’t have anything to play for? How COULD HE??!!!
The rest of that day, I felt as though I was unprepared. I felt as if the last 3 years had been a blur, and I had learned nothing. Indeed, it was an unsettling trip to Williams Brice. As I got off the bus, I commented to Chip Davis about how I’d been feeling. “Me too” was his reply.
Warms ups were business as usual, and I remember being able to find my girlfriend and her friends easily in the Clemson crowd that had gathered at the corner of the stadium…
But I still couldn’t shake the feeling… “Nothing to win…”
The locker room was quiet.
Solemn.
Sad.
“I told y’all, y’all got nothing to win.” Coach Ford started. And then after a brief pause, he continued… his voice getting louder on every syllable, “And y’all don’t. But you got EVERYTHING to prove. Y’all can prove y’all are the WINNINGEST class in the ACC, y’all can prove we own them, and y’all can prove to all them writers and people who wanna WRITE YOU OFF!”
We sat in amazement… his fury was evident, and then it hit us… He WAS MAD. He was pissed off beyond belief… angry at those who snubbed their noses at a team that had beaten FSU in Tallahassee, angry at those who thought 8 wins going into the regular season finale against USC wasn’t good enough, angry at those who faulted his guys for losing a couple of games. And now his anger flowed white-hot, enveloping us all… setting off a fire inside each one of us… a fire he stoked by continuing, “I’m proud of y’all!”
And then his voice got soft… and he said, “Y’all ain’t got nothing to win… but everything to prove.”
And in a whisper he finished…. “Prove you deserve to wear these.”
And tossed a pair of Orange Pants onto the bench.
Download the Video highlights.
Clemson/Carolina humor
Its that time again...
BIGGEST NEWS OF THE DAY
INDIANAPOLIS, I.N. (AP) - The NCAA has penalized Clemson University for continuing to unapologetically beat the University of South Carolina, year after year, in a plethora of sports and overall academics.
NCAA Official Paul Moonie, based upon recommendation from an unnamed ACC official, commented that it was unfair for Clemson to continue "giving them [South Carolina] the business." ACC Commissioner John Swofford echoed the sentiment, fully supporting the opinion of his minion.
As penalty for the sustained beat-downs, Clemson will not be allowed to increase rent on Williams-Brice Stadium (the upside-down cockroach) for 2 years, and will be required to refrain from posting rivalry facts on billboards around Columbia. Clemson will also be responsible for sponsoring a night out for the whole USC football team before the next rivalry game. "If they are going to @$!%% them, Clemson should at least be decent enough to buy them dinner and a movie first."
The SEC has also stepped in questioning reasons for continuing the "rivalry" game. "Year after year this game brings down our conference image amongst the pollsters. While we look great in the GATech-UGA rivalry, the Clemson-USC game zeroes out those SEC-ACC gains," commented Hanes Green, SEC official. "We'd be willing to serve up Vanderbilt or any other SEC team in the hopes they can perform better than USC has. This is a win-win situation for all parties. I believe beating USC has become completely inconsequential for the Tigers by now - at least the pollsters seem to think so anyway."
No immediate reaction was available from Coach Spurrier. Steve was last seen signing footballs marked with a "31-28" score while learning his lines for the next "Click-Clack" commercial.
Q : What is the method of birth control on the USC campus?
A : Putting an X on the cows that kick!
Q : What does the average Sakerlina player get on his SAT?
A : Drool
Q : How can you tell a Columbia coyote?
A : He's chewed off three legs and he is still in the trap.
Q : How do you come to own a small business in South Carolina?
A : Start a large business and put an USC grad in charge of it.
Q : How do you know the tooth brush was invented at USC?A : If it had been invented anywhere else, it would have been called a teethbrush.
Q : Why don't Sakerlina fans fart?
A : Their mouths are never closed long enough to build up any pressure!
Q : What do they call duct tape in Columbia?
A : Chrome!
Why do USC Students go to the movie theater in groups of 18 or more?
--- Nobody admitted 17 and under.
What do you get when you have 32 USC Football Players in the same room?
--- A full set of teeth.
A new law was passed in Columbia recently.
--- When a couple gets a divorce, they're still brother and sister.
Two Gamecock Farmers are walking down different ends of a street toward
each other and one is carrying a sack. When they meet, one says,
"Hey Bo, what'cha got in th' bag?"
--- "Jus' some chickens.
--- "If I guess how many there are, can I have one?"
--- "I'll give you both of them."
--- "OK. Ummmmm......, five?"
Gamecock Football player and a Cheerleader were making out in the front seat of the car.
---"Want to go in the back seat?" she asked.
--- "No," he replied. A few minutes later she asked, "Now do you want to get in the back seat?"
--- "No," he said again, "I wanna stay here in the front seat with you."
Q: What is the difference between a Carolina cheerleader and a catfish?
A: One has whiskers and smells; the other is a fish.
Q: What is the difference between a USC cheerleader and a toilet bowl?
A: The toilet bowl doesn't follow you around for a week after you use it.
Q: What do you call a dead pig sittin' on a tractor that won't start?
A: The USC Homecoming parade.
Q: What has 98 legs & 49 teeth?
A: A Sakerlina Sor/Frat party.
Q: Why do Gamecock women like to be on top?
A: So they don't swallow their tobacco.
Q: What's the difference between trash and Columbia trash?
A: Absolutely nothing. They both drive around in dump trucks, smell like crap, and get more and more rotten each day.
Two Carolina graduates get married after matriculating. Early the next morning, the father of the groom is awakened by a pounding on the front door. Standing there on the porch is the groom, extremely agitated.
The father asks "What are you doing here? You should be enjoying your honeymoon at the Motel 6."
"But Daddy, it's just awful. She's a virgin."
"Well, son, you should be proud. That's a rare thing in this day and age."
"But Daddy, if she ain't good enough for her family, she sure ain't good enough for ours."
This cockfan is sitting in a bar late at night having a few beers, and after every beer, the bartender notices he looks in his pocket, grimaces and orders another. Finally, his curiousity got the better of him, and the barkeep asks the Coot what he's doing. "Well sah," the Coot replied, "In my pocket I have a picture of my wife, and when she starts to look good, I know it's time to go home."
A Carolina grad was walking down the street, when his old college buddy pulled up in a brand new Porsche. "Where the hell did you get Porsche?", the grad asked in disbelief. "Well," his buddy replied, "Last night I was at a bar and started dancing with this girl. When the bar closed, she motions for me to follow her. We jump in her Porsche, and drive off into the mountains. She stops, jumps out of the car, takes off all her clothes, and tells me, 'You can have anything you want.'
"That was pretty smart", said the other Coot, "Seeing as how her clothes probably wouldn't have fit you anyway."
A recent survey among female college students asked them how their boyfriends proposed marriage:
-- 55% of the men in Ivy League colleges got down on one knee in the traditional manner and asked, "Will you marry me?"
-- 61% of the men in western state universities popped the question at a romantic, candle-lite dinner saying, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you as your husband."
-- 66% of the men in mid-western universities asked permission of the bride-to-be's father and then asked the bride-to-be, "Please be my wife forever?"
-- 92% of the men at Sakerlina said, "You're gonna have a what?"
Q: Three football players are riding in a car from Five Points: 1 from Sakerlina, 1 from Georgia, and 1 from Florida State. Who's driving?
A: The State Trooper.
One day in an elementary school in Columbia, SC, a teacher asks her class if the South Carolina Gamecocks are their favorite football team. The whole class says yes, except for Little Jimmy.
The teacher asks, "What's your favorite football team Jimmy?"
Little Jimmy says, "The Clemson Tigers "
The teacher asks, "Well, why is that?"
Little Jimmy says, "Well, my dad is a Tiger fan, my mom is a Tiger fan, I guess that makes me a Tiger fan."
The teacher angered by his reply says, "If your dad was a moron and your mom was an idiot what would that make you?"
Little Jimmy says, "Well, I guess that would make me a South Carolina fan."
Q: Where was O.J. hiding right before the famous white Bronco chase?
A: On the University of South Carolina campus. That's the last place you would find a football player.
Q: Do you know why the University of South Carolina football team should change its name to the "Opossums"?
A: Because they play dead at home and get killed on the road.
Q: What do you get when you breed a groundhog and the South Carolina Gamecocks?
A: Six more weeks of bad football.
Q: What should you do if you find three South Carolina fans buried up to their neck in cement?
A: Get more cement.
Q: How do you get a Cockfan to stop masturbating?
A: Paint his dick orange and white and tell him he cant beat it for 4 years.
BIGGEST NEWS OF THE DAY
INDIANAPOLIS, I.N. (AP) - The NCAA has penalized Clemson University for continuing to unapologetically beat the University of South Carolina, year after year, in a plethora of sports and overall academics.
NCAA Official Paul Moonie, based upon recommendation from an unnamed ACC official, commented that it was unfair for Clemson to continue "giving them [South Carolina] the business." ACC Commissioner John Swofford echoed the sentiment, fully supporting the opinion of his minion.
As penalty for the sustained beat-downs, Clemson will not be allowed to increase rent on Williams-Brice Stadium (the upside-down cockroach) for 2 years, and will be required to refrain from posting rivalry facts on billboards around Columbia. Clemson will also be responsible for sponsoring a night out for the whole USC football team before the next rivalry game. "If they are going to @$!%% them, Clemson should at least be decent enough to buy them dinner and a movie first."
The SEC has also stepped in questioning reasons for continuing the "rivalry" game. "Year after year this game brings down our conference image amongst the pollsters. While we look great in the GATech-UGA rivalry, the Clemson-USC game zeroes out those SEC-ACC gains," commented Hanes Green, SEC official. "We'd be willing to serve up Vanderbilt or any other SEC team in the hopes they can perform better than USC has. This is a win-win situation for all parties. I believe beating USC has become completely inconsequential for the Tigers by now - at least the pollsters seem to think so anyway."
No immediate reaction was available from Coach Spurrier. Steve was last seen signing footballs marked with a "31-28" score while learning his lines for the next "Click-Clack" commercial.
Q : What is the method of birth control on the USC campus?
A : Putting an X on the cows that kick!
Q : What does the average Sakerlina player get on his SAT?
A : Drool
Q : How can you tell a Columbia coyote?
A : He's chewed off three legs and he is still in the trap.
Q : How do you come to own a small business in South Carolina?
A : Start a large business and put an USC grad in charge of it.
Q : How do you know the tooth brush was invented at USC?A : If it had been invented anywhere else, it would have been called a teethbrush.
Q : Why don't Sakerlina fans fart?
A : Their mouths are never closed long enough to build up any pressure!
Q : What do they call duct tape in Columbia?
A : Chrome!
Why do USC Students go to the movie theater in groups of 18 or more?
--- Nobody admitted 17 and under.
What do you get when you have 32 USC Football Players in the same room?
--- A full set of teeth.
A new law was passed in Columbia recently.
--- When a couple gets a divorce, they're still brother and sister.
Two Gamecock Farmers are walking down different ends of a street toward
each other and one is carrying a sack. When they meet, one says,
"Hey Bo, what'cha got in th' bag?"
--- "Jus' some chickens.
--- "If I guess how many there are, can I have one?"
--- "I'll give you both of them."
--- "OK. Ummmmm......, five?"
Gamecock Football player and a Cheerleader were making out in the front seat of the car.
---"Want to go in the back seat?" she asked.
--- "No," he replied. A few minutes later she asked, "Now do you want to get in the back seat?"
--- "No," he said again, "I wanna stay here in the front seat with you."
Q: What is the difference between a Carolina cheerleader and a catfish?
A: One has whiskers and smells; the other is a fish.
Q: What is the difference between a USC cheerleader and a toilet bowl?
A: The toilet bowl doesn't follow you around for a week after you use it.
Q: What do you call a dead pig sittin' on a tractor that won't start?
A: The USC Homecoming parade.
Q: What has 98 legs & 49 teeth?
A: A Sakerlina Sor/Frat party.
Q: Why do Gamecock women like to be on top?
A: So they don't swallow their tobacco.
Q: What's the difference between trash and Columbia trash?
A: Absolutely nothing. They both drive around in dump trucks, smell like crap, and get more and more rotten each day.
Two Carolina graduates get married after matriculating. Early the next morning, the father of the groom is awakened by a pounding on the front door. Standing there on the porch is the groom, extremely agitated.
The father asks "What are you doing here? You should be enjoying your honeymoon at the Motel 6."
"But Daddy, it's just awful. She's a virgin."
"Well, son, you should be proud. That's a rare thing in this day and age."
"But Daddy, if she ain't good enough for her family, she sure ain't good enough for ours."
This cockfan is sitting in a bar late at night having a few beers, and after every beer, the bartender notices he looks in his pocket, grimaces and orders another. Finally, his curiousity got the better of him, and the barkeep asks the Coot what he's doing. "Well sah," the Coot replied, "In my pocket I have a picture of my wife, and when she starts to look good, I know it's time to go home."
A Carolina grad was walking down the street, when his old college buddy pulled up in a brand new Porsche. "Where the hell did you get Porsche?", the grad asked in disbelief. "Well," his buddy replied, "Last night I was at a bar and started dancing with this girl. When the bar closed, she motions for me to follow her. We jump in her Porsche, and drive off into the mountains. She stops, jumps out of the car, takes off all her clothes, and tells me, 'You can have anything you want.'
"That was pretty smart", said the other Coot, "Seeing as how her clothes probably wouldn't have fit you anyway."
A recent survey among female college students asked them how their boyfriends proposed marriage:
-- 55% of the men in Ivy League colleges got down on one knee in the traditional manner and asked, "Will you marry me?"
-- 61% of the men in western state universities popped the question at a romantic, candle-lite dinner saying, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you as your husband."
-- 66% of the men in mid-western universities asked permission of the bride-to-be's father and then asked the bride-to-be, "Please be my wife forever?"
-- 92% of the men at Sakerlina said, "You're gonna have a what?"
Q: Three football players are riding in a car from Five Points: 1 from Sakerlina, 1 from Georgia, and 1 from Florida State. Who's driving?
A: The State Trooper.
One day in an elementary school in Columbia, SC, a teacher asks her class if the South Carolina Gamecocks are their favorite football team. The whole class says yes, except for Little Jimmy.
The teacher asks, "What's your favorite football team Jimmy?"
Little Jimmy says, "The Clemson Tigers "
The teacher asks, "Well, why is that?"
Little Jimmy says, "Well, my dad is a Tiger fan, my mom is a Tiger fan, I guess that makes me a Tiger fan."
The teacher angered by his reply says, "If your dad was a moron and your mom was an idiot what would that make you?"
Little Jimmy says, "Well, I guess that would make me a South Carolina fan."
Q: Where was O.J. hiding right before the famous white Bronco chase?
A: On the University of South Carolina campus. That's the last place you would find a football player.
Q: Do you know why the University of South Carolina football team should change its name to the "Opossums"?
A: Because they play dead at home and get killed on the road.
Q: What do you get when you breed a groundhog and the South Carolina Gamecocks?
A: Six more weeks of bad football.
Q: What should you do if you find three South Carolina fans buried up to their neck in cement?
A: Get more cement.
Q: How do you get a Cockfan to stop masturbating?
A: Paint his dick orange and white and tell him he cant beat it for 4 years.
USC's biggest weakness: Clemson on the schedule
This is a C&P from an old article I saved.
And Words of Wisdom from an Unexpected Source
BY RON AIKEN
If the two major universities in South Carolina can be considered a metaphorical family when it comes to athletics, then not only is Clemson the University of South Carolina's daddy, the Tigers also are the Gamecocks' mommy, abusive older brother and molesting uncle combined.
To say that USC is under Clemson's thumb in every major sport doesn't even begin to describe how humiliatingly brutal the Tigers' domination of the Gamecocks truly has been in nearly every sport since 1980. It's an embarrassment of psychosis-inducing proportions, and for USC fans again hitting the antidepressants after yet another crushing loss in football followed by yet another spanking in basketball this past weekend, it's time for answers as to why the Gamecocks suck — no other word works here — against the Tigers and have for the past quarter-century plus.
But before I attempt to correct what has become a yearly death march of certain disgrace, some ugly facts must be faced. Going sport by sport, the following is USC's record against Clemson from 1980 to the present, with the Gamecocks' winning percentage and current coach's record in parentheses: baseball: 48-63 (.432, Ray Tanner 19-20); men's basketball: 12-27 (.307, Dave Odom 3-4); women's basketball: 18-24 (.428, Susan Walvius 3-7), football: 7-20 (.259, Steve Spurrier 1-2); men's soccer: 12-19 (.387, Mark Berson 12-21). For those scoring at home, that's an overall tally of Clemson 153, USC 97, which means regardless of the sport, USC beats Clemson a paltry 38 percent of the time.
Something is very, very wrong with these numbers, and it's long past time that each and every coach, player and administrator takes accountability to the fans for what can only be considered a pathetic record against one's archenemy. It's not a rivalry anymore, it's abuse, and the offender must be brought to justice.
First, I don't want to hear about a so-called "chicken curse." If you believe in a chicken curse, you're either (a) a moron; (b) a Clemson fan; or (c) both. The phrase "chicken curse" was invented by The State newspaper's television writer, Doug Nye (a Yankees fan, which should tell you something). The original term came from a sports department that as a whole — and I can say this from having worked there — doesn't refer to USC as the Gamecocks but rather, "the chickens." It's a cynical, derisive term concocted by jaded journalists, and the ridiculous phrase, popularized by Clemson fans, came out of that mean-spirited mindset.
It means nothing — for a curse to be a curse, there has to be someone doing the cursing, some goat who has been wronged or some yesteryear trade of monumental stupidity echoing through the decades. I think so many USC fans blame a non-existent curse because the reality is far scarier: USC has defined mediocrity in collegiate athletics, especially in the highest-profile sports, and loses year in and year out because the talent and coaching has been sorely lacking. That's the main reason for the hundreds of losses: Clemson cares more about athletics than USC, and puts the rivalry at the top of its to-do list every year.
When USC was an independent and then, later, in the Southeastern Conference, each year in each sport coaches spoke about how the conference comes first, the Clemson game second.
That's a mistake.
To change the soul-crucifying trend, USC must begin emphasizing beating Clemson far more than it has in the past, and it must do so in every sport. The athletics department needs to establish big incentives for coaches who beat Clemson, and go out of its way to honor teams that do.
It would be one thing if USC was hauling in SEC trophies right and left, but since joining the SEC, USC has earned just three titles in the major sports in 15 years: basketball in 1997 (a team that lost to Clemson 39-58) and baseball in 2000 and 2002.
So you'll forgive me if I'm a little sick of hearing coaches talk about being the best team in the entire Southeastern United States when year after year they can't be the best team in a 140-mile radius. When Sheridan — a USC graduate — was hired as football coach at N.C. State, he specifically said his No. 1 mission every year was to beat Clemson. And guess what? That focus, that explicit message to the players and fans, worked, and the Wolfpack beat the Tigers in Sheridan's first three years, years in which Clemson won the ACC each time. So don't tell me it's all about talent, because it's not. It's about pride and will, two things the Gamecocks have sorely lacked against Clemson in football and basketball, especially.
It's time Spurrier realized that losing to Clemson is not acceptable in any way. His predecessor's legacy of two Outback Bowl trips is remembered far less than his 1-5 record against Clemson, one Spurrier is on pace to match.
While spending hours scouring multiple record books, however, I did find one coach since 1980 whose record against the Tigers was impeccable: former women's volleyball coach Bonnie Kenny. She won her first 11 matches against Clemson and was part of a school-record 14 straight wins against Clemson, the longest of USC against the Tigers in any sport in the modern era, from 1983 to 1990. Her career 14-3 record against Clemson was just good enough to get her fired by Mike McGee, who was the sixth athletics director of her tenure. Now the head volleyball coach at the University of Delaware, Kenny gives credit to a coaching staff and players that throughout her tenure made beating the Tigers a priority.
"When you play Clemson, it's different; you put an emphasis on that game because of how much it means to people," Kenny says. "You have to make it part of your overall culture, that winning the Clemson game isn't a goal, it's mandatory. You just knew that. I don't understand why so many other sports have struggled so badly for so long."
While she declined to offer any specific advice for USC coaches, when asked if she'd take the football job if it came open, she had to laugh.
"I'd love the football job," Kenny says. "I'd finally make some money in coaching."
And Words of Wisdom from an Unexpected Source
BY RON AIKEN
If the two major universities in South Carolina can be considered a metaphorical family when it comes to athletics, then not only is Clemson the University of South Carolina's daddy, the Tigers also are the Gamecocks' mommy, abusive older brother and molesting uncle combined.
To say that USC is under Clemson's thumb in every major sport doesn't even begin to describe how humiliatingly brutal the Tigers' domination of the Gamecocks truly has been in nearly every sport since 1980. It's an embarrassment of psychosis-inducing proportions, and for USC fans again hitting the antidepressants after yet another crushing loss in football followed by yet another spanking in basketball this past weekend, it's time for answers as to why the Gamecocks suck — no other word works here — against the Tigers and have for the past quarter-century plus.
But before I attempt to correct what has become a yearly death march of certain disgrace, some ugly facts must be faced. Going sport by sport, the following is USC's record against Clemson from 1980 to the present, with the Gamecocks' winning percentage and current coach's record in parentheses: baseball: 48-63 (.432, Ray Tanner 19-20); men's basketball: 12-27 (.307, Dave Odom 3-4); women's basketball: 18-24 (.428, Susan Walvius 3-7), football: 7-20 (.259, Steve Spurrier 1-2); men's soccer: 12-19 (.387, Mark Berson 12-21). For those scoring at home, that's an overall tally of Clemson 153, USC 97, which means regardless of the sport, USC beats Clemson a paltry 38 percent of the time.
Something is very, very wrong with these numbers, and it's long past time that each and every coach, player and administrator takes accountability to the fans for what can only be considered a pathetic record against one's archenemy. It's not a rivalry anymore, it's abuse, and the offender must be brought to justice.
First, I don't want to hear about a so-called "chicken curse." If you believe in a chicken curse, you're either (a) a moron; (b) a Clemson fan; or (c) both. The phrase "chicken curse" was invented by The State newspaper's television writer, Doug Nye (a Yankees fan, which should tell you something). The original term came from a sports department that as a whole — and I can say this from having worked there — doesn't refer to USC as the Gamecocks but rather, "the chickens." It's a cynical, derisive term concocted by jaded journalists, and the ridiculous phrase, popularized by Clemson fans, came out of that mean-spirited mindset.
It means nothing — for a curse to be a curse, there has to be someone doing the cursing, some goat who has been wronged or some yesteryear trade of monumental stupidity echoing through the decades. I think so many USC fans blame a non-existent curse because the reality is far scarier: USC has defined mediocrity in collegiate athletics, especially in the highest-profile sports, and loses year in and year out because the talent and coaching has been sorely lacking. That's the main reason for the hundreds of losses: Clemson cares more about athletics than USC, and puts the rivalry at the top of its to-do list every year.
When USC was an independent and then, later, in the Southeastern Conference, each year in each sport coaches spoke about how the conference comes first, the Clemson game second.
That's a mistake.
To change the soul-crucifying trend, USC must begin emphasizing beating Clemson far more than it has in the past, and it must do so in every sport. The athletics department needs to establish big incentives for coaches who beat Clemson, and go out of its way to honor teams that do.
It would be one thing if USC was hauling in SEC trophies right and left, but since joining the SEC, USC has earned just three titles in the major sports in 15 years: basketball in 1997 (a team that lost to Clemson 39-58) and baseball in 2000 and 2002.
So you'll forgive me if I'm a little sick of hearing coaches talk about being the best team in the entire Southeastern United States when year after year they can't be the best team in a 140-mile radius. When Sheridan — a USC graduate — was hired as football coach at N.C. State, he specifically said his No. 1 mission every year was to beat Clemson. And guess what? That focus, that explicit message to the players and fans, worked, and the Wolfpack beat the Tigers in Sheridan's first three years, years in which Clemson won the ACC each time. So don't tell me it's all about talent, because it's not. It's about pride and will, two things the Gamecocks have sorely lacked against Clemson in football and basketball, especially.
It's time Spurrier realized that losing to Clemson is not acceptable in any way. His predecessor's legacy of two Outback Bowl trips is remembered far less than his 1-5 record against Clemson, one Spurrier is on pace to match.
While spending hours scouring multiple record books, however, I did find one coach since 1980 whose record against the Tigers was impeccable: former women's volleyball coach Bonnie Kenny. She won her first 11 matches against Clemson and was part of a school-record 14 straight wins against Clemson, the longest of USC against the Tigers in any sport in the modern era, from 1983 to 1990. Her career 14-3 record against Clemson was just good enough to get her fired by Mike McGee, who was the sixth athletics director of her tenure. Now the head volleyball coach at the University of Delaware, Kenny gives credit to a coaching staff and players that throughout her tenure made beating the Tigers a priority.
"When you play Clemson, it's different; you put an emphasis on that game because of how much it means to people," Kenny says. "You have to make it part of your overall culture, that winning the Clemson game isn't a goal, it's mandatory. You just knew that. I don't understand why so many other sports have struggled so badly for so long."
While she declined to offer any specific advice for USC coaches, when asked if she'd take the football job if it came open, she had to laugh.
"I'd love the football job," Kenny says. "I'd finally make some money in coaching."
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thanksgiving Week
Here we are folks, quickly approaching my favorite time of the year. You may ask, "What is all the excitement about? Is it the turkey and dressing? NO. Is it the opportunity of being with those closest to you? NO. This week is all about one thing: BEATING ASS.
Most weeks, there is no way for me to predict what dear old Clemson will do on the football field until we get to the regular season finale. Memory serving me correctly, Clemson is on a one game winning streak over the gamechickens. Thus, by my calculations, the Tigers are guaranteed three more victories against our feathered neighbors before we lose sometime during/after the '11 season. This pisses off even the most diehard chicken fans.
Also, why does cockfan always cry and moan about how tough their schedule is, when Clemson (according to USA Today) plays a tougher overall schedule? STOP YOUR CRYING!
All I have heard today are grumbings from Cockfan. They bitch about CU being favorites. They claim that Clemson cheats, steals, and lies for wins. One even went on to cry and compare UVa to Florida.
**Note to Cockfan: losing by 50 to anyone is not a quality loss. That is called getting your ass handed to you. While the Gators do have a fantastic squad, that is still no excuse for Tim Tebow and crew to hang half a C-Note on you (in the Swamp, the Brice, hell in my back yard, it is never acceptable to just get steam rolled in this fashion).
History has a way of repeating itself, so unless the useless radio commentator Tom Suggs (or Spurlid himself) plans to suit up Saturday, be prepared to enjoy what generations of USC-east fans have witnessed, another Tiger victory.
Most weeks, there is no way for me to predict what dear old Clemson will do on the football field until we get to the regular season finale. Memory serving me correctly, Clemson is on a one game winning streak over the gamechickens. Thus, by my calculations, the Tigers are guaranteed three more victories against our feathered neighbors before we lose sometime during/after the '11 season. This pisses off even the most diehard chicken fans.
Also, why does cockfan always cry and moan about how tough their schedule is, when Clemson (according to USA Today) plays a tougher overall schedule? STOP YOUR CRYING!
All I have heard today are grumbings from Cockfan. They bitch about CU being favorites. They claim that Clemson cheats, steals, and lies for wins. One even went on to cry and compare UVa to Florida.
**Note to Cockfan: losing by 50 to anyone is not a quality loss. That is called getting your ass handed to you. While the Gators do have a fantastic squad, that is still no excuse for Tim Tebow and crew to hang half a C-Note on you (in the Swamp, the Brice, hell in my back yard, it is never acceptable to just get steam rolled in this fashion).
History has a way of repeating itself, so unless the useless radio commentator Tom Suggs (or Spurlid himself) plans to suit up Saturday, be prepared to enjoy what generations of USC-east fans have witnessed, another Tiger victory.
Here come the Cluckers
Led by a Smelley cock. I'm skeered. How much do you wanna bet that Granny Clampett picks the Cluckers to win this weekend, even after their top-ranked defense was exposed?
Be sure to slap a Coot today, its your duty as a Clemson fan.
I'm sick of hearing some of this "if we lose" shit on TNet. This is what we wait for every single year. I fucking hate Sakerlina. I hate the city, I hate the Cockroach, I hate their players. I hate how they think they're so great without having any reason to think so. I don't want to hear any of this shit about a honeymoon period being over for Dabo, I want to talk about how a WR coach is going to whip one of the "greatest coaches ever".
Just look at the record lately:
Man it would hurt to be looking at this series while wearing a garnet jersey. We have owned the Gamecocks.
1997...Tigers win 47-21.
1998...Tigers win 28-19
1999...Tigers win 31-21.
2000...Tigers win 16-14 on THE CATCH II
2001...Cocks win. Tipped hail mary goes the wrong way.
2002...Tigers 27-20, wouldve been 34-20 had Tammy not took a knee inside their 10 at the end.
2003...Tigers 63-17 -Todd Ellis with the call. "Touchdown Clemson...Touchdown Clemson...Touchdown Clemson....."
2004...Tigers maul gamecocks 29-7, then beat their ass after the game. The coots never started a play in our territory; their one TD came on a prayer-of-a-bomb that they made a nice play to catch and score.
2005...Tigers come back from first and a mile to win 13-9.
2006...Cocks win. Tigers blow 14 point lead because of Tammy taking out Reggie.
2007...Tigers down and facing 3rd and 18 late win 23-21.
Heartbreaking....
A little news.
WILL KORN is likely out for Sakerlina. I was not surprised that he got zero snaps against the Wahoos, since the game was close and Dabo still believes Cullen gives us the best chance to win. Unfortunately, it looks like Ricky Sapp is gone with a busted ACL, and C. Clemons is probably not going to play as much, if at all. I expect Spurrier to test Sadat Chambers bigtime with Jared Cook.
I'm going to compare the stats from both teams and their opponents later this week.
EDSBS has summed up the Clemson season, and pretty much smote the nail here.
Unfortunately for Sakerlina fans, its not Year 4.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Its that time again....
Clemson-Carolina slated for Noon on ESPN2, more afternoon delight, and a whole day to get drunk afterwards. Only good thing I see about it is that I'll be able to watch the Iron Bowl afterwards.
All Hail Ben Tillman.
The Curse owns you.
Now we can all expect Cockfan to go nuts and proclaim easy victory, as in the past:
Even though The Citadel scored more points on Florida than they did.
Coaching News
TDP apparently has spoken with Bucs assistant Rich Bisaccia, a former coach at USuC (for Sparky) and Clemson under West. He was our RB Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Recall that neither West's nor Sparky's classes were that great. He was on the Tampa Bay staff when they won the Super Bowl however. I dont believe he's a serious candidate.
Ron Morris has an article on how its Dabo's job to lose.
I'll talk more about the Cluckers as the week goes on.
All Hail Ben Tillman.
The Curse owns you.
Now we can all expect Cockfan to go nuts and proclaim easy victory, as in the past:
Even though The Citadel scored more points on Florida than they did.
Coaching News
TDP apparently has spoken with Bucs assistant Rich Bisaccia, a former coach at USuC (for Sparky) and Clemson under West. He was our RB Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Recall that neither West's nor Sparky's classes were that great. He was on the Tampa Bay staff when they won the Super Bowl however. I dont believe he's a serious candidate.
Ron Morris has an article on how its Dabo's job to lose.
I'll talk more about the Cluckers as the week goes on.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Virginia Live Review
Fear the Pergola!
Am I the only one that thinks the Tiger Tailgate show sucks now? Back when Russ Cassell ran it, it was great. Learfield has royally fucked it up. I want Love & Hudson back doing Danny Ford impersonations too. I'd make sure to tune in early for a good song and a laugh, but just blows now.
1st Q
I hate purple pants. All white on the road dammit!
Clemson comes out in a base Cover 2 zone package, giving them the underneath passes as usual. The first drive is an example of VK's philosophy of playing soft zone and forcing them to execute to move downfield. They get a couple of first downs and then have to punt because they never threatened the endzone.
1st CU drive: Only highlight was a great catch by Kelly falling out of bounds. The direct snap to Davis on 3rd and a long 1 fails to get the 1st. We cant get one damn yard against this weak-ass DL?
The D eats them up in the backfield and we get the ball on the 2nd drive at midfield, and promptly punt. Harper is benefitting from either fairly good pass blocking or a bad UVA rush. Its like watching a cripple fight up front.
Michael Hamlin gets his 5th pick on a late throw underneath to a slot WR at the UVA 21. Looked like a quick out route. Two plays later CJ Spiller throws a 15yd TD to Grisham, sitting wide open in the endzone, on a HB Option Pass. Good block by Diehl to keep him free long enough to throw it. Spiller has now accounted for a touchdown four different ways in his career. He is the fourth player in Clemson history to do that. He joins Chansi Stuckey, Ray Mathews and Jackie Calvert in achieving that distinction.
Hamlin gets another on an underthrown ball over the middle at midfield, but it gets called back on an Offsides penalty. Ricky Sapp gets hurt on the next play, where it appeared like his cleat gets stuck and his ankle turns over. They hook up a pass over the middle for the first, then the QB hits the RB on a crossing route in the flat, and Byron Maxwell clocks him and Connor recovers the fumble. We got no pressure with the front on that series at all.
2nd Q
A 17 yard pass to Jacoby on his 2nd screen of the game. Could we not throw to him on a Fly route? On a 3rd and long they decide to throw underneath to Grisham to set up the kick instead of throwing to the marker. It did appear like the deeper routes were covered however. Buchholz FG.
VA Drives downfield inside the 10. Chancellor nearly picks off another pass in the endzone in 2nd and Goal, then Jackson gets a big (coverage) sack on 3rd down. Ricky Sapp goes down again on that play. UVA 34yd FG.
On the next drive Clemson gets to midfield, but on 3rd down they throw to Ford over the middle, short, and dont get the first. Still they wont throw to Ford DOWNFIELD. 4th down throw to Palmer is dropped at the 1st down marker.
Clemson's defense forces a 3 & out with great pressure from the down 4, and the UVA QB rushes a throw on 3rd down to a WR wide open at midfield and overthrows him.
On the next drive Harper throws late to Ford on what appeared to be a hitch-n-go and its nearly picked off and returned for a TD. Except for a handful of plays, UVA has not really pressured Cullen in the first half, but the run blocking is lacking. Kelly drops another 1st down 20 yards downfield but CJ bails him out by catching the next one at the sticks. Why are we not forcing them to backup with passes downfield? Cullen actually throws a good deep ball, yet we hardly ever try. He put the pass to Kelly in his hands. Kelly did make a good catch out-of-bounds on the next play. Buchholz is short on the very long FG attempt just before the half.
Halftime:
Clemson is getting good pressure with the front 4, but their QB is making poor throws. Our defense dropped a potential pick-6 and so did theirs. The Hoos havent really tried running the ball, and had no success when they did.
Clemson's line is pass-blocking fairly well, but run-blocking is poor. We get no push. Spiller got essentially nothing in the first half and though Davis did get a few yards, its nothing appreciable. Hopefully we can come out in the 2nd half and run better. Other than that, I don't have a problem with the play calling. Still, our points came off short drives (20 yd play, 36yd drive), with the longest drive being the last one of the 1st half (13 plays, 41 yd).
3rd Q: Again, on a 3rd and long, they throw under to Ford, with 4 blueshirts waiting behind him. THROW DOWNFIELD DAMMIT.
UVA and Clemson trade 3 & outs on the next two drives. Clemson's defense is sitting back in zone and the front 4 is still getting pressure, but they hardly attempt to run the ball. We are able to move on the ground a little better in the 3rd, but our recievers still cannot get open when we need them to, just like GT. Just when Clemson drives into UVA territory, we connect on a 4th down, then Cullen takes his eye off the ball on a Shotgun snap (at the UVA 23) and the ball sails 15-20 yards behind him and UVA recovers. It appears it was AUSTIN AGAIN WHO FUCKED THE SNAP UP.
UVA goes for the jugular and hits a 47yd TD (on FS S. Chambers) on the next play thats called back on a penalty. I wish Clemson would go for the jugular that way. Clemson's defense holds and forces a punt. On the next drive I believe we got shitted on the out-of-bounds catch that was reviewed incorrectly. Drive ends in a punt.
4th Q: Still 10-3.
We have 27 yards on the ground, pitiful. They have 30. Spiller has been non-existent and Davis too. Clemson's defense eats them up on their next drive into Clemson territory.
Clemson goes 3 & out, then on their next drive, after a few good plays, UVA throws a deep ball on a post route to our 40, but C. Butler picks it off in one-on-one coverage and returns it to the UVA 36. Then Clemson starts feeding it to JD, finally. We move downfield to inside the 10, then the staff decides to not run the ball with JD on 3rd down but have Harper take a knee to set the FG? What the fuck? There is 2:30 on the clock, go for the damn TD.
Buchholz FG. 10 play, 30 yard drive after the INT.
After Hamlin nearly picked off a bad Verica pass over the middle, D. McDaniel picks off one over the middle at the UVA 36. It appeared he didnt even see him, as McDaniel didnt have to move. Clemson took a knee.
James Davis had 65 rushing yards and needs 203 to become Clemson’s career leader. Aaron Kelly had 30 receiving yards and needs 99 to become Clemson’s all-time leader. Our defense is still ranked in the Top 20 in Total Defense and Top 10 in Pass Defense. #1 in the ACC. Cedric Peerman got nothing today for UVA.
We were 5/18 on 3rd downs, and had only 56yds on the ground.
We allowed 190 total yards, and had only 192...pathetic.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Oh. My. God.
You cant make this shit up.
CockyCloth? What the fuck?I prefer a moist towellette myself....
Cock'N Swirl? Is that like tossin salad or mouthwash? A columbia version of the Rub & Tug?
An original idea I must say.
I promise, if you read through the Guestbook, you will laugh your ass off.
Was the Cabernet not enough Steve?
Coaching Candidates: Troy Calhoun
At least he has the right last name for the job.
Currently the Head Coach at the USAF Academy, and also a graduate of the Academy. Calhoun served from 1989-95 as an active duty officer in the Air Force. He was the Falcons' recruiting coordinator and the junior varsity offensive coordinator in 1993-94.(See Tom O'Brien if you want to know what a former militaryman HC could be like, in terms of team discipline.)
He replaced Fisher DeBerry (a wofford grad) as the HC of the Falcons after 23 years. FD was a candidate for the Clemson job when DF was fired, by the way.
Calhoun took what was a bad team in FD's last 3 seasons (4-8 immediately before) to a 2nd place finish in the MWC in just one year, finishing the 2007 season 9-4 overall. The Falcons earned their first bowl bid in five seasons, advancing to the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas. Calhoun was named MWC Coach of the year after that season. He is only the third MWC coach to do so in his first year, joining the likes of Urban Meyer. Calhoun was also a finalist for two different National Coach of the Year awards.
His resume;
2006: Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, Houston Texans (6-10, up from 2-14 in 05)
2005: Assistant to Head Coach, Denver Broncos (AFC West title, 14-4 record, 5th ranked offense)
2004: Offensive Assistant/ Special Teams, Denver Broncos (5th ranked offense)
2003: Defensive Assistant, Denver Broncos (NFL's fourth-ranked defense, made playoffs)
2001-02: Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, Wake Forest (Led ACC in Offense 2002)
1997-2000: Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, Ohio University (QB was MAC player of the year. school records in rushing yardage and total YPG in 2000)
1995-96: Quarterbacks, Ohio University
1993-94: Recruiting Coordinator/ JV Offensive Coordinator, Air Force
1989-90: Graduate Assistant, Air Force
What offense does he run? Its a complicated spread option, though given the athletes Clemson has, I'd expect it to morph into a more pro-style set like what he ran in the NFL. Remember, USAF ran the Bone under DeBerry. Just go back to look at what Grobe ran at WF. During his second season at WF, they led the ACC in total offense with 408.1 yards per game. His offense committed only 16 turnovers to lead the ACC. The 2001 season culminated with a 38-17 bowl victory over Oregon, his home state. An article talking about the changes to the USAF offense is here.
He is only making $600,000 at Air Force, with a quarter million dollar buyout.
Recruiting? Hard to say, as USAF can't get great players and WF can't either. All I can say is that he wins with what he's got.
Will he leave? He's at his alma mater, thats always a factor. It could be his dream job, we just don't know. Someone is going to come after him however. AF ends their season this week.
Given his NFL experience and track record on the offensive side of the ball, I think Calhoun is a solid candidate.
It was reported that Mike Locksley was the one interviewed by TDP in Detroit. He is the current Illinois OC under Zook. He's a good recruiter but I don't see Clemson hiring him, and dont consider him a real candidate, so I'm not going to review him.
Currently the Head Coach at the USAF Academy, and also a graduate of the Academy. Calhoun served from 1989-95 as an active duty officer in the Air Force. He was the Falcons' recruiting coordinator and the junior varsity offensive coordinator in 1993-94.(See Tom O'Brien if you want to know what a former militaryman HC could be like, in terms of team discipline.)
He replaced Fisher DeBerry (a wofford grad) as the HC of the Falcons after 23 years. FD was a candidate for the Clemson job when DF was fired, by the way.
Calhoun took what was a bad team in FD's last 3 seasons (4-8 immediately before) to a 2nd place finish in the MWC in just one year, finishing the 2007 season 9-4 overall. The Falcons earned their first bowl bid in five seasons, advancing to the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas. Calhoun was named MWC Coach of the year after that season. He is only the third MWC coach to do so in his first year, joining the likes of Urban Meyer. Calhoun was also a finalist for two different National Coach of the Year awards.
His resume;
2006: Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, Houston Texans (6-10, up from 2-14 in 05)
2005: Assistant to Head Coach, Denver Broncos (AFC West title, 14-4 record, 5th ranked offense)
2004: Offensive Assistant/ Special Teams, Denver Broncos (5th ranked offense)
2003: Defensive Assistant, Denver Broncos (NFL's fourth-ranked defense, made playoffs)
2001-02: Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, Wake Forest (Led ACC in Offense 2002)
1997-2000: Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, Ohio University (QB was MAC player of the year. school records in rushing yardage and total YPG in 2000)
1995-96: Quarterbacks, Ohio University
1993-94: Recruiting Coordinator/ JV Offensive Coordinator, Air Force
1989-90: Graduate Assistant, Air Force
What offense does he run? Its a complicated spread option, though given the athletes Clemson has, I'd expect it to morph into a more pro-style set like what he ran in the NFL. Remember, USAF ran the Bone under DeBerry. Just go back to look at what Grobe ran at WF. During his second season at WF, they led the ACC in total offense with 408.1 yards per game. His offense committed only 16 turnovers to lead the ACC. The 2001 season culminated with a 38-17 bowl victory over Oregon, his home state. An article talking about the changes to the USAF offense is here.
He is only making $600,000 at Air Force, with a quarter million dollar buyout.
Recruiting? Hard to say, as USAF can't get great players and WF can't either. All I can say is that he wins with what he's got.
Will he leave? He's at his alma mater, thats always a factor. It could be his dream job, we just don't know. Someone is going to come after him however. AF ends their season this week.
Given his NFL experience and track record on the offensive side of the ball, I think Calhoun is a solid candidate.
It was reported that Mike Locksley was the one interviewed by TDP in Detroit. He is the current Illinois OC under Zook. He's a good recruiter but I don't see Clemson hiring him, and dont consider him a real candidate, so I'm not going to review him.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Muschamp named Coach-in-waiting at Texas
The AP Release
This will all hinge on whether Muschamp really wants this over one of the lucrative opportunities open to him now. Mack Brown has 8 years on his contract, how long does Muschamp want to wait? This is going to be longer than Jimbo Fisher has to wait at FSU. As far as I can tell, nobody has made him a concrete offer of a job with salary numbers. Rumors were that he was to be interviewed soon for the Clemson job, since Texas is off this weekend.
The story as reported by the Texas site is here.
I can't disagree with him, Austin is a very nice city to live in. That is not to say I'm happy about it, as I'm not as thrilled with the other candidates as I was Muschamp.
Just so long as its not Bobby Johnson.
This, along with previous comments, probably puts Bud Foster in the forefront, but any interviews with current head coaches will wait until the regular season is over.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has been designated head coach-in-waiting by the university, expected to take over the Longhorns when coach Mack Brown retires.
Muschamp is in his first year with the Longhorns, but athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Tuesday he and Brown know they want to keep him at Texas. To do that, they will more than double his salary from $425,000 to $900,000 in January. He will remain defensive coordinator.
Dodds said he wants the 57-year-old Brown to coach for a long time but said he wanted to line up Muschamp now to avoid the "trauma" of a coaching search when the day comes that Brown steps down.
This will all hinge on whether Muschamp really wants this over one of the lucrative opportunities open to him now. Mack Brown has 8 years on his contract, how long does Muschamp want to wait? This is going to be longer than Jimbo Fisher has to wait at FSU. As far as I can tell, nobody has made him a concrete offer of a job with salary numbers. Rumors were that he was to be interviewed soon for the Clemson job, since Texas is off this weekend.
The story as reported by the Texas site is here.
""When I first came here in January and my wife, Carol, and boys, Jackson and Whit, stayed back in Auburn, I got such a great feel for the community and people. When Carol and the kids moved here in May, they fell in love with Austin. If I would have left, I would have left on my own because she was staying here. She really loves the community and the people, and our kids love their schools. It's just a special place and somewhere I want to be for a long time."
I can't disagree with him, Austin is a very nice city to live in. That is not to say I'm happy about it, as I'm not as thrilled with the other candidates as I was Muschamp.
Just so long as its not Bobby Johnson.
This, along with previous comments, probably puts Bud Foster in the forefront, but any interviews with current head coaches will wait until the regular season is over.
Monday, November 17, 2008
A little news
Superman still injured? WTF?
It appears that Korn's shoulder is still pretty tender, and might be for the rest of the year. It didnt look bad to me against Duke, where he went 7-12. His throws didnt look any worse than Harper's usually weak-ass back-foot throws this year.
Woo, afternoon delight!
The ACC announced Monday that Clemson’s home game with Sakerlina on Nov. 29 will kick off at either noon or 3:30 p.m. and be televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or Raycom. This basically hinges on whether we beat the Pergolas. If we do, expect 3:30 on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2, otherwise another nooner.
Spiller and Davis
Since Spiller was named ACC Player of the Week again, I'm left to wonder what he and JD might do if one of them actually got the ball 20-25 times a game, like they would under Danny Ford. Spiller got that many total touches this week, but JD didnt. You can try to tell me that our OL sucks and JD has no holes to run through, but I'll point out that he had 9 carries for 43 yards, a 4+ average, and has had similar other times this year....yet still doesnt get the damn ball. Jamie Harper got 9 carries against Duke that shouldve gone to JD.
If he'd have gotten the carries he shouldve the last 2 years, we'd be talking about a few national rushing records, not just Raymond Priester's.
Bud Foster
Looks like the interview with Foster went very well friday.
He goes on to say a decision will be coming up soon. Collegiate Times has a good review article on Foster here. I've reviewed him before here
And, showcasing the smartest play of the entire weekend....
God still hates Sakerlina.
Its so fun to see them crushed...
This QB rotation is really working well Steve.
LW's replacement speaks
Some coaching notes indicate Muschamp might be spoken with before midweek. Texas is in a BYE week this week, and plays A&M on Thanksgiving. I'm more intrigued by Bisaccia, who, judging by Tommy West's and Sparky Wood's recruiting classes, wasnt so damn hot.
Oh and Herbstreit said today on a radio show he thinks Tubbs will come to Clemson....
Well then...
It appears that Korn's shoulder is still pretty tender, and might be for the rest of the year. It didnt look bad to me against Duke, where he went 7-12. His throws didnt look any worse than Harper's usually weak-ass back-foot throws this year.
"I'd be lying to you if I told you he was 100 percent, because he's not," Napier said. "But he can play."
"He is able to function, but from a strength standpoint he's not anywhere near where he was when he first arrived here," Napier said. "We all remember that guy. I think he's had two injuries basically that have set him back, collarbone then the shoulder. From an arm-strength standpoint, he is not back."
Woo, afternoon delight!
The ACC announced Monday that Clemson’s home game with Sakerlina on Nov. 29 will kick off at either noon or 3:30 p.m. and be televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or Raycom. This basically hinges on whether we beat the Pergolas. If we do, expect 3:30 on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2, otherwise another nooner.
Spiller and Davis
Since Spiller was named ACC Player of the Week again, I'm left to wonder what he and JD might do if one of them actually got the ball 20-25 times a game, like they would under Danny Ford. Spiller got that many total touches this week, but JD didnt. You can try to tell me that our OL sucks and JD has no holes to run through, but I'll point out that he had 9 carries for 43 yards, a 4+ average, and has had similar other times this year....yet still doesnt get the damn ball. Jamie Harper got 9 carries against Duke that shouldve gone to JD.
If he'd have gotten the carries he shouldve the last 2 years, we'd be talking about a few national rushing records, not just Raymond Priester's.
Bud Foster
Looks like the interview with Foster went very well friday.
“I did interview. There’s an interest on both parts, and we’ll just see where it goes from there. I’m one of several potential candidates for the job and we’ll see where it goes here in another week or so. That’s all I know, and that’s all I can say.”
He goes on to say a decision will be coming up soon. Collegiate Times has a good review article on Foster here. I've reviewed him before here
And, showcasing the smartest play of the entire weekend....
God still hates Sakerlina.
Its so fun to see them crushed...
This QB rotation is really working well Steve.
LW's replacement speaks
Some coaching notes indicate Muschamp might be spoken with before midweek. Texas is in a BYE week this week, and plays A&M on Thanksgiving. I'm more intrigued by Bisaccia, who, judging by Tommy West's and Sparky Wood's recruiting classes, wasnt so damn hot.
Oh and Herbstreit said today on a radio show he thinks Tubbs will come to Clemson....
Well then...
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Duke Game Live Review
I'm just loving the stunning play-by-play of Steve Martin, I look forward to it every week. His commentary partner, Doc Walker, has an IQ of about 100, dumber than your average retard.
Please retire the Orange pants, this team does not deserve to wear them ever again.
1st Q
-First Clemson drive started well, but a poor block by Hutch caused a sack, and Cullen didnt even see him coming. We ran a screen, it didnt work...GASP.
Isnt it great when the Duke QB has better statistics than the Clemson QB?
Clemson is showing a mix of Man-Free and Cover 2 early, and for once a blitz was called and actually worked with Maye collapsing the pocket for the sack, putting them in 3rd & long and forcing a punt. Basically each side mirrored each other with the first drives.
-2nd drive, we threw to Durrell Barry! Holy shit a pass to the TE?! It was overthrown just a step, and angled too much to the sideline. Then we run a Draw! Perhaps they did watch the film this week of FSU. Playcalling early is good, execution is AWFUL. I want JD to get the ball some though.
Steve Martin on 1981-"Theres the NC trophy, the best and worst thing to happen to Clemson, because they've expected it to happen every year since."
Fuck off Martin.
-3rd drive: We came right out and gave it to JD, then we just had to run another GD end-around, and a screen to Grisham actually worked. CJ lights them up from 24 yds out on a counter sweep play for the TD. 9 plays, 58 yards drive.
Appears that Thaddeus Lewis is injured after the almost-sack. Our DL grabbed him by the ankle and it rolled over as he was scrambling and throwing it away. Asack is clearly well behind Lewis in ability.
CU-120yds, Duke-31 yds in the 1st Q.
2nd Q
4th drive: Cullen passes over 5000yds passing, #4 in CU history, after a great throw to Kelly. Chop block by Hutch puts us in 3rd & 20, then Cullen makes another good throw on the money to Palmer against good man coverage by the safety.
TD by JD in the flat called back on a hold, AGAIN. A defender missed assignment. It was an obvious takedown though. The penalty and another sack allowed forced a 53yd FG that died. If we could just stop shooting ourselves in the foot....
5th drive: WILL KORN COMES IN. 2 great plays by Spiller, then a penalty and a bubble screen to Kelly that gets nothing....SURPRISE. He follows it up with a great catch for the first down, I'm flabbergasted. He's 6 catches away from the ACC career mark. Just imagine where he'd be if he could catch easy passes that hit his hands. A poor screen play was almost intercepted (they blitzed), Clemson gets a 39yd FG.
6th drive: Harper back in. Screen:nothing. A good pass in the flat to Spiller (missed assignment) and Kelly, then another screen that gets nothing. Great play by CJ running after the short dump over the middle to get a TD, but it was called down at the 1. JD gets the TD on the next play off-tackle and a great block by Diehl. 8 plays, 51 yards.
-Halftime
Duke's passing game is now nil, and Clemson is not giving up anything on the ground. Now that Lewis is out we're basically in a base 4-3 cover 1/2 zone package, and we're getting pressure with the down 4. 3 sacks in the first half. We've forced 4 straight 3 & outs. Duke barely gets 10 total yards in the 2nd Quarter.
Offensive playcalling is fine, a few too many screens. Duke is getting far too much pressure on Harper with the front 4.
Punt returns by Ford and Spiller havent amounted to anything substantial, with Ford deciding to make people miss instead of getting positive yards on one.
3rd Q
Duke comes out running Asack on keepers and executing well, but Asack's inaccuracy hinders them.
-1st CU drive, Spiller burns them on a 83yd screen! A screen for a fucking TD! Great blocks by Cloy and Palmer to free him. He goes over 100yds receiving.
2nd Duke drive-Bowers bats down a pass and on the next play Hamlin makes his 4th Pick at midfield on a bad throw over the middle on what looked like a short WR crossing route.
On the following CU drive, Cullen hits JD in the flat on a wheel route, #16 misses a tackle and frees him for a big gain with a face-mask added on. Kelly fails to catch a pass that hit his numbers for a TD. See, as soon as you brag on him, he fucks up. JD takes it in up the C-G gap on the next play. Clemson has benefitted from field position all day today. Hopefully we can get one good long drive in before the starters come out and we have to go into the stiff wind in the 4th Quarter.
3rd drive-Why is Jamie Harper in now? Give the damn football to JD. He only has 9 carries for 43 yards at this point. If you would just give him 20-25 carries he'd have 100 yards every week and Priesters record wouldve been moot LAST YEAR. If you want to put the 2nd team in, why isnt Korn in? WHY THE FUCK IS JD NOT GETTING THE BALL ON 4TH AND 1? We get the ball on their 48 and can't get anything. Put your foot on their throat and stomp them Dabo, dont pussyfoot around like Tom did.
4th drive-WILL KORN COMES IN. JD nowhere to be found. J. Harper had a nicer gain coming on the Draw if Korn had helped block downfield. Korn's pass to Kelly on the screen following the False Start penalty was STUPID. He shouldve thrown that away, be thankful Kelly actually caught it or it wouldve been pick-6.
4th Q
84 yards by Duke in 3 quarters, 307 and 144 pass/rush by Clemson. We should have well over 200yds rushing and 40+ points right now.
Korn misses a wide open M. Jones completely on what looked like a quick hitch or slant route, pass was 3 yards behind him into the wind on 4th down around the Duke 30.
5th drive-Aaron Kelly makes his 10th catch (95 yds) and breaks the ACC record for receptions with 217 from Cullen. Korn goes back in immediately after. Duke gets a gift on the PI that wasnt called on Dye. Clemson punts.
If Kelly can get designed plays for his record, why doesnt JD get the ball to try to break Priester's record? This is fucking Duke for Christ's sake. Tell me why he doesnt get the ball every other play this quarter?
Clemson's secondary has a brain fart as Sensabaugh decides to not cover Riley and to just jump in the air to bat the floater down with one hand instead of picking it off, and Duke breaks the shutout. It was man-free coverage. 31-7.
Sensabaugh makes up for it a bit with an INT at the Clemson 10 on the next Duke drive. This drive was the worst the Defense looked today, but it was entirely 2nd and 3rd string players.
Doc Walker makes a good comment at the end of the game. "They knew (coming into the season) their OL had problems coming in, but thats your fault. Its not like you dont have 5 300lb guys up there now, if they cant block then you have to look at the coaching. You dont hear Miami crying, because they are young up front, man up." (i.e., Brad Scott)
Please retire the Orange pants, this team does not deserve to wear them ever again.
1st Q
-First Clemson drive started well, but a poor block by Hutch caused a sack, and Cullen didnt even see him coming. We ran a screen, it didnt work...GASP.
Isnt it great when the Duke QB has better statistics than the Clemson QB?
Clemson is showing a mix of Man-Free and Cover 2 early, and for once a blitz was called and actually worked with Maye collapsing the pocket for the sack, putting them in 3rd & long and forcing a punt. Basically each side mirrored each other with the first drives.
-2nd drive, we threw to Durrell Barry! Holy shit a pass to the TE?! It was overthrown just a step, and angled too much to the sideline. Then we run a Draw! Perhaps they did watch the film this week of FSU. Playcalling early is good, execution is AWFUL. I want JD to get the ball some though.
Steve Martin on 1981-"Theres the NC trophy, the best and worst thing to happen to Clemson, because they've expected it to happen every year since."
Fuck off Martin.
-3rd drive: We came right out and gave it to JD, then we just had to run another GD end-around, and a screen to Grisham actually worked. CJ lights them up from 24 yds out on a counter sweep play for the TD. 9 plays, 58 yards drive.
Appears that Thaddeus Lewis is injured after the almost-sack. Our DL grabbed him by the ankle and it rolled over as he was scrambling and throwing it away. Asack is clearly well behind Lewis in ability.
CU-120yds, Duke-31 yds in the 1st Q.
2nd Q
4th drive: Cullen passes over 5000yds passing, #4 in CU history, after a great throw to Kelly. Chop block by Hutch puts us in 3rd & 20, then Cullen makes another good throw on the money to Palmer against good man coverage by the safety.
TD by JD in the flat called back on a hold, AGAIN. A defender missed assignment. It was an obvious takedown though. The penalty and another sack allowed forced a 53yd FG that died. If we could just stop shooting ourselves in the foot....
5th drive: WILL KORN COMES IN. 2 great plays by Spiller, then a penalty and a bubble screen to Kelly that gets nothing....SURPRISE. He follows it up with a great catch for the first down, I'm flabbergasted. He's 6 catches away from the ACC career mark. Just imagine where he'd be if he could catch easy passes that hit his hands. A poor screen play was almost intercepted (they blitzed), Clemson gets a 39yd FG.
6th drive: Harper back in. Screen:nothing. A good pass in the flat to Spiller (missed assignment) and Kelly, then another screen that gets nothing. Great play by CJ running after the short dump over the middle to get a TD, but it was called down at the 1. JD gets the TD on the next play off-tackle and a great block by Diehl. 8 plays, 51 yards.
-Halftime
Duke's passing game is now nil, and Clemson is not giving up anything on the ground. Now that Lewis is out we're basically in a base 4-3 cover 1/2 zone package, and we're getting pressure with the down 4. 3 sacks in the first half. We've forced 4 straight 3 & outs. Duke barely gets 10 total yards in the 2nd Quarter.
Offensive playcalling is fine, a few too many screens. Duke is getting far too much pressure on Harper with the front 4.
Punt returns by Ford and Spiller havent amounted to anything substantial, with Ford deciding to make people miss instead of getting positive yards on one.
3rd Q
Duke comes out running Asack on keepers and executing well, but Asack's inaccuracy hinders them.
-1st CU drive, Spiller burns them on a 83yd screen! A screen for a fucking TD! Great blocks by Cloy and Palmer to free him. He goes over 100yds receiving.
2nd Duke drive-Bowers bats down a pass and on the next play Hamlin makes his 4th Pick at midfield on a bad throw over the middle on what looked like a short WR crossing route.
On the following CU drive, Cullen hits JD in the flat on a wheel route, #16 misses a tackle and frees him for a big gain with a face-mask added on. Kelly fails to catch a pass that hit his numbers for a TD. See, as soon as you brag on him, he fucks up. JD takes it in up the C-G gap on the next play. Clemson has benefitted from field position all day today. Hopefully we can get one good long drive in before the starters come out and we have to go into the stiff wind in the 4th Quarter.
3rd drive-Why is Jamie Harper in now? Give the damn football to JD. He only has 9 carries for 43 yards at this point. If you would just give him 20-25 carries he'd have 100 yards every week and Priesters record wouldve been moot LAST YEAR. If you want to put the 2nd team in, why isnt Korn in? WHY THE FUCK IS JD NOT GETTING THE BALL ON 4TH AND 1? We get the ball on their 48 and can't get anything. Put your foot on their throat and stomp them Dabo, dont pussyfoot around like Tom did.
4th drive-WILL KORN COMES IN. JD nowhere to be found. J. Harper had a nicer gain coming on the Draw if Korn had helped block downfield. Korn's pass to Kelly on the screen following the False Start penalty was STUPID. He shouldve thrown that away, be thankful Kelly actually caught it or it wouldve been pick-6.
4th Q
84 yards by Duke in 3 quarters, 307 and 144 pass/rush by Clemson. We should have well over 200yds rushing and 40+ points right now.
Korn misses a wide open M. Jones completely on what looked like a quick hitch or slant route, pass was 3 yards behind him into the wind on 4th down around the Duke 30.
5th drive-Aaron Kelly makes his 10th catch (95 yds) and breaks the ACC record for receptions with 217 from Cullen. Korn goes back in immediately after. Duke gets a gift on the PI that wasnt called on Dye. Clemson punts.
If Kelly can get designed plays for his record, why doesnt JD get the ball to try to break Priester's record? This is fucking Duke for Christ's sake. Tell me why he doesnt get the ball every other play this quarter?
Clemson's secondary has a brain fart as Sensabaugh decides to not cover Riley and to just jump in the air to bat the floater down with one hand instead of picking it off, and Duke breaks the shutout. It was man-free coverage. 31-7.
Sensabaugh makes up for it a bit with an INT at the Clemson 10 on the next Duke drive. This drive was the worst the Defense looked today, but it was entirely 2nd and 3rd string players.
Doc Walker makes a good comment at the end of the game. "They knew (coming into the season) their OL had problems coming in, but thats your fault. Its not like you dont have 5 300lb guys up there now, if they cant block then you have to look at the coaching. You dont hear Miami crying, because they are young up front, man up." (i.e., Brad Scott)
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