Well it was another rainy weekend in Clemson and another close loss as the Tigers went down to TCU 14-10. Just as I predicted before the season, we were one big special teams play away from the victory. The defense put up a great effort and if it wasn't for a fluke reception we may have held the offensive "powerhouse" to just 7 points. Unfortunately the offense didn't help out any and here are a few of the problems I think we continue to show on that side of the ball:
1) Receiving – we can’t catch and we can’t run routes. Ford, our best receiver, dropped a sure first down on the first drive of the game that foreshadowed things to come. He would have had an easier time catching it if he had just run a crisp route, but still, he should have caught it.
2) Rushing – our running plays develop too slowly and our runningbacks hesitate to hit the hole. This may work out from time to time for a big play but whenever the D stiffens up (red zone, 3rd and short, etc) it results in no gain.
3) Game Management – Our defense was one fluke catch away from a shutout when we decided to go for it on 4th down. Makes no sense, especially when we can’t run worth shit. Punt the damn ball and play D. Also, let’s not even mention the last minute of the game.
4) Quarterback – While Parker did a great job and made some great throws in bad conditions, he also showed a tendency to drift to the right side of the field. I’m glad that he steps up in the pocket and looks downfield instead of drifting out the back, but after that he should either throw the ball or tuck and run. Drifting to the right takes away half of the receivers and turns 2nd and 5 or less into 2nd and 10. The one exception would be a desperation situation like our second to last possession.
These problems stem from an inexperienced offensive coaching staff. I still think our biggest mistake as a program was not hiring an experienced offensive coordinator. I'm sure Napier is a good buddy and a great guy, but that doesn't mean he should have been hired as OC when we have such an inexperienced head coach. The vacuum on that side of the ball is clearly evident.
That being said, here are a few things I think we should do in order to improve the offense:
1) Route Running drills - After practice conditioning for receivers should be route running drills. They should have to run them perfectly or get back in line and run them again. This should progress through at least 10 different routes, 3 times each.
2) Ball Catching drills - Texas Tech uses tennis balls. Jerry Rice used bricks. Either way, let's come up with some catching drills that will get our guys to focus on the damn ball. Running better routes will make catching easier, but catching drills will attack the problem directly. Also we should institute practice rules like they do in the pro's, where if you drop a pass you pay a penalty. In college, that penalty can be several things: gassers, more study time, extra weights time, stadium steps, etc.
3) Running Play Construction - Our coaches need to go back to the drawing board when it comes to most of our running plays, and some passing plays need to be re-considered for inclusion. For running plays, I love the fact that we're using the fullback more often, but we need to get the RB to the hole much faster and this involves where the RBs line up, where they take the handoff, and their run progression. In case this isn't it already, our RBs should be coached on the following run progression: 1) take the handoff, 2) hit the hole, 3) make one cut (if needed), 4) run your landmarks (hash, numbers, sideline). This should be reinforced in the film room by showing how plays have opened up in actual games only to be shut down before the ball is advanced, and it should be reinforced in practice by using the non-contact periods to practice timing.
4) Pass Play Construction - We completely neglect the quick-hitting upfield passing game. We have the fastest receiver in the nation (Ford) and yet he's only caught one quick slant in his career (last year vs Nebraska.) The success of that one play should have shown the coaches something they should incorporate in the gameplan each week. We need to include the plays that get the ball upfield and get it upfield fast. Screens have been used sparingly this year and that trend should continue. The tight end has been used sparingly this year and that trend should be reversed. We have a young quarterback with receivers that are letting him down: make the tight end the second receiver in the progression, he presents an easy target for the QB and he attacks the middle of the coverage, usually a weak spot.
5) Quarterback Progression - We need to get Kyle Parker to make a decision after he's stepped up into the pocket: run or pass. He is doing a great job of making his drops, scanning the field, then stepping up into the pocket (instead of drifting out of the back.) Now we need him to either deliver the ball or to pick up a quick 5 yards if nobody is in front of him. I love his ability to keep the play alive, but we need to keep drives alive and our current habit of having the QB slide out to the right side is just not getting it done.
I'm sure there's more but that's all I can think of right now. Overall I think we have a good team and we have a lot to be excited about. We should drum a terrible Maryland team this week and use our off week to whip our offense into shape. Considering the weakness of our schedule coming up (with the possible exception of Miami, although I think VT showed how weak they are when faced with a good defense) we are in position to win our division and face VT in the conference championship. There is no reason this team shouldn't be able to accomplish this, it just depends on our offensive coaching staff.
9.27.2009
9.20.2009
Boston College Wrapup
The Tigers beat Boston College 25-7 yesterday in the longest football game in Clemson Football history. CJ Spiller had the only Tiger touchdown on the day with a long punt return and Richard Jackson scored the bulk of the points on 6 field goals including a long 52 yarder. The real story of the day was the Clemson defense which absolutely dominated the Eagles and held them to 55 yards. If our offense had managed to do anything noteworthy, the defensive numbers may have been even more staggering.
Unfortunately our offense was eerily reminiscent of Tommy Bowden run teams, with the exception of the use of the fullback. We seemed quick to abandon the fundamentals and our playcalling seemed panicked and gimmick-filled. When our quarterback started out a little shaky, we pulled him in favor of the fan-favorite backup. When our receivers dropped a few passes, we started running screens and junk plays. We showed in our third game of the year that we have a very inexperienced head coach and an even more inexperienced offensive coordinator.
Some other noteworthy events happened this week in the ACC, mainly Miami dominated Georgia Tech and Florida State dominated BYU. Both of these games mean that I may have underestimated Miami and FSU in my pre-season prediction. Then again, Miami did face a bad pass defense in GT as well as a complete lack of a pass rush due to Tech trying their all-star defensive end out at linebacker for some reason. FSU was a complete surprise but they were playing a bunch of slow Mormons after all.
If we can't turn it around on offense, we're not going to beat Miami or FSU, and our season will go from pretty good to pretty mediocre. We seemed to have something going against Georgia Tech in the second half, so maybe we just need our coaches to pretend like we're behind in every game and they'll call aggressive plays that stretch the defense. Our defense is very good against the pass so we'll be able to stop both Miami and FSU on a lot of drives, but without any offensive production of our own the sheer speed of those two teams will beat us.
Here's to hoping we have a turnaround game with TCU. Our offense needs to play very well if we want to win this game. Our defense just can't do everything for us, and if punting is our best offensive play again this week then this game is going to seem even longer.
Unfortunately our offense was eerily reminiscent of Tommy Bowden run teams, with the exception of the use of the fullback. We seemed quick to abandon the fundamentals and our playcalling seemed panicked and gimmick-filled. When our quarterback started out a little shaky, we pulled him in favor of the fan-favorite backup. When our receivers dropped a few passes, we started running screens and junk plays. We showed in our third game of the year that we have a very inexperienced head coach and an even more inexperienced offensive coordinator.
Some other noteworthy events happened this week in the ACC, mainly Miami dominated Georgia Tech and Florida State dominated BYU. Both of these games mean that I may have underestimated Miami and FSU in my pre-season prediction. Then again, Miami did face a bad pass defense in GT as well as a complete lack of a pass rush due to Tech trying their all-star defensive end out at linebacker for some reason. FSU was a complete surprise but they were playing a bunch of slow Mormons after all.
If we can't turn it around on offense, we're not going to beat Miami or FSU, and our season will go from pretty good to pretty mediocre. We seemed to have something going against Georgia Tech in the second half, so maybe we just need our coaches to pretend like we're behind in every game and they'll call aggressive plays that stretch the defense. Our defense is very good against the pass so we'll be able to stop both Miami and FSU on a lot of drives, but without any offensive production of our own the sheer speed of those two teams will beat us.
Here's to hoping we have a turnaround game with TCU. Our offense needs to play very well if we want to win this game. Our defense just can't do everything for us, and if punting is our best offensive play again this week then this game is going to seem even longer.
9.10.2009
Georgia Tech Wrapup
The game clock just ran out but this Tiger football team is just getting started. I was very impressed by what I saw tonight even though we had a lot of lame-brained mistakes. We started out the game by blowing two offensive opportunities, allowing a big triple option touchdown, allowing a punt return for a touchdown off a blown pooch kick, and allowing a fake punt pass for a touchdown. After that the Tigers locked down Paul Johnson and the triple option, and held Tech to only 3 more points until the last minute of the contest.
Kyle Parker continued to show that he has what it takes to be a great quarterback. The Tiger defense continued to aggressively go after the ball and came up with some big interceptions. Most encouragingly, we made some big time adjustments and went on a 24 unanswered point streak. That is something we never did under the previous coaching staff. Overall we did better in this game than I thought we would and we even spotted Georgia Tech 14 points in the first quarter. Such is to be expected with a young team and a young coach.
The sad thing about this game is that the outcome was radically changed by an officiating mistake. Yes, Clemson made plenty of mistakes and those are the main reason we lost: you take away the 14 points from special teams errors and we win the game by 11. However, that doesn't change the fact that the referee called a holding penalty on an offensive lineman that used correct blocking technique which resulted in the reversal of a long pass play that put the Tigers in field goal range. Our lineman had both of his hands inside, on the numbers, just like you're supposed to. He drove the defensive lineman to the inside towards his teammates like you're supposed to do. The defender fell down as he was being blocked. There was no illegal blocking there and the holding penalty was incorrect.
There is no guarantee that if you take away that bogus penalty with 3 minutes left in the game that Clemson would have won the game. We could have fumbled on the next play, who knows. That still doesn't change the fact that the last 3 minutes of the game were played out differently than they should have been because of a terrible officiating mistake. In such a hard fought game, with one team coming back from such a deficit, it is unacceptable that such poor officiating alters the results of the players on the field.
The great thing is that our coaches and our players showed that they have character: if they get down early, they can make adjustments, find the other guy's weaknesses, and fight back. This is something we haven't seen around Clemson in a long time. Also, our defense showed that it can completely shut down a powerful offense. We will face tougher passing tests this year, but we probably won't face a team that's better at running the ball than we faced tonight, and after a few missteps in the first quarter we completely locked them down for a good 45 minutes. Another positive is that even though we had another boneheaded tipped pass on offense (caused an interception) we had some guys step up and make tough catches and make big passing plays. This is only game 2 and we are showing that we have some seriously dangerous quick strike weapons and we have a quarterback that can get them the damn ball. We have a lot of positives going for us coming out of this close loss.
Some quick notes:
In conclusion, the Tigers played a lot better tonight than I thought we would. We put together some great drives and we had some great quick strikes. We still had some costly drops, but our offense as a whole really showed some great signs. Unfortunately, just as I predicted, we needed a special teams big play to get the win tonight and we just didn't get one. In fact we got two in reverse, both going for touchdowns for the bad guys. Our defense played much better against the triple option than I thought they would and our team played their hearts out and battled back in the face of seemingly unsurmountable odds. This is going to be a great year for Tiger football and if Dabo learns from his mistakes then we might even get a rematch with these guys at year's end.
Kyle Parker continued to show that he has what it takes to be a great quarterback. The Tiger defense continued to aggressively go after the ball and came up with some big interceptions. Most encouragingly, we made some big time adjustments and went on a 24 unanswered point streak. That is something we never did under the previous coaching staff. Overall we did better in this game than I thought we would and we even spotted Georgia Tech 14 points in the first quarter. Such is to be expected with a young team and a young coach.
The sad thing about this game is that the outcome was radically changed by an officiating mistake. Yes, Clemson made plenty of mistakes and those are the main reason we lost: you take away the 14 points from special teams errors and we win the game by 11. However, that doesn't change the fact that the referee called a holding penalty on an offensive lineman that used correct blocking technique which resulted in the reversal of a long pass play that put the Tigers in field goal range. Our lineman had both of his hands inside, on the numbers, just like you're supposed to. He drove the defensive lineman to the inside towards his teammates like you're supposed to do. The defender fell down as he was being blocked. There was no illegal blocking there and the holding penalty was incorrect.
There is no guarantee that if you take away that bogus penalty with 3 minutes left in the game that Clemson would have won the game. We could have fumbled on the next play, who knows. That still doesn't change the fact that the last 3 minutes of the game were played out differently than they should have been because of a terrible officiating mistake. In such a hard fought game, with one team coming back from such a deficit, it is unacceptable that such poor officiating alters the results of the players on the field.
The great thing is that our coaches and our players showed that they have character: if they get down early, they can make adjustments, find the other guy's weaknesses, and fight back. This is something we haven't seen around Clemson in a long time. Also, our defense showed that it can completely shut down a powerful offense. We will face tougher passing tests this year, but we probably won't face a team that's better at running the ball than we faced tonight, and after a few missteps in the first quarter we completely locked them down for a good 45 minutes. Another positive is that even though we had another boneheaded tipped pass on offense (caused an interception) we had some guys step up and make tough catches and make big passing plays. This is only game 2 and we are showing that we have some seriously dangerous quick strike weapons and we have a quarterback that can get them the damn ball. We have a lot of positives going for us coming out of this close loss.
Some quick notes:
- Rendrick Taylor, I'm sorry about what I said in my last post, that was some amazing blocking tonight. I just hope you can realize how much of a beast you are and hit people like that when you're holding the ball.
- Dabo, please don't use the field goal pooch kick any more. It's cool if you have a smart kicker, but obviously we do not.
- Also, please don't run a trap on 3rd and 1 in a critical situation, especially against a good defensive line. The pulling guard always gets blown up into the backfield and disrupts the play, and against a good defense it just won't work, so stop it.
- I counted 4 junk plays tonight. That's 4 too many in my book, but still much better than Bowden (reverse, tunnel screen, and two shotgun options I think)
In conclusion, the Tigers played a lot better tonight than I thought we would. We put together some great drives and we had some great quick strikes. We still had some costly drops, but our offense as a whole really showed some great signs. Unfortunately, just as I predicted, we needed a special teams big play to get the win tonight and we just didn't get one. In fact we got two in reverse, both going for touchdowns for the bad guys. Our defense played much better against the triple option than I thought they would and our team played their hearts out and battled back in the face of seemingly unsurmountable odds. This is going to be a great year for Tiger football and if Dabo learns from his mistakes then we might even get a rematch with these guys at year's end.
9.07.2009
Clemson Football 2009 Season Prediction
I know what you're thinking... it's a little late to do a prediction, football season started Saturday... well, I'm throwing a change-up. It wouldn't make sense to do any sort of predicting before seeing the first game of the year seeing as we have a new coaching staff and a lot of new faces on the field. Now that I've gotten a chance to see how the team is going to react in an actual game situation I think I have a good idea of how this year may pan out.
First let me just say a few things about the win against Middle Tennessee. Watching this game was a refreshing experience (aside from the rain and humidity of the second half.) Having been to the Gator Bowl last year and suffered through that debacle, I really didn't know what to expect this year at all. Saturday some of my fears were put to rest and I saw some really positive things. Most importantly, we have a quarterback. We have a bona fide team leader, an athlete that commands the game, Kyle Parker. This guy was extremely impressive in his first ever college football game. He had great poise in the pocket, he showed the ability to move around to get extra time without panicking, and he even took off for a few nice gains using his feet. When he threw the ball, he used the right speed and touch to deliver the passes appropriately for the situation. Unlike our last 4 quarterbacks, he didn't drift backwards out of the pocket. (This has been a big problem for a while, and one of the reasons less astute observers have blamed the offensive line for our woes.) We've still got to see how Parker reacts against adversity and against a better defense, but he showed he has what it takes to really get the job done. I think the best thing about seeing Parker perform was knowing that if Tommy Bowden was our coach Parker would be on the bench. Now that we're free of coaching through ego and hype we can make adjustments to get the best team on the field and hopefully win games.
Offensively we showed that we are a team with a new coach and a new quarterback. I was relieved that the playcalling wasn't as atrocious as last year, but I was unnerved at the lack of execution shown by our more veteran players. Unlike the Gator Bowl, I think we only ran two "junk" plays (bubble screens, reverses, etc) and in fact we used a lot of traditional formations (a fullback even) and fundamental play calls. We saw a lot of pass plays that were designed to move the ball upfield instead of east and west. It was great to see an offensive strategy that revolved around running the ball and keeping the defense honest by attacking them through the air. If our receivers had caught the ball more often (Parker suffered a Willie Simmons-like fate in the first quarter) we may have developed more rhythm. When we get our feet under us we should have a pretty solid offense. Some other quick thoughts:
Special teams play was excellent. Again we have to remember that the opponent was not very talented, but still it was great to see Spiller and Ford score on kick returns. If we can get good return yardage all year it will really help out our offense which is presently the weakest part of the team. A kick return for a touchdown in a big game will probably mean the difference for us this year as we aren't just going to over power any respectable team on offense.
OK, so how is this going to translate into the rest of the year? Well, here is what I think:
Thu, Sep 10 at Georgia Tech - Loss
Paul Johnson showed last year that he's a great coach and he is turning Georgia Tech into a powerhouse. We are not ready for this challenge yet. Our offense can generate points and big plays but we are not consistent enough yet to face Georgia Tech. They are going to run that triple option until we're blue in the face and our defense is going to be worn out. If our offense could chew up the clock and put together long drives then we might have a chance. Unfortunately, we do not. Georgia Tech Wins.
Sat, Sep 19 Boston College - Win
BC had an impressive score in their opener, but I still don't think they are a good team without Matt Ryan. With the extra couple of days from the GT game our offense will hopefully start to find its rhythm and will come out swinging against BC.
Sat, Sep 26 TCU - Loss
This is going to be our most important regular season game. TCU is going to come into this game with a chip on their shoulder. Their coach is already saying that they are out to prove that the BCS was wrong for snubbing them last year, so supposedly they think they're going to have a BCS caliber record at the end of the year. This is a game that will be a turning point for our guys. If we go out and put TCU in their place and come up with a big win, it could turn this season into something special. If not, we can still salvage a good year and an appearance in the ACC title game. I think our offense is going to come together by this point but I just don't think we're ready for a challenge this big. TCU, despite getting no respect, is a good football team. If we get a couple of big plays on special teams we could pull the upset, but I just don't think we're there yet.
Sat, Oct 3 at Maryland - Win
Maryland showed us against Cal that they are just a weak team. We should win this game easily. We might start slow because of the big game the previous weekend, but hopefully that won't bite us.
Sat, Oct 17 Wake Forest - Win
Another weak ACC opponent. No reason this game shouldn't be a snooze fest. This game should be over by half time.
Sat, Oct 24 at Miami - Win
Miami has some running backs this year, and that scares me. They will have a good defense simply because they always do. Their problems at quarterback will bite them though and I think our defense will come up big with some turnovers. Should be a close game, but I think we will win.
Sat, Oct 31 Coastal Carolina - Win
As a fan it may be disappointing that this game is so late in the season. Fans want every home game to be a big thriller against a big team that will get us on the headlines of Sports Center. I can see why, I mean our campus is amazing on the day of a big game. I really can't think of anywhere I'd rather be. That being said, this is a great opponent to have at this juncture in our schedule. We will use this as an opportunity to heal up some injuries, get some younger guys some snaps, and try and get our legs back under us for the following weekend.
Sat, Nov 7 Florida State - Win
If this game was at Florida State it might be a different story. It's not though. FSU is better than they were last year but they're still no powerhouse. Bobby used to win on speed alone and that just doesn't work any more.
Sat, Nov 14 at North Carolina State - Win
NC State is really going to have to turn things around if they are going to challenge us this year. Their offense was totally inept against SC and their defense wasn't much better. At this point we will be rolling along. The only problem I can see going into this game is that me might have a let-down game after FSU.
Sat, Nov 21 Virginia - Win
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Just a few short years ago Virginia was an NFL talent producing mega-power (or so we were told) and now they are losing to FCS teams. Ouch.
Sat, Nov 28 at South Carolina - Win
If my predictions have been right up to this point (which is a big if) then there is no way in hell we're letting those craptastic cocks ruin our great season. In fact if our offense is hitting on all cylinders then this is going to be a blowout the likes of 63-17 and SC will send yet another college legend to the coaching graveyard. Actually I don't even think it will take a blowout: Steve Spurrier is done after this year, mark it down.
That brings our tally to 10-2 with losses against Georgia Tech and TCU. Injuries or suspensions could change this outlook completely, but at this point I think we have an easy enough schedule and the right amount of talent and coaching to get a ten win season. This could propel us into the ACC championship game where we'll face either GT or VT and I think we will lose. That will still be a great year though and especially good for a first year head coach and first year quarterback. Florida State and Miami are both dangerous opponents that could easily take away one of those wins, but on the flip side, we could scare the daylights out of TCU in Death Valley and come up with some big plays and pull of a major upset, which could possibly propel us to even greater heights.
Even though I'm not sold on Dabo just yet, if our first game is any indication of the type of playcalling we're going to see all year, I really do see us having a 10 win season. If he slips back into trick play Bowden mode then it might be really ugly and hard to watch (like the Gator Bowl) but here's to hoping that doesn't happen. Maybe we'll get another shot at the Gator Bowl this year and make up for last year's performance!
First let me just say a few things about the win against Middle Tennessee. Watching this game was a refreshing experience (aside from the rain and humidity of the second half.) Having been to the Gator Bowl last year and suffered through that debacle, I really didn't know what to expect this year at all. Saturday some of my fears were put to rest and I saw some really positive things. Most importantly, we have a quarterback. We have a bona fide team leader, an athlete that commands the game, Kyle Parker. This guy was extremely impressive in his first ever college football game. He had great poise in the pocket, he showed the ability to move around to get extra time without panicking, and he even took off for a few nice gains using his feet. When he threw the ball, he used the right speed and touch to deliver the passes appropriately for the situation. Unlike our last 4 quarterbacks, he didn't drift backwards out of the pocket. (This has been a big problem for a while, and one of the reasons less astute observers have blamed the offensive line for our woes.) We've still got to see how Parker reacts against adversity and against a better defense, but he showed he has what it takes to really get the job done. I think the best thing about seeing Parker perform was knowing that if Tommy Bowden was our coach Parker would be on the bench. Now that we're free of coaching through ego and hype we can make adjustments to get the best team on the field and hopefully win games.
Offensively we showed that we are a team with a new coach and a new quarterback. I was relieved that the playcalling wasn't as atrocious as last year, but I was unnerved at the lack of execution shown by our more veteran players. Unlike the Gator Bowl, I think we only ran two "junk" plays (bubble screens, reverses, etc) and in fact we used a lot of traditional formations (a fullback even) and fundamental play calls. We saw a lot of pass plays that were designed to move the ball upfield instead of east and west. It was great to see an offensive strategy that revolved around running the ball and keeping the defense honest by attacking them through the air. If our receivers had caught the ball more often (Parker suffered a Willie Simmons-like fate in the first quarter) we may have developed more rhythm. When we get our feet under us we should have a pretty solid offense. Some other quick thoughts:
- Willy Korn is a bust. Kind of like Barack Obama, he was billed as the Messiah, but he sucks. I hope to see him holding a clipboard and wearing a hat for the rest of his Clemson career.
- Rendrick Taylor needs to be a possession receiver or try something on defense. He runs like a 250 pound castle of cards. He looks like he's going to hit the hole and tear up the defense, but as soon as a slight gust of wind hits him he goes straight to the ground.
- CJ Spiller is a tremendous athlete but I hope we see more of Jamie Harper in the backfield. He's an actual runningback.
Special teams play was excellent. Again we have to remember that the opponent was not very talented, but still it was great to see Spiller and Ford score on kick returns. If we can get good return yardage all year it will really help out our offense which is presently the weakest part of the team. A kick return for a touchdown in a big game will probably mean the difference for us this year as we aren't just going to over power any respectable team on offense.
OK, so how is this going to translate into the rest of the year? Well, here is what I think:
Thu, Sep 10 at Georgia Tech - Loss
Paul Johnson showed last year that he's a great coach and he is turning Georgia Tech into a powerhouse. We are not ready for this challenge yet. Our offense can generate points and big plays but we are not consistent enough yet to face Georgia Tech. They are going to run that triple option until we're blue in the face and our defense is going to be worn out. If our offense could chew up the clock and put together long drives then we might have a chance. Unfortunately, we do not. Georgia Tech Wins.
Sat, Sep 19 Boston College - Win
BC had an impressive score in their opener, but I still don't think they are a good team without Matt Ryan. With the extra couple of days from the GT game our offense will hopefully start to find its rhythm and will come out swinging against BC.
Sat, Sep 26 TCU - Loss
This is going to be our most important regular season game. TCU is going to come into this game with a chip on their shoulder. Their coach is already saying that they are out to prove that the BCS was wrong for snubbing them last year, so supposedly they think they're going to have a BCS caliber record at the end of the year. This is a game that will be a turning point for our guys. If we go out and put TCU in their place and come up with a big win, it could turn this season into something special. If not, we can still salvage a good year and an appearance in the ACC title game. I think our offense is going to come together by this point but I just don't think we're ready for a challenge this big. TCU, despite getting no respect, is a good football team. If we get a couple of big plays on special teams we could pull the upset, but I just don't think we're there yet.
Sat, Oct 3 at Maryland - Win
Maryland showed us against Cal that they are just a weak team. We should win this game easily. We might start slow because of the big game the previous weekend, but hopefully that won't bite us.
Sat, Oct 17 Wake Forest - Win
Another weak ACC opponent. No reason this game shouldn't be a snooze fest. This game should be over by half time.
Sat, Oct 24 at Miami - Win
Miami has some running backs this year, and that scares me. They will have a good defense simply because they always do. Their problems at quarterback will bite them though and I think our defense will come up big with some turnovers. Should be a close game, but I think we will win.
Sat, Oct 31 Coastal Carolina - Win
As a fan it may be disappointing that this game is so late in the season. Fans want every home game to be a big thriller against a big team that will get us on the headlines of Sports Center. I can see why, I mean our campus is amazing on the day of a big game. I really can't think of anywhere I'd rather be. That being said, this is a great opponent to have at this juncture in our schedule. We will use this as an opportunity to heal up some injuries, get some younger guys some snaps, and try and get our legs back under us for the following weekend.
Sat, Nov 7 Florida State - Win
If this game was at Florida State it might be a different story. It's not though. FSU is better than they were last year but they're still no powerhouse. Bobby used to win on speed alone and that just doesn't work any more.
Sat, Nov 14 at North Carolina State - Win
NC State is really going to have to turn things around if they are going to challenge us this year. Their offense was totally inept against SC and their defense wasn't much better. At this point we will be rolling along. The only problem I can see going into this game is that me might have a let-down game after FSU.
Sat, Nov 21 Virginia - Win
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Just a few short years ago Virginia was an NFL talent producing mega-power (or so we were told) and now they are losing to FCS teams. Ouch.
Sat, Nov 28 at South Carolina - Win
If my predictions have been right up to this point (which is a big if) then there is no way in hell we're letting those craptastic cocks ruin our great season. In fact if our offense is hitting on all cylinders then this is going to be a blowout the likes of 63-17 and SC will send yet another college legend to the coaching graveyard. Actually I don't even think it will take a blowout: Steve Spurrier is done after this year, mark it down.
That brings our tally to 10-2 with losses against Georgia Tech and TCU. Injuries or suspensions could change this outlook completely, but at this point I think we have an easy enough schedule and the right amount of talent and coaching to get a ten win season. This could propel us into the ACC championship game where we'll face either GT or VT and I think we will lose. That will still be a great year though and especially good for a first year head coach and first year quarterback. Florida State and Miami are both dangerous opponents that could easily take away one of those wins, but on the flip side, we could scare the daylights out of TCU in Death Valley and come up with some big plays and pull of a major upset, which could possibly propel us to even greater heights.
Even though I'm not sold on Dabo just yet, if our first game is any indication of the type of playcalling we're going to see all year, I really do see us having a 10 win season. If he slips back into trick play Bowden mode then it might be really ugly and hard to watch (like the Gator Bowl) but here's to hoping that doesn't happen. Maybe we'll get another shot at the Gator Bowl this year and make up for last year's performance!
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