I really hope Watson can stay healthy this year. It would be sad if he turned out to be another Clemson star that was snake-bitten by injuries.[^f3124]
[^f3124]: *See* Spiller, C.J.
Tag: clemson
Excellent piece by Andrea Adelson about how Clemson’s success in recent years has not been enough to overcome its reputation:
> Look at the actual results: Clemson’s only losses in 2014 were to teams that finished in the final top 10 of the AP and coaches polls (Florida State, Georgia and Georgia Tech). Go back the past three seasons, and Clemson’s only losses were to teams that finished in the final top 10 (Florida State and South Carolina in 2012 and 2013). It just so happens Clemson, Florida State and South Carolina have all been really good all at once. Failing to beat both consistently seems to be a harsh way of judging a team.
Let’s hope a full year of (heathy) Deshaun Watson can do some more to change that.
A back injury that doctors cannot diagnose does not sound good. Here’s hoping a fellow Clemson Tiger can still have a great rookie season.
That was fun to watch.
Bummer that Watson won’t be playing for the Tigers, but hopefully they have enough to at least give the Sooners a run.
(See also, [Yahoo’s viewer guide to the game](http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/russell-athletic-bowl–trevor-knight-s-presence-should-boost-oklahoma-153249511.html))
This just in: Clemson is not very good at the basketball.
But all Clemson fans really wants to know is: who is starting against South Carolina?
I’m torn on this. On one hand, I want to beat the Gamecocks, but, on the other, I don’t want to risk Watson’s future for it.
Ugh. There goes the season.
> [S]enior Cole Stoudt will still be the starter. Watson will be available if Clemson really wanted to use him, however.
Let’s hope that the Tigers don’t need him for this one.
I feel bad for CJ. He just seems to be cursed when it comes to injuries.
Clemson has not had the best year with respect to the dreaded “injury bug.”
Yes, I have already started hunting for Clemson – Star Wars t-shirts.
> Only two ACC teams avoid facing any of the league’s presumed top five teams twice: Florida State and Clemson. Both drew Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, Virginia and Syracuse only once apiece, a notable advantage considering it’s hard to imagine any of those programs being easy to beat this season. Florida State gets improved Miami, mid-tier Pittsburgh, Clemson and Virginia Tech twice next season. Clemson draws Notre Dame, NC State, Georgia Tech and Florida State.
So, at least Clemson has that going for it.
Categories
Jets release rookie QB Tajh Boyd
Bummer. I like Tajh so much I was even going to cheer for him if he was on the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.
I fear their prediction of a Georgia win is going to be correct, but I really hope they are wrong.
If you are like me, you are going to want to read all of these:
### Offense
* [Offensive Line](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/6045851/clemson-football-season-preview-offensive-line)
* [Quarterbacks](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/6060357/clemson-football-season-preview-quarterbacks)
* [Running Backs](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/5964765/clemson-football-season-preview-running-backs)
* [Wide Receivers](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/6054547/clemson-football-season-preview-wide-receivers)
* [Tight Ends](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/6063413/clemson-football-season-preview-tight-ends)
* [Offensive X’s and O’s](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/6064013/clemson-football-season-preview-offensive-xs-and-os)
### Defense
* [Defensive Line](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/6048561/clemson-football-season-preview-defensive-line)
* [Linebackers](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/5967863/clemson-football-season-preview-linebackers)
* [Defensive Backs](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/6065475/clemson-football-season-preview-defensive-backs)
### Special Teams
* [Special Teams](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/5973077/clemson-football-season-preview-special-teams)
### Predictions
* [Expectations](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/6044791/clemson-football-season-preview-writer-expectations)
* [W / L Predictions](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/6044891/clemson-football-season-preview-writer-predictions)
* [Schedule Based Predictions](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/5896799/clemson-football-season-preview-calculating-expected-wins-schedule)
* [ACC Preview](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/26/5981063/preseason-acc-preview)
### Other
* [Tips for Visiting Clemson](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2014/8/25/5955115/clemson-football-tailgating)
> **Bust: Clemson.** Dabo Swinney has recruited well enough to survive some significant talent losses the past couple years, but the Tigers still should take a step back from last year’s 11-2 record and Orange Bowl victory. If new quarterbacks and a new kicker don’t come through, maybe a big step back.
A step back to 10-3 would be a bummer, but not terrible. I *big* step back would not be so fun.
The new writing staff at *Shakin the Southland* is rolling out in-depth previews of various aspects of Clemson’s season all day today. If you want to know way too much about Clemson’s upcoming season, I imagine this is a good place to start.
What does it say about Clemson?
> So monstrous do the Seminoles appear heading into 2014 that we have to go straight into addressing Clemson, whose existence at the moment seems unfairly defined by the gulf separating it from the top team in the division. Florida State looks so good right now that, just for a minute, it feels profoundly unfair to Clemson’s very fine football team. (That minute ends when reminded that it is not, after all, called feelingsball, and that an Orange Bowl victory is both a lovely consolation prize and a refreshing grudge victory against the Orange Bowl itself.) Last year’s meeting between the Atlantic Division’s top teams was the most brutal dispatching we’d ever seen in real life. This year’s Clemson squad travels to Tallahassee in Week 4, sans NFLers Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins, and Martavis Bryant. Things could get gross.
This could be another one of those years where Clemson seems decent but then gets crushed by FSU, and, unfortunately, South Carolina.