Tag: college football

Sports

FSU’s Loss Brings Down the ACC and Hurts Clemson’s BCS Chances

Post author By Kivus
Post date October 8, 2012

People are saying that the loss by Florida State opens the door for Clemson to make a BCS bowl again. I disagree. I think it makes the road Clemson has to travel to reach a BCS bowl harder. If FSU had run the table, it could have gone to the national title game and then, maybe, Clemson would have been the ACC’s non-title BCS representative. Now, Clemson has to hope that FSU loses another game. Sadly, I do not see that happening.

Additionally, as the linked article points out, the FSU loss means the ACC is getting hammered in the national media:

> We’re not even midway through October and the ACC found a way to fade into irrelevance again. This conference is a bigger tease than Notre Dame joining the ACC. And the ACC could use the Irish right now. You’ve heard of Clemson “pulling a Clemson?” Nope. Not this year. It’s the ACC pulling an ACC. At least last year Clemson made it to 8-0 before losing on the road to Georgia Tech. No. 3-ranked Florida State couldn’t even make it through its first road ACC game…

Ouch[^fn1]

[^fn1]: Really, was the “pulling a Clemson” shot necessary?

Tags acc, college football

Sports

Venables Pleased with Clemson’s Defensive Improvement

Post author By Kivus
Post date October 7, 2012

> “I’m proud of the way they responded in the second half. We lost some leverage and had a couple of poor tackles. We didn’t change a whole lot. I thought our plan was good. You’ve got to trust the guys around you and know what everyone’s responsibility is, but I thought we really responded big-time. We had some huge plays in that second half. I think those were steps of growth and confidence. What a great play, the blocked field goal, the safety, the fourth-down stop. Just defending a little more sound. Tackling in great positions. Big plays sting but we’re so glad this day is done. It’s a tough offense to defend and creates a lot of stress. They do a great job of in-game adjustments. I’m proud of our guys. They didn’t freak out, stayed calm. We made some minor adjustments and they handled those really well. Really great team effort.”

Hopefully the progress can continue.

Tags clemson, college football

Sports

Clemson v. FSU Preview

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 21, 2012

*Shakin the Southland* with their in-depth preview of the game tomorrow.

*See also:* [Orange and White’s Preview](http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2012/sep/21/breaking-down-clemson-florida-state/?partner=RSS).

Tags clemson, college football

Sports

The Drive of Dabo Swinney

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 19, 2012

Dan Wetzel writing for *Yahoo Sports*:

> There are no obstacles in Dabo Swinney’s mind, just opportunities. There are no excuses. There is little sympathy. Faced with wallowing in perceived reality or driving forward to a path in which he controlled his future, there was never a bit of hesitation.

> There still isn’t.

> So what if he was the poor son of a drunk, a statistic waiting to slip through the cracks of society? He studied so hard he got into the University of Alabama and walked onto the vaunted football program as a wide receiver.

This article by Mr. Wetzel is fantastic. I did not know Coach Swinny’s background before—but now that I do—I respect him even more.

Tags clemson, college football, dabo swinney

Sports

President Barker doing Pushups as the Tiger Mascot

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 17, 2012

I had dinner with President Barker once[^fn1] and he left me with a positive impression. I never would have guessed he would be doing pushups on the sidelines of a football game though.

[^fn1]: Humblebrag? I guess.

Tags clemson, college football

Sports

Clemson Beats Furman

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 15, 2012

The run defense still scares me going into next week.

Tags clemson, college football

Sports

Notre Dame, the ACC, and Scheduling

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 15, 2012

Some more of the details related to the scheduling:

> The arrangement will obviously be unusual. Notre Dame will play close to a full ACC schedule – the full members of the conference play eight league games – but not be part of the league. Notre Dame could go 5-0 in games against regularly scheduled ACC foes but wouldn’t claim the conference championship, at least officially.

[Dan Wetzel explains why this is important](http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab–notre-dame-protects-treasure-football-schedule-in-move-to-acc.html) to Notre Dame:

> As other conferences grew in size – the SEC expanded to 14 teams, the Pac-12 and Big 10 went to 12 – so too did the threat that the Irish couldn’t just pick and choose opponents, especially in October and November, as they always have. The other conferences might go to nine league games (as the Pac 12 already does), eliminating one slot for a tough non-conference opponent. Earlier this year, the Big Ten and Pac-12 set up a scheduling agreement that concerned Notre Dame – although it later fell apart when the Pac-12 pulled out.

> Notre Dame currently must schedule all of its 12 games per year. This drops to seven games with the ACC scheduling the other five. ACC teams will likely be featured during the more challenging dates later in the season. It’s a far easier task.

Even though I would have preferred an arrangement where Clemson got to play Notre Dame every year, knowing the Irish will be on the Clemson schedule in the very near future is pretty exciting.

Tags acc, clemson, college football, notre dame

Sports

Optimism at Clemson

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 10, 2012

This might be the most promising development:

> The offensive line has some depth: Saturday, the Tigers’ line played without starting right tackle Gifford Timothy, who missed the game with lingering knee soreness from an August knee surgery. Starting left guard David Beasley left the game in the first half with a knee injury which is not believed to be serious. Clemson shuffled in its entire second-string line midway through the second quarter but still rolled up 526 yards of total offense, marking the first time since 1980 that the Tigers have had 500-plus yards of offense in the season’s first two games. While it must continue to protect Tajh Boyd, the first two games are a positive sign.

Only one more tune-up game before Florida State. I am already starting to get nervous.

Tags clemson, college football

Sports

More on Clemson’s Run Defense

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 9, 2012

> “They ran the ball for too many yards,” said [Clemson Defensive Coordinator Brent] Venables. “Whether it was physicality or technique or a combination of the two, we’ve got to get those things corrected.

Clemson fans agree with both of these points. Thankfully, they have anther game to figure it out before they face FSU.

Tags clemson, college football

Sports

It Has Got the Distance

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 9, 2012

Congratulations to Clemson’s Spencer Benton for kicking his way into the ACC record books.

Tags clemson, college football

Sports

Clemson wins Big against Ball State

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 8, 2012

Dr. B with the full breakdown, including the continuing issues with Clemson’s run defense.

Tags clemson, college football

Sports

Just another day in Death Valley

Post author By Kivus
Post date September 5, 2012

What? Of course they baptize players at practice. That is how you bring a team together.

Tags clemson, college football

Sports

UNC Did not Break any NCAA Rules

Post author By Kivus
Post date August 31, 2012

> The NCAA has told University of North Carolina officials that the university apparently did not break NCAA rules in the scandal surrounding the school’s Afro and African-American Studies Department, according to a statement released by the school Friday.

Though the “scandal” was framed as a football issue, I was worried it might leak over into the basketball program. Therefore, this is good news for people who are Carolina basketball fans[^me].

[^me]: Like the one I am currently engaged to.