Wednesday October 04, 2006

Let me be the 1st to Congratulate Wake Forest...

Let me be the first to Congratulate Wake Forest on another dominating performance and Victory vs. my Tigers. Congratulations for beating us 2 straight and 3 out of 4. You did it again, I made the drive up to Winston-Salem for the 3rd time in 4 years expecting a win and you took my hopes and dreams and ran off with them faster than that laptop I left in Columbia.

Your offense proved once again that we have no answer for it and kept our defense guessing all afternoon. You proved 2004 was a fluke and I’m glad Coach Bowden has opened a petition to forfeit all of our previous wins over your Deacs.

Thank you for showing us that we shouldn’t have believed our own hype.

Thanks for pointing out that your players will win every time when they focus instead of brag, study film instead of sleep and get dirty instead of dance.

Your fans and students once again treated me with respect and dignity as we humbly retreated back to our cars and we salute you and your amazing one of a kind game-day atmosphere.

Pre-Shoeless Prediction: This will not be what I am writing on Saturday night after the game.

Now get your pads on boys let me tell you what IS going to happen on Saturday!

Wake Forest is going to meet a different team than before… Not the same team that traveled in 2003 unprepared and lazy, bored and lackadaisical, tired and uninterested. Nope, this is a Tiger team that (I can personally attest) that is focused and ready. This is a team that remembers the past and will not allow it to repeat.

This offensive team is hungry to prove 50 points is not just a feast we consume vs. the weak and easy. This is a defense ready to let loose with a flurry of blitzes and aggression is has been held back from the past 2 weeks. This is a special teams hungry for a block and ready to make up for previous lack of execution. This is a hungry bunch of Tigers.

Wake Forest can spin it anyway they want and they have all the right in the world to think highly of their team this year. Hell, it’s been a long time since they started 5-0 you know… 1987 when they played equally as fearsome a schedule in the likes of Richmond, NC State, Appalachian St., Army and UNC.

Yup they’ve got me shaking. Ohhh please don’t run up the score on us please! You only beat, Syracuse, Duke, UCONN, Ole Miss and Liberty by a combined 66… yup that’s same amount as our 1st teams have put up in the 1st halves of our last 2 games. Excuse me a second, I’ve got to change my pants.

Now let’s break it down by position why don’t we… Offensive line… yep we’re bigger, stronger, better and out weigh your def front by about 60lbs… no biggie considering you chop/cut block every play which is fine b/c you’ll need to do whatever it takes Saturday.

Offensive skill players… hmmm can’t think of anyone off the top of my head. Let’s check online… QB Riley Skinner, RBs De’Angelo Bryant & Micah Andrews and WR Willie Idlette… Hey wait a minute!! I know them! They are the Fresh Toe-Tapping Trio!! You know, that kick@$$ bluegrass/techno/hiphop group that the internet is buzzing about!?! No wait I’m thinking of someone else…

Still looking, still looking… yup I’ve got nothing. Not one person on your whole roster that even the name sounds familiar. Now go ahead a give me the “well, you’ll know them after Saturday” bs you’ve got in the holster… b/c I don’t really care.

We’ve got 4 RBs you would KILL for in your system and a 5th that would still start for you too. We have 8 WRs that would own your campus if they played for you and could take their pick from all 11 of your hot co-eds. That doesn’t even include our 45 on the defensive side of the ball that would do the same; but—hey, that’s fine, you beat us last year-- and 2 out of 3-- and now 3 out of 4 when you win Saturday right? I forgot.

But the team didn’t…

You ain’t seen the Orange heck-fire that will travel your way this weekend.

Statistically Clemson Wake Forest

Rushing Off 7th Nationally 37th Nationally
240.6 yards/game 167.4 yards/game
Passing Off 54th 98th
204.6 yards/game 149.6 yards/game
Total Off 11th 75th
445.2 yards/game 317 yards/game
Scoring off 2nd 63rd
43.4 pts/game 23.8 pts/game
Rushing Def 11th 16th
69.2 yards/game 78.2 yards/game
Pass Def 30th 63rd
170.4 yards/game 194.28 yards/game
Pass Eff Def 2nd 40th
85.78 avg. rating 139.28 avg. rating
Total Def 9th 24th
239.6 yards/game 273 yards/game
Scoring Def 15th 9th
13.4 pts/game 10.6 pts/game
Sacks T-22nd T-12th
3.0 per game 3.4 per game
Sacks Allowed 10th T-61st
.8 per game 2.0 per game
Turnover Margin 14th T-52nd
+1 +.2

Looks about even… but take into account our 1st team (and 2nd for that matter) has seen less time on the field, we have played some tougher teams and we still lead in almost all categories… we’re good.

Rev coined the term “Gee-Hawed” for this weekend, and I think I like it.

Write it down, take a picture, call your momma, eat at Joe’s… The Shoeless Fearless Prediction for this week is:

Clemson 56 (yes, I said 56) Wake Forest 10

See you at your “Fair” Saturday night! GEE-HAWED!!

Note: anyone who actually gets mad at my posts please grow up and get a life I do this for fun not to intentionally piss people off. So save your emails for someone who gets paid.

Now let’s recap last weeks games predictions:

I went 23-5 this past week improving me to a 120-24 overall record. Another solid week of picking and I had 3 pretty big upsets in that group as well… I only got one right (GT over VT) but hey it’s better than an 0-fer.

Weekly Records:
Week 1: 28-4
Week 2: 24-4
Week 3: 20-8
Week 4: 25-3
Week 5: 23-5

Overall: 120-24 Clemson: 3-2

Let’s take a look at this weekend’s games:

Florida State 35 NCSU 28
TCU 28 Utah 21
Louisville 35 Middle Tenn St. 10
Indiana 10 Illinois 21
Arkansas 10 Auburn 34
Northwestern 10 Wisconsin 23
Purdue 14 Iowa 21
Kent St. 3 Temple 0 (game of the week)
Texas A&M 10 Kansas 21
Vandy 10 Mississippi 14
West Virginia 50 Miss St. 3
Stanford 10 Notre Dame 35
Washington 24 So Cal 31
Maryland 10 Georgia Tech 30
Bowling Green 0 Ohio State 45
LSU 10 Florida 21
Texas 14 Oklahoma 21
Baylor 10 Colorado 13
Michigan St. 10 Michigan 30
Virginia 10 East Carolina 20
South Carolina 23 Kentucky 21
Missouri 24 Texas Tech 30
Duke 0 Alabama 30
Tennessee 10 Georgia 7
Oregon 33 California 32
La Tech 20 Boise St. 35
Nebraska 38 Iowa St. 13