Friday October 30, 2009

Coastal Carolina Prediction by Rev O

Been busy this past week and I just know all you Clemson faithful have been chomping at the bit to see this one - NOT!! OK, I got lucky in last weeks prediction and finally picked a hard one and got it right. I knew Clemson had the talent. It was the channeling of that talent that had to be done right in order for the Tigers to win a big one. Sure, there were mistakes made but what's really important is that they learn from those mistakes as they move on. They will have an excellent opportunity to work on those mistakes as they take on the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina this weekend. For educational purposes, Chanticleer is a rooster appearing in fables surrounding the fables of Reynard the Fox. The most famous of these is probably Chanticleer and the Fox, a version of which is told in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Now you can feel educated. I do!! Google is a powerful tool. I'm not going to spend too much time examining the stats on this one since they don't mean very much. Bottom line is the Tigers will win this game and the amount they win by is based on how long the 1st team plays. Dabo is not going to run up the score and risk injury to his players. I'm expecting the second half to be played by someone other than starters. Let's face it, this isn't Appalachian State or even William & Mary, James Madison or Richmond. I've included rankings below but only to give you an idea of where Coastal Carolina's strengths might be. FBS stands for Football Bowl Series which is the major college football programs whereas FCS stands for Football Championship Series or the old Division 1-AA as some may remember it.

When Clemson has the ball: Advantage: Clemson

Clemson Scoring Offense is 50th in the nation (FBS). CC Scoring Defense is 35th in the nation (FCS).
Clemson Total Offense is 88th in the nation (FBS). CC Total Defense is 41st in the nation (FCS).
Clemson Rushing Offense is 71st in the nation (FBS). CC Rushing Defense is 73rd in the nation (FCS).
Clemson Passing Offense is 76th in the nation (FBS). CC Pass Defense is 11th in the nation (FCS).

Coastal shows some hope in the area of pass defense but since Clemson should be able to run on them, the pass should not be an issue in this game. I think we can expect a balanced attack from Clemson whether we need to throw the ball or not. It's a good time to practice the passing game as well as the running game. Spiller may run up yards early and be taken out letting Ellington get some quality time. Jamie Harper will get his time in the spotlight too.

When Coastal Carolina has the ball: Advantage: Clemson

CC Scoring Offense is 101st in the nation (FCS). Clemson Scoring Defense is 25th in the nation (FBS).
CC Total Offense is 80th in the nation (FCS). Clemson Total Defense is 17th in the nation (FBS).
CC Rushing Offense is 50th in the nation (FCS). Clemson Rushing Defense is 58th in the nation (FBS).
CC Passing Offense is 79th in the nation (FCS). Clemson Pass Defense is 11th in the nation (FBS).

I suspect Coastal will have to throw the ball if they are to have a chance at advancing the pigskin. With this said, it could be tough doing that until our first team comes out. The speed of the Tiger defense will overwhelm the Chanticleers. I just don't see much offense being generated by the Coastal Carolina offensive unit. If they score it will be because it's near the end of the game and our 3rd team is in there but by then, the Chanticleer 3rd team might be in too.

Special Teams: Advantage: Clemson

Clemson continues to do very well in this category. Who is going to stop Spiller from breaking one here??

Intangibles: Advantage: Clemson

It's Homecoming for God's sake. Isn't that enough?

Prediction:

The experts will not even put a number on this one so I will - Clemson by 49!! There I did it. Have a good Halloween!!

Clemson 49 Coastal Carolina 0

Go Tigers!!

Rev O