Monday September 17, 2007

Furman Review

Furman Review
To the victor belong the spoils.

Furman’s big win over the Tigers Saturday shocked Clemson Nation and now I know how Michigan fans feel. Losing to a I-AA opponent will haunt this program forever.

I thought I saw the game with my own two eyes but everyone else must have seen something different. When I arrived back at my tailgate spot I was shocked to hear how we played. My Sunday lunch at Dyer’s was filled with the negative talk. I even went online to read the upstate newspapers and again was surprised to read how Furman killed Clemson.

I have been accused of being an apologist but 38-10 I will not apologize for.

Please understand that I was not thrilled with certain aspects of the Furman game but some of what I have read and heard is ridiculous. Any coach will tell you that an ugly win is better than a pretty loss but I think not all was ugly on Saturday. Here is what I saw:

The Good
*Cullen Harper was phenomenal. He was sharp and really has been for the most part all year. His deep balls were beautiful throws. The touchdown pass to Aaron Kelly was a masterpiece. Harper would have as much confidence as any quarterback in the ACC south of Matt Ryan.

*The special teams looked fantastic. Jimmy Maners and Mark Buchholz have been two very pleasant surprises. The snaps have been good the last two weeks and the kicking coverage has been a positive.

*The defense created turnovers for the first time. Michael Hamlin had a pick and a fumble recovery as the Paladins turned it over five times.

*Clemson held Furman to 10 points.

The Bad
*Furman should not gain 384 yards against the Tigers and Clemson should not allow 242 yards through the air to the Paladins.

*The defense could not produce much pressure on Jordan Sorrells or Renaldo Gray. Clemson had zero sacks.

*Speaking of sacks, Harper was sacked five times. I think there is enough blame to go around with the entire offense here. The offensive line will have to do a better job of protection, Harper will need to throw the ball away, the backs will have to improve picking up blockers and the receivers have to recognize and run the hot routes. It’s not all the offensive lines fault but the majority of the responsibility will fall on their shoulders. I think it needs to be said though that many times Harper and Korn have been successful and they have had time on most occasions this season.

The Ugly
*The linesman on the Furman sideline that spotted the ball short of a first down on Harper’s pass to Kelly. It was clear to everyone watching and the replay judge that the third down pass was completed on the other side of the 35-yard line.

*C.J. Spiller’s productivity. The sophomore did not get many opportunities but no one has bottled up Spiller like Furman.

*The soft zone defense. I mean no disrespect to Sorrells, but quarterbacks should not hit 11 straight passes against the secondary. Furman looked like Boston College, Kentucky and South Carolina last year because Clemson could not pressure the pocket passer and they were allowed to sit in the pocket and pick apart the zone.

*Injuries. Chad Diehl and Chris Wade suffered painful injuries. Diehl broke his leg and suffered ligament damage in his ankle while Wade broke his arm but might be back in a few weeks. Diehl will not play the rest of this season and should be able to receive a medical hardship and be a red-shirt freshman next season.

Summary
Playing Louisiana-Monroe and Furman are nothing much more than glorified scrimmages. At no point in time did anyone get the feeling that either team was going to upset the Tigers.

But I will admit that we will look back at these two games and judge them differently after Clemson plays its next three games. If Clemson looks good and goes 3-0 or 2-1 in the next three games then I think we can say the Tigers may have let up and lacked intensity against Monroe and Furman. If they go 1-2 or 0-3 in the next three contests then we can say that we saw this coming because issues arose in both non-conference victories.

Maybe Clemson was holding something back when they got up big on the last two opponents or maybe the Tigers are not as good as we think. If you really want to know what I think about this football team then ask me three weeks from today.

We thought Georgia Tech was loaded after beating Notre Dame in South Bend but three weeks later that does not look like a big deal. Three weeks ago some may have believed Virginia Tech was the best team in the ACC and Boston College was not on the radar screen. Three weeks ago we have had a different opinion of Auburn, Michigan, Louisville and Tennessee.

This is a long football season and I want more of a sample size before we determine how good Clemson or anyone is or can be. Fans seem to live and die with their teams each week but let’s be careful with that. Last year Clemson was 7-1 and ranked in the top ten in the country and fell on its face. The 1981 ntitle team struggled at times with Wofford, Tulane and Kentucky before getting everything going offensively.

I think we will all have a better idea about this team a week from today. We will get a clearer picture two weeks from today and the best picture to date three weeks from today. This NC State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech stretch will affect my moods a lot more than glorified scrimmages we have seen the last two weeks.

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