Tuesday November 20, 2007

Cleaning Out the Cobwebs

Cleaning Out the Cobwebs
As I sat down with my laptop this morning there were some decisions about the direction of today’s blog. Because we are taking Thursday off for Thanksgiving I had to squeeze five blogs into four this week. Yesterday I published the letter I wrote to Aaron Kelly so now we have five into three days. Normally we would have a Boston College review, a Boston College worksheet, a South Carolina preview and a mailbag.

I have decided that since your feedback is so important Friday we will run the e-mail bag. So that leaves today and Wednesday to review BC, preview USC and clear my mind on the subjects like bowl game scenarios and coaching situations.

Cramming three days of thoughts into two blogs start today and include the following thoughts:

*I want to congratulate our fans on the wonderful environment they provided Saturday night. I know we lost but that was fun. You guys were awesome and it did not go unnoticed. I have talked to many people that think it was one of the top five atmospheres in the history of the stadium and we should be proud of that.

*I am still sore. No, not my shoulder or my ribs but my soul. I am still hurting from the loss and think this one will take a long time to get over. I can also tell you that the staff and players feel as bad or worse than we do. There was a lot put into the game and the outcome was not what they desired. They hurt and we hurt for them.

*As bad as it hurts, you have to give Boston College credit. They were a resilient bunch that was very tough. Think about the year the Eagles had when their Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback threw touchdown passes in the final two minutes of the game to win on the road at two of the toughest venues in America (Virginia Tech and Clemson). Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the opponent and congratulate them on a supreme effort.

*The disappointments come from the tackling effort, the snaps in the shotgun, the dropped balls, the sack that should have been avoided, the first missed field goal, the missed opportunity when the Tigers have a first and goal at the two, the blown coverage, etc. But most of all I am so disappointed that our program missed the biggest opportunity in years.

*Perhaps that is the thing that hurts the most. How often will you have these types of opportunities? Life is short and chances like this are few and far between so that makes it so much more important to take advantage of it when it shows up.

*I was not surprised Clemson could not run the football Saturday night but I was surprised Boston College was able to run the ball. Their offensive line played well and I was disappointed the Eagles ran the ball better than the Tigers.

*It hurt to watch the underneath passing game and it also hurt to watch the Eagles dominate the time of possession.

*Clemson has a hard time matching up with the Eagles as witnessed by the 0-3 record since BC joined the league. Granted all three games were close but the Tigers have not been able to exploit the speed advantage. Clemson has been able to out “Florida State” FSU but has not been able to our “Big 10” Boston College. The Eagles play a Big 10, NFL-style where they run the ball, use the play action passing game, throw the ball underneath to backs and tight ends and stop the run on defense. They are big, physical and mentally tough.

*How can the Tigers put this disappointment behind them and come up with a great effort in Columbia Saturday night? Somehow, someway that is exactly what USC did last year. The Gamecocks were coming off a gut-wrenching loss to Florida in the Swamp while Clemson had the week off. Somehow USC came into Death Valley and overcame a 14-point deficit to win. Can the Tigers match that effort?

*The bowl game scenario now rest on three bowls. I can see the Tigers heading to Atlanta to the Peach (Chic-fil-a) if Virginia Tech beats UVA and BC. Clemson would be attractive to the folks in Atlanta and would have a chance to pick Clemson because of the rules. The Tigers could go to Jacksonville and the Gator as long as Virginia Tech goes to the BCS or to the Peach. Jacksonville needs to sell tickets and Clemson is more attractive than BC or UVA because of the fan base and ticket sales. Clemson could go to Orlando to the Champs Sports if other scenarios work against the Tigers.

*On the subject Bowden’s future and Spurrier’s future, I can see a bunch of scenarios playing out but no one including the two coaches themselves knows what it will be. Bowden will either be given a contract extension, fired or resign or move on to another job. His situation really is one of the toughest decisions I have ever seen in athletics. One day next week I will make a case to keep Bowden and a case to fire Bowden. I can name ten reasons why he needs an extension and ten reasons why Clemson needs to move in another direction so I will present each case one day next week. Personally I think next week would be a better time to discuss it. Spurrier’s name is being mentioned by a couple of schools and I can see a couple different scenarios playing out there as well. Again next week is a more appropriate time to discuss his situation also.

*Tomorrow we will look at the 2007 Carolina-Clemson game and the rivalry past and future.

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