Monday November 23, 2009

Virginia Review

Virginia Review
With Thanksgiving on Thursday this week will be a little different on the radio show and the blog. We will not have a show or a blog on Thursday so we have been forced to make some changes to the schedules for both.

We will move our Thursday guests to Wednesday on the show. For the blog, we will review Virginia today then have a USC preview Tuesday and a rivalry feature on Wednesday. Friday we will have our usual Friday E-Mail Bag.

Boy, Saturday sure was a lot of fun. I know a lot of people had differing opinions of the North Carolina-Boston College game but for one of the few times in my life I was a Tar Heel. I told a bunch of people that the Tar Heels were just an insurance policy. I am glad we did not need it but it sure was nice to have the policy in place.

The flyover was terrific. Those will never get old. Nor will Senior Day or Military Appreciation Day. The halftime show was another tear jerker. The site of the boots, guns and helmets always does it to me. I told Ryan to give a lot of thought about the families that were there who had lost their loved one. I could not imagine going though their pain but it had to be a proud moment for them. The faces on the scoreboard also were impactful. We hear numbers of fatalities all of the time but the names and faces put it in another perspective. My gratitude goes out to all involved in planning the special event.

Senior Day was another success. What a great senior class this has been and I love how we recognize each player with his solo trip down the hill. Just when you thought C.J. could not find another way for us to remember him, he came out with the American Flag. That picture will stay in my mind for some time.

The game itself was a little tighter and higher scoring than I would have thought. The Tigers could not take advantage of the first turnover but quickly responded with the first touchdown pass to Dwayne Allen. Shame on the official who threw the flag for unsportsmanlike conduct though. The intent of the rule is to dissuade players from bringing attention to themselves. This gesture was a salute to the ROTC cadets. If a player cannot show his gratitude to his classmates that will one day protect this great country then something is glaring wrong.

I thought the offense played well against a different scheme. The Cavaliers play a 3-4 defense that wants to limit the big plays. I thought the key to the offensive production was the offensive line as Kyle Parker had all day to pick apart the secondary.

Parker had another efficient day by going 19 of 26 for 234 yards with two touchdowns without an interception. The freshman has had an incredible run in this six game winning streak. Over the stretch Parker has thrown 13 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

The Cavaliers have done an excellent job on C.J. Spiller over the last two years. They have done the best job of limiting Spiller’s big play capability. The Heisman candidate was held to 58 rushing yards and 39 receiving yards. Virginia also kicked to Spiller only once where he had a 17-yard punt return. Spiller did score a rushing touchdown and is the only player in the country to score in every game this season.

That strategy opened the door for Jacoby Ford to have a career game. The speedster had six catches for 106 yards, a beautiful touchdown reception and a 16 yard rush. He had a 22-yard punt return and three kickoff returns for 67 yards.

Andre Ellington had another productive game with 29 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Defensively it was a tale to two halves. The first half was the worst performance of the season in my opinion. The Tigers allowed 244 yards and 21 points without a sack. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele made some nice halftime adjustments and held the Cavs to 67 yards with no points and seven sacks.

Kavell Connor was outstanding in his final home game. I was also happy to see Ricky Sapp, Kevin Alexander and Jeremy Campbell get a sack in their final home game.

The defensive intensity was better in the second half but the main key was the attention to detail. The Tigers tackled better, played their assignments better and played with better technique.

It was encouraging to see Richard Jackson rebound with his place kicking duties. Clemson has not played a close game in a few weeks but Jackson will be needed over the final three games of the season.

I loved the way the day ended for theses seniors. The C.J. Spiller chant was awesome. Most of us will never know what it feels like to have 77,000 chanting our name but the honor was deserved.

I also loved the way the seniors were allowed to leave the game one at a time by substitutions. It looked like a basketball game but this unique honor for Spiller, Ford, Thomas Austin and Michael Palmer was also very appropriate.

The locker room scene was a wild one. I never thought I would have welcomed ACC commissioner John Swofford into a Clemson locker room but he came bearing gifts. I did not even know they made an Atlantic Division trophy but it will look nice in the trophy case.

Saturday was a day that a lot of us had been waiting on a long time. I was so happy for the fans, the players, the coaches, the support staff and Dabo. It also meant we have another thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Ann Fallaw, Bob Pollock, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan.