Clemson Game Notes

I expected the Tigers to win by 21 and they won by 18, 27-9. They scored on half their possessions (I didn’t count the short possessions at the end of each half). They limited the Wolfpack to scoring on only 2 of their 10 possessions, and a more accurate statement would be that they limited the Wolfpack offense to scoring on 1 of 9 possessions. The other possession was a one-play TD by the State defense after Cullen threw it right to one of their LBs on the first play of the game. The Tigers had 428 yards of offense compared to State’s 288. Based on all that, you would think I came away from the game feeling good. You would be wrong.

NC State, with the exception of its defensive front seven, is not a good football team. Too many times, State gained good yardage up the middle on the ground and over the middle through the air. Too many times, the Tigers’ OL could not keep the Wolfpack DL out of the backfield. This Tiger team has a lot of weaknesses, not all of which can be ascribed to youth and inexperience. They have one more game to get things straight before the real work begins. Spence and Koenning have got to really get moving.

All that said, a conference win is a conference win. And there were some bright spots. Brandon Thompson continues his improvement and his demonstration that he is going to be very good. The few plays that Ricky Sapp was in along with Bowers showed that our pass rush will be awesome several games from now. Hamlin is just being Hamlin, being in the right place at the right time and showing that at least one on the defense knows how to tackle. CJ is really showing his talent; some of his runs were things of beauty, showing that he only needs a little space from the line or the scheme to make big plays. And Ford seems to be back to being comfortable after his return from injury last year. Special team play was just about perfect.

So now the Tigers get what should be another chance to work on the weaknesses in a game setting. SC State will come in motivated as it’s the first shot the smaller school has ever had at the Tigers. So the Tigers will have to take care of business, which they should have no trouble doing. Go Tigers!

Way to go, Tigers. There was a lot to like about the way the Tigers went about demolishing the Wolfpack 42-20. Both the running game and the passing game were working and the defense came to play. (more…)

Won 26-20.

This will be one of those rare reports begun before the game starts. The Tigers play the Pack tonight, Thursday night, on ESPN. That very fact causes concern among Tiger fans simply because playing at night on ESPN has not been good for Tiger victories over the years. (more…)

Out-coached. Out-played. Out-manned. NC State was ready to play and the Tigers were not. (more…)