In keeping with Sunday tradition, The Morning After is alive and well, albeit a tad late. Sorry, folks. I ran in the Route 66 Half Marathon this morning. Set a new PR too (that's Personal Record for you non-running folks)! Anyway, here we go...
1) It is really difficult for me to sit here behind the computer screen after a 20-point win that led to Clemson's undefeated home and ACC records this season and be critical. Clemson has never finished 8-0 in ACC play and is riding a 14-game winning streak dating to last season. It's only the third time in Tiger history that the football team has started 11-0. What a time to be a Tiger!
2) All that said, I was disappointed with the lack of a running game. Clemson's two leading rushers were its two quarterbacks, backups Kelly Bryant (58 yards) and Deshaun Watson (44). Wayne Gallman being sidelined surely played a hand in that, but the backups had a tough time getting anything going. Still, the Tigers ran for 171 yards and finished with over 500 yards of offense to extend the school record to seven straight games.
3) Deshaun Watson has been incredible lately, but two ill-advised picks were uncharacteristic. Honestly, I hope a lot of the poor production (running game, breakdowns on defense, INTs) are just a lack of focus playing a really bad Wake Forest team. The Tigers rank 14th nationally in total offense and fifth in total defense through 11 games.
4) What a wild one in Norman between OU and TCU. The Sooners stormed out to a big lead and held on late after Heisman hopeful Baker Mayfield left at halftime with an undisclosed injury that surely was a result of a helmet-to-helmet hit he took in the second quarter. Give credit to TCU, down to its third string QB, for fighting and clawing all night. When the Horned Frogs scored with 51 seconds to go, Gary Patterson elected to go for the win with a two-point conversion. The Sooner defense bowed up and batted down the pass to preserve the win. It also preserved their Big 12 title hopes, which will be decided in Stillwater at Bedlam.
5) How about Sparty? With Connor Cook out, Michigan State rode its backup QB to a shocking upset in The Horseshoe. It appears the Buckeyes' best ballgames weren't ahead of them. They are what they have been all season. When Ohio State struggled in previous games, that wasn't a product of an elite team being bored. Michigan State has proved to be a solid program over the years and Mark Dantonio has the Spartans eyeing another Big Ten title game, if they can get past Penn State. On the other side, turmoil in Columbus following that one. Ezekiel Elliott calls out the coaching staff and says he's definitely not coming back next year. Cardale Jones announced on Twitter this was his final game in The Shoe. Oh yeah, and Michigan - or as Ohio State likes to call them "That Team Up North" - is chomping at the bits awaiting this wounded Buckeye squad. Good luck with that, Urban.
6) Back to Bedlam. Oklahoma State was shellshocked at home by a hungry Baylor squad. Clearly, the Bears and freshman QB Jarrett Stidham went into the OU game with all their eggs in that basket, but the moment was too big for Stidham. Kudos to Art Briles for using that game a week ago as a teaching opportunity and getting his team ready for the Cowboys. When Stidham went out, the Bears kept rolling behind third-stringer Chris Johnson. Johnson looked poised and comfortable running the offense. Baylor kept its Big 12 hopes alive and now needs to win out (at TCU, vs. Texas) and have Oklahoma State take down the Sooners this week. Bedlam it shall be.
7) The SEC (L)East was, well, um, underwhelming Saturday. Florida, the East champion, was taken to overtime by two-win Florida Atlantic. The same happened to Georgia and Georgia Southern, although the Eagles are 7-3. Vanderbilt was blanked by Texas A&M 25-0. South Carolina fell to FCS The Citadel for the program's first loss to a team from the other football division in 25 years - also The Citadel in 1990. And Tennessee won 19-8 over Missouri, who was playing its final home game for Gary Pinkel. As one of my buddies put it, you can't argue the SEC teams go through a gauntlet week-in and week-out. Thanks, Todd Mitchum for that.
8) It was really cool seeing Notre Dame and Boston College playing under the lights at Fenway Park. MLB's oldest baseball stadium hadn't hosted a football game in decades, but a job well done by the Fenway Park Grounds Crew and the two universities for setting up that matchup.
9) Quick hitters: Iowa is the only other undefeated team after a 40-20 win over Purdue. The Hawkeyes can wrap up a perfect regular season at Nebraska Friday. What a tremendous job Kirk Ferentz has done. ... LSU suffered its third straight loss, falling to Ole Miss 38-17. The wires are going berserk with reports that this could be Les Miles' final season in Baton Rouge. Time will tell. ... Stanford clinched the Pac-12 North and awaits the South winner while that division sorts itself out. The winner of UCLA at USC will meet the Cardinal in the championship game. ... North Carolina wrapped up the ACC Coastal with a 30-27 OT win at Virginia Tech in Frank Beamer's last home game. The Heels locked up a date with Clemson in Charlotte Dec. 5.
10) The last week of the regular season is here. This game scares me more than any other. For one, throw out the records (Clemson 11-0, SC 3-8). It's a rivalry and you never ever know what will happen. Two, it's on the road. Three, the Gamecocks have nothing to lose. This is their bowl game, their national championship, if you will. This team is reeling. They're coming off four straight losses, the most recent against The Citadel. Time for the Tigers to put up or shut up. Beat South Carolina.
-BtW
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