1) NC State outplayed and outcoached Clemson, with the exception of one play and one player. The play was the final offensive play for the Wolfpack. Why would you run your QB outside and backward instead of handing it off to Matt Dayes to set up the field goal? That playcall will haunt Dave Doeren for some time. The player is kicker Kyle Bambard. I feel for the kid, who was 4-of-5 kicking field goals entering the game, but went 1-for-4, including doinking a kick off the upright early in the game, having one blocked and missing the game-winner as time expired.
Aside from those two things, NC State was more physical than Clemson. For the first time in a few years, it looked as if Clemson felt it could simply walk on the field and win the game. NC State had other plans and the Tigers were stunned. I have a lot of questions about playcalling and personnel, but that could be reserved for an entire other post. Hopefully Dabo gets those things adjusted in the bye week.
2) It's hard to put blame on Deshaun Watson for this one. All he did was go 39-for-52 for 378 yards with two touchdowns through the air and added another 35 yards and a TD on the ground. His one mistake was the first play of the third quarter. Watson threw the first pick-6 of his career, which tied the game at 10 at the time. This is the second time in three games that Clemson has driven the field to get a big score before halftime and gets the ball back after the break, only to throw an interception to turn the momentum of the game. It was his only mistake, but it was costly.
3) Turnovers continue to kill this team. Watson's pick was one thing, but the Tigers fumbled twice inside the five-yard-line and were stuffed at the goalline. Three drives that could have resulted in touchdowns would've completely changed the complexion of the game. Stop turning the ball over and this team can reach the heights it was projected to reach.
4) Positive note here: This defense is good. REAL good. NC State moved the ball extremely well and shot itself in the foot several times with penalties. But the Tigers stiffened up when they had to and allowed 10 offensive points. They picked off a quarterback that had thrown zero INTs all year. They added seven more tackles for loss and four sacks. And they refused to quit when the going got tough. That resilience resonated throughout Death Valley.
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| Marcus Edmond wins it for Clemson with this interception in overtime. (Photo courtesy Clemson Athletics) |
Perhaps that's why I'm a little upset. I hear all the positivity coming out of the Clemson camp, but it's hard to believe it. I don't believe we are playing to our standard...
5) I need to speak on the "storming the field" issue. Clemson has a tradition of allowing fans on the field following EVERY game. Win or lose, fans are encouraged to "Gather at the Paw" with the team to sing the Alma Mater. In big wins or close, exciting wins, Clemson students push the gate open on the Hill and hurdle the side walls to run on the field to celebrate. That's how it's been. That's how it will always be.
HOWEVER, yesterday was a storming of the field and it looked bad. Yes, the interception happened in the end zone in front of the student section. And yes, it was an exhilarating finish to a crazy game. It had to have felt incredible being in that stadium when Bambard missed the field goal and even better when Marcus Edmond came down with the pick to seal the victory. But if Clemson ever wants to be taken seriously, its fans need to act like they've been there before - students included. That may sound like a tired cliché because it is. Come on to the field and enjoy the win. Get pictures with the players and coaches. Find a player who is taking off his gloves and get those. Sing the Alma Mater with all your might. But stop acting as if we just won a championship for the first time in school history.
6) If Baker Mayfield and Dede Westbrook had the same connection of the last three weeks back in the first three weeks, we may be talking about Oklahoma as the only team with a chance to beat Alabama (more on the Tide later...). Westbrook has 574 yards and eight touchdowns since the calendar turned to October, including back-to-back games with three TD receptions. The latter of those games helped the Sooners beat down Kansas State 38-17 Saturday. Mayfield has found his go-to guy and it's helped Oklahoma get a firm grasp on the Big 12. Baylor and West Virginia may be undefeated, but OU looks like the team to beat.
7) ACC Coastal Chaos continues, but the ACC in general had a weird weekend. It started when Louisville needed a controversial roughing the kicker penalty to keep control of the game against Duke. Clemson needed overtime at home against an unranked opponent. FSU struggled with Wake Forest at home. Then there was the Coastal Division. Virginia Tech has looked like the Coastal's most complete team. The Hokies, though, were knocked off by beleaguered Syracuse, 31-17. Miami has fallen back to earth with two straight home losses. First on a blocked extra-point against FSU and now a 20-13 loss to North Carolina, who was just obliterated last week by VT.
Everyone in the Coastal Division has at least one conference loss and at least two losses overall. Miami goes to Blacksburg for a Thursday night affair this week. Pitt, which won at Virginia Saturday, still has VT, Miami and Clemson the schedule. There's a bundle of reasons to believe the Coastal champion may have three or more losses.
8) Alabama is playing in a different stratosphere. The Tide rushed for 438 yards on the road against Tennessee on their way to a 49-10 stomping of the Vols. Jalen Hurts is a weapon Nick Saban has never had at quarterback. They now have 11 non-offensive touchdowns this season. Simply, Alabama is scary.
Ohio State rallied to beat a darn good Wisconsin team on the road. The Buckeyes trailed 16-6 and couldn't get much going, but found a way in the end. JT Barrett is a natural leader and Urban Meyer's team is on its way to setting up a huge showdown with Michigan to close out the season.
9) Too much knee-jerk reaction to teams winning, losing, looking good one week or looking bad another. Time to start looking at the body of work - not what a team did yesterday and not a team's potential. We are seven weeks into this season and every team is showing pretty much exactly who they are. Take for example Ole Miss. The Rebs are 3-3. Why they were 3-2 and sitting at No. 12 is beyond me. A third loss should drop them completely from the Top 25. Don't forget to check out the Ben Ten on Monday to see where I rank the top teams in college football.
10) A bye week comes at the right time for Clemson. Rest up, heal the wounded and get ready for the trip to Tallahassee. That's the focus this week.
-BtW
Having been at the stadium, not sure what you mean by #5. The countdown timer held was generally followed. It was a wild ending.
ReplyDeleteThoughts on going for the TD ok 4th and 3 (?) in the 1st instead of taking the field goal?
My point with No. 5 is multi-fold. 1) The national perception is that 3rd-ranked Clemson stormed the field after beating unranked NC State when it was an 18-pt favorite. It simply looks bad. 2) It's a tradition that the national folks don't understand, so there is a little education in there. 3) The whole idea of gathering at the paw is so little kids and families can enjoy the family atmosphere that Clemson - and only Clemson - has. However, the storming of the field is by college students caught up in the emotion of the game/win. I disagree that the countdown timer has been followed. The last two wins over L'ville and State have both seen Dabo completely surrounded during his postgame interview immediately after the game. If people waited like they are supposed to, that wouldn't be the case.
ReplyDeleteAs for going for it, I agree with doing so. But quit snapping it back in shotgun at the goalline. Line up in the jumbo formation we have with Dex and Wilkins. I just don't understand the finesse.