Sunday, November 20, 2016

The Morning (er, Afternoon) After... Another Division Championship!

This TMA will be short-lived. Most Clemson fans have one thought on their minds right now: Beat South Carolina. Also, I don't want to go into too many specifics on things I liked or didn't like from the win at Wake Forest. There was a lot to like: running game/offensive line play, jumping out to 28-0 lead, red zone scoring, defense holding Wake under 200 yards, etc. And a few things not to like: minus-one turnover margin, missing two fourth down plays to stall drives, etc.

But today's TMA will focus on what color commentator Brock Huard said last night. Clemson fans, don't take this time in our history for granted. With that, let's look at all the accomplishments of this team.

(Photo courtesy Clemson Athletics)
1) The Tigers clinched their second straight ACC Atlantic Division Championship with a 35-13 win at Wake Forest. The back-to-back division titles are a first for the program. Clemson has at least shared a division championship five of the last eight years, all under Dabo Swinney. The Tigers will play either Virginia Tech or North Carolina on Dec. 3 in Orlando for the ACC Championship.

1B) Sixth straight 10-win season, tied only with Alabama for the longest current streak in the nation. Clemson is assured at least three more games and could potentially win 13-plus games in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever.

2) Senior class tied last year's senior class with 45 wins. With three games to go, it feels like this class will break the record and set the bar even higher, as last year's class did.

3) Back-to-back 5-0 records on the road. Clemson went 5-0 last season and capped the road games with another 5-0 record this year. The 10-straight wins in true road games is second to Alabama and Oklahoma (tied, 11).

4) Clemson has outscored opponents on the road in the first quarter 70-3. Clemson led 21-0 after one frame against Wake.

5) The Tigers have recorded a sack in 41 straight games.

6) Wayne Gallman went over 3,000 yards for his career on his 42-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. He's just the sixth running back in Clemson history to accomplish that feat. Gallman's 161 yards was his 16th game with over 100 yards as a Tiger. That broke the school record held previously by Raymond Priester since 1997.

7) Mike Williams went over 1,000 receiving yards for the season, matching Clemson greats Rod Gardner and Sammy Watkins as the only three receivers in school history to multiple seasons with 1,000 receiving yards.

8) Deshaun Watson is now 28-3 as Clemson's starting quarterback. His accomplishments are many, as outlined before, but his running the football opened up Clemson's offense Saturday night.

9) Two years ago, Clemson was staring down a five-game losing streak to in-state rival South Carolina, the first time in series history. On a torn ACL, little-known freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson led the Tigers to a 35-17 victory. Neither program has been the same since. South Carolina defeated Miami in the Independence Bowl to close that season at 7-6, then went 3-9 including a loss to The Citadel in 2015. The Gamecocks bounced back this year and are currently bowl eligible at 6-5. Clemson beat Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl to finish 10-3. The Tigers then went 14-0 en route to a National Championship appearance in the 2016 College Football Playoff before falling to Alabama by five points. Clemson is 10-1 and currently in the Top 4 of all the polls once again.

None of that matters when it comes to Saturday, Nov. 26 in Death Valley, Clemson, S.C. I want to beat them bad. 63-17 bad. Or worse. Dabo, don't call off the dogs in this one. Attack, attack, attack. Attack some more until the chickens are begging for mercy. Beat South Carolina.

10) Such a big game, it deserves two spots here. Beat South Carolina.

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