Sunday, September 17, 2017

The Morning After - Leaving No Doubt

Dabo Swinney doesn't like the term "defending" champions, rather he thinks of his new team as "attacking" champions. As in, they are attacking another championship. In Swinney's words, the Tigers left no doubt that they will be in the hunt once again this season.

1st Quarter
Kelly Bryant outplayed the reigning Heisman winner in his first road start.
(Photo courtesy Clemson Athletics)
Y'all starting to believe that Clemson is more than Deshaun Watson? Look, this program has been built to last. There's a reason the Tigers have won 10+ games six straight seasons - and are headed for a seventh. There's a reason Clemson is one of the few teams that "looks like Alabama" when it steps on the field with Alabama. There's a reason Swinney continues to say, "The best is yet to come."

The Tigers dismantled Louisville, who admittedly is probably very much overrated at this point. The Lamar Jackson effect swept the nation, but the pundits let that cover up the fact that the Cardinals aren't very good anywhere else. Clemson showed up and showed out. The Tigers out-manned the Cards at every position on the field, including quarterback. Brent Venables schemed brilliantly against Jackson in his second try. Clemson left no doubt in its 47-21 win.

Unsung hero: Hunter Renfrow, who once again made several clutch catches.
Big Play of the Game: Dorian O'Daniel's 44-yard pick-six
Big Play of the Game II: Ray-Ray McCloud's 79-yard TD reception
Big Play of the Game III: Travis Etienne's 81-yard TD run

Kelly Bryant was sharp. His downfield accuracy is incredible. His vision and ability to keep his eyes downfield while scrambling reminds me so much of Watson. Several times this year he's scrambled, found an open receiver, squared up his shoulders and delivered a bullet on the numbers. That takes talent. And Bryant is showing he's a talented quarterback.

Watch out, world. Clemson may have lost Watson. And Gallman. And Williams. And Boulware. And Leggett. And Tankersley.

But they have Bryant. And Feaster. And Cain. And McCloud. And Joseph. And O'Daniel.

And the list goes on. Clemson is here for the long haul. Too much can happen between now and December, but a third straight Playoff trip is not a stretch. Let's take it one at a time, shall we? Beat Boston College.

 2nd Quarter
For three-and-a-half quarters, I was falling asleep watching a 1930s re-run of a Tennessee-Florida game. By some miracle, the game auto-switched to 2017 and got exciting late in the fourth quarter. Seriously though, neither team looked like its offense knew what a football or a goalline was. Then, fireworks.

Tennessee's comeback from down 10, twice, was lucky in itself. Florida was headed in for a 20-3 lead, but a Vol player stripped the ball just before the touchdown resulting in a touchback, not a touchdown. Tennessee proceeded to score to make it 13-10. Florida finally got its first offensive TD to extend the lead back to 10, but Tennessee stormed back to tie the game with about 40 seconds to go.

Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks chucked the ball 70 yards in the air and found Tyrie Cleveland on the other end sliding into the end zone for a most improbable Hail Mary at the buzzer for the win. I have to say, I felt good for the Gators after what they and the rest of the state of Florida has been through this past few weeks. The Miami-FSU game was postponed this weekend, so the Gators carried the proverbial Florida flag for the weekend. A win like that was very uplifting. It was also fun to watch.

3rd Quarter
Speaking of fun, man, can Texas and USC play every year? I didn't think Texas would go on the road and put up a fight against Sam Darnold and the Trojans. The Horns did and and it led to another classic between the two blue blood programs. Credit Tom Herman for having his team hyped up as a big underdog once again. He was notorious for doing that at Houston and it translated over to Austin.

But Darnold was clutch when he needed to be. After Texas took a three-point lead with 45 seconds to go, Darnold led the Trojans into scoring position with no timeouts in his pocket. In overtime, he fired a perfect pass on the first play to give USC the lead. In the second OT, he didn't need to do much except keep USC in field goal range.

For all Texas did well, it was a costly double-overtime fumble at the goalline that was the game-changer. With two losses and a conference slate still to go, it'll be difficult for Texas to get bowl eligible. The Horns may not be back yet, but Saturday night it looked like they are well on their way.

On the other hand, we all might have been a little premature in calling USC a Playoff team. The Trojans can certainly still get there. Todd Helton is a heckuva coach and there's talent all over the field. The road to the Playoff will be filled with bumps and how the Trojans navigate it will determine their fate.

4th Quarter
A pair of upsets gave the Pac-12 a bit of a black eye this weekend. UCLA went on the road to Memphis and fell to the Tigers 48-45 in a back-and-forth affair. Josh Rosen made one too many mistakes for a player many regard as one of the top QBs in the upcoming NFL Draft. In the nightcap, San Diego State dropped Stanford, 20-17, meaning the Cardinal have yet to win a game in the US this season. Remember, Stanford's lone win came against Rice in the season opener in Australia way back on August 26. Stanford has fallen twice now in Southern California - last week at USC and this week at SDSU.

Northern Illinois also pulled off an upset, this one perhaps more impressive because it came on the road. The Huskies went into Lincoln and scored a win against Nebraska. The Huskers have to be wondering if the Mike Riley hire was a big mistake. In his third year, Riley's Huskers haven't created an identity and now have a home loss to Northern Illinois, the same team that was beat by Boston College. Yikes.

 Overtime
It's only mid-September, but I cannot wait until Nov. 4. Why? Bedlam, that's why. Oklahoma State, led by Mason Rudolph, has one of the most prolific offenses this season. Rudolph ripped apart an awful Pitt secondary to the tune of 423 yards and five TDs in the first half! Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield continues to solidify his Heisman candidacy. Mayfield threw four more touchdowns in a blowout win over Tulane. He's yet to throw an interception this season. The showdown in Stillwater will be can't miss TV. ... Penn State notched its second shutout of the young season with a 56-0 win against overmatched Georgia State. The Nittany Lions are headed into Big Ten play with a ton of confidence on both sides of the ball. Everyone knew about Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley, but PSU has a stifling defense. ... Virginia Tech got off to a slow start against nemesis East Carolina. The Hokies turned it on in a hurry, turning a 17-7 deficit at the end of the first quarter into a 64-17 thrashing of the Pirates. Tech QB Josh Jackson threw for 372 yards and five TDs. The Hokies get a tuneup game against Old Dominion next week before hosting Clemson on Sept. 30. Blacksburg is going to be insane.

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-BtW
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