Driver's seat
posted by LW, Monday, October 26, 2009
Over the next two weeks, you're going to be inundated with talk of Clemson occupying the driver's seat in the Atlantic Division race.
Coastal Carolina comes to town Saturday, so it's not as though the Tigers will cement or obliterate their standing in this one.
(By the way, did you see Coastal lost at Stony Brook last week? Seven days after getting hammered by Liberty? It's Korn time, baby. Heck, might even be Wade time).
Paul Strelow of The State turns a good one-liner out of the driver's seat analogy in today's commentary on the Tigers:
Clemson (4-3, 3-2 ACC) is now in the driver's seat in the Atlantic Division, a position that has left the Tigers looking like crash test dummies in recent memory.
You could also analogize Clemson's plight in recent years to a performer who steps onto the big stage after lots of favorable reviews. Once the spotlight flicks on, the performer freezes up and bumbles around and looks generally unfit for the grander surroundings.
The main examples that come to my mind are:
-- Last year's opener against Alabama. The Tigers spent all offseason listening to everyone talk about how great they were, then were kicked in the teeth by an emerging Crimson Tide program.
-- 2007 against Boston College. Who can forget this one? The Tigers were on a roll after rolling Maryland, Duke and Wake Forest. Florida State helped out by pulling off an upset of Boston College, putting Clemson in the ... wait for it ... driver's seat in the Atlantic. Boston College walked into Death Valley and scored 17 fourth-quarter points to win.
-- 2007 against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Clemson was heralded as an up-and-comer after a 4-0 start that included a Labor Day win over Florida State and a smacking of N.C. State in Raleigh. The Tigers then lost 13-3 at Georgia Tech and were beaten like a drum by Virginia Tech in Death Valley.
-- The end of 2006. No doubt you remember the feeling that accompanied Clemson's 31-7 annihilation of Georgia Tech in Death Valley. ESPN's "College Gameday" program showcased Clemson that morning, then the Tigers showed out on national TV with C.J. Spiller and James Davis running absolutely wild. The Tigers had arrived ... or maybe not. Virginia Tech smacked them around five days later, and Clemson lost four of its last five.
-- Then there was the seven-day span in 2004 that entirely summed up Tommy Bowden's tenure: the monumental overtime triumph at Miami, followed by the monumental loss to Duke.
In fairness, it's reasonable to wonder whether that backdrop matters much more to fans and media than it does to these players. That stuff is ancient history to a lot of these guys.
Are they really going to be thinking about it when they line up across from Florida State in 12 days? Doubt it.
But for those of us that analyze this stuff for fun or for a living, it's going to be interesting to see how the Tigers handle having their hands on the wheel.
Stewart Mandel, a noted Bowden antagonist, liked what he saw from Clemson in Miami.
Swinney, whose team overcame his own questionable clock-management at the end of regulation (Clemson wasted at least 15 seconds before settling for a tying field goal), jumped around the field like a jubilant kid afterward, and understandably so. The Tigers' familiarly up-and-down season to date had many wondering whether anything's really changed at Clemson since the Tommy Bowden era.
Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier was in Miami, and what he saw was enough for him to push Clemson over South Carolina in his weekly Bragging Rights Barometer.
Also in the P&C, a piece on the Tigers' defense.
Speaking of prosperity, how about that basketball program? Oliver Purnell loses three starters (including K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby) and is picked third in the ACC.
Strong.
Honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised. I thought most of the ACC media wouldn't take a very deep look at Clemson and would vote the Tigers sixth or seventh.
The fact that they were picked this high says a lot not only about OP's recruiting, but also about the respect people have for his program.
Back to football and back to The State: Wondering why Spiller wasn't on the field more.
In the Independent-Mail, Dabo Swinney resists saying "I told you so" to his critics.
Great quote from Billy Napier:
“You should have seen the coaches’ box. It was like Animal House.”
Bart Wright graced the Land Shark Stadium press box with his presence and penned this column from the game.
At Southern Pigskin, a look at the ACC and the growth of the Tigers.
It was just 21 days ago in Maryland that Clemson University's football team seemed to be coming apart at the seams.
Its fans were finding other things to do, its chances of winning the division championship that first-year Coach Dabo Swinney set as one of the team goals were as dark as a moonless night.
Hard to imagine this is the same team, but pinch yourself, Tiger Nation, your team just won the kind of game big time programs win, on the road against the No. 10 ranked Miami in the only poll that matters, the Bowl Championship Series poll that eventually determines who plays for the national title.
A 40-37 overtime win against the Hurricanes can change things for teams with a sense of maturity and this was one of those days when Clemson fit that profile.
Has anyone realized how much of a dead-ringer Bart is for Beethoven?
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Over the next two weeks, you're going to be inundated with talk of Clemson occupying the driver's seat in the Atlantic Division race.
Coastal Carolina comes to town Saturday, so it's not as though the Tigers will cement or obliterate their standing in this one.
(By the way, did you see Coastal lost at Stony Brook last week? Seven days after getting hammered by Liberty? It's Korn time, baby. Heck, might even be Wade time).
Paul Strelow of The State turns a good one-liner out of the driver's seat analogy in today's commentary on the Tigers:
Clemson (4-3, 3-2 ACC) is now in the driver's seat in the Atlantic Division, a position that has left the Tigers looking like crash test dummies in recent memory.
You could also analogize Clemson's plight in recent years to a performer who steps onto the big stage after lots of favorable reviews. Once the spotlight flicks on, the performer freezes up and bumbles around and looks generally unfit for the grander surroundings.
The main examples that come to my mind are:
-- Last year's opener against Alabama. The Tigers spent all offseason listening to everyone talk about how great they were, then were kicked in the teeth by an emerging Crimson Tide program.
-- 2007 against Boston College. Who can forget this one? The Tigers were on a roll after rolling Maryland, Duke and Wake Forest. Florida State helped out by pulling off an upset of Boston College, putting Clemson in the ... wait for it ... driver's seat in the Atlantic. Boston College walked into Death Valley and scored 17 fourth-quarter points to win.
-- 2007 against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Clemson was heralded as an up-and-comer after a 4-0 start that included a Labor Day win over Florida State and a smacking of N.C. State in Raleigh. The Tigers then lost 13-3 at Georgia Tech and were beaten like a drum by Virginia Tech in Death Valley.
-- The end of 2006. No doubt you remember the feeling that accompanied Clemson's 31-7 annihilation of Georgia Tech in Death Valley. ESPN's "College Gameday" program showcased Clemson that morning, then the Tigers showed out on national TV with C.J. Spiller and James Davis running absolutely wild. The Tigers had arrived ... or maybe not. Virginia Tech smacked them around five days later, and Clemson lost four of its last five.
-- Then there was the seven-day span in 2004 that entirely summed up Tommy Bowden's tenure: the monumental overtime triumph at Miami, followed by the monumental loss to Duke.
In fairness, it's reasonable to wonder whether that backdrop matters much more to fans and media than it does to these players. That stuff is ancient history to a lot of these guys.
Are they really going to be thinking about it when they line up across from Florida State in 12 days? Doubt it.
But for those of us that analyze this stuff for fun or for a living, it's going to be interesting to see how the Tigers handle having their hands on the wheel.
Stewart Mandel, a noted Bowden antagonist, liked what he saw from Clemson in Miami.
Swinney, whose team overcame his own questionable clock-management at the end of regulation (Clemson wasted at least 15 seconds before settling for a tying field goal), jumped around the field like a jubilant kid afterward, and understandably so. The Tigers' familiarly up-and-down season to date had many wondering whether anything's really changed at Clemson since the Tommy Bowden era.
Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier was in Miami, and what he saw was enough for him to push Clemson over South Carolina in his weekly Bragging Rights Barometer.
Also in the P&C, a piece on the Tigers' defense.
Speaking of prosperity, how about that basketball program? Oliver Purnell loses three starters (including K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby) and is picked third in the ACC.
Strong.
Honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised. I thought most of the ACC media wouldn't take a very deep look at Clemson and would vote the Tigers sixth or seventh.
The fact that they were picked this high says a lot not only about OP's recruiting, but also about the respect people have for his program.
Back to football and back to The State: Wondering why Spiller wasn't on the field more.
In the Independent-Mail, Dabo Swinney resists saying "I told you so" to his critics.
Great quote from Billy Napier:
“You should have seen the coaches’ box. It was like Animal House.”
Bart Wright graced the Land Shark Stadium press box with his presence and penned this column from the game.
At Southern Pigskin, a look at the ACC and the growth of the Tigers.
It was just 21 days ago in Maryland that Clemson University's football team seemed to be coming apart at the seams.
Its fans were finding other things to do, its chances of winning the division championship that first-year Coach Dabo Swinney set as one of the team goals were as dark as a moonless night.
Hard to imagine this is the same team, but pinch yourself, Tiger Nation, your team just won the kind of game big time programs win, on the road against the No. 10 ranked Miami in the only poll that matters, the Bowl Championship Series poll that eventually determines who plays for the national title.
A 40-37 overtime win against the Hurricanes can change things for teams with a sense of maturity and this was one of those days when Clemson fit that profile.
Has anyone realized how much of a dead-ringer Bart is for Beethoven?
LW
For questions or comments on this blog entry, please visit The West Zone message board.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.