In Saturday's Wake

posted by LW, Monday, October 19, 2009

Some sort of technological glitch is not allowing pictures to be posted.

I'll try to press on, but it's not going to be easy.

It's often said that Jim Grobe has given Clemson fits during his time in Winston-Salem.

That's true; Wake won in 2003, 2005 and 2008, and Clemson considered itself lucky to win in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006.

But it's also true that the Tigers have given Grobe some fits, too.

It's not often that you see Grobe's teams just flat humiliated, but that's been the case on his last two trips to Death Valley.

As noted Saturday, this 35-point defeat was Grobe's second-worst since he took over in 2001. It eclipsed the 34-point smacking Clemson laid on his team in 2007.

Furthermore, Wake's output in this one (178 yards) was the lowest of the Grobe era and just the second time during his tenure that the Deacs finished with less than 200.

The last time Wake produced fewer yards: a 159-yard showing in 2000 at ... Clemson's Memorial Stadium. That was the Deacs' final season under a guy named Jim Caldwell, a guy who has since done pretty well for himself.

I've always liked Riley Skinner. He's a stand-up guy who's fun to talk to. After the defeat two years ago, he stood in the bowels of Death Valley and seemed in awe of all the talent that had chased, bruised and battered him that day.

Same story Saturday. Asked about that vicious hit he took when Andre Branch rushed from the back side and blindsided him, he replied:

"That's where I got this from," nodding toward the bag of ice taped to his left shoulder. "That one didn't feel so good."

Here's more from the Deacons' side of the fence.

"We didn't come into the game like they came into the game," cornerback Brandon Ghee said. "They came in like they had to win. We didn't come in like we had to win. We came in passive and they bit us in the butt.

"I ain't got nothing to say about it."

Bart Wright writes about the Tigers putting all the pieces together.

Funny how that happens when a team figures out how to make plays on first down, continues to apply the screws defensively and gets more big plays out its biggest players.

All of that happened for Clemson Saturday, most notably a 66-yard touchdown burst on first down by C.J. Spiller in the second quarter that gave the Tigers a 24-3 lead and extinguished burning questions about the inability to get beneficial down-and-distance situations out of first down.

In The Post and Courier, Clemson looks for a similar effort against the 'Canes.

Also in the P&C, Gene Sapakoff's Bragging Rights Barometer likes South Carolina over Clemson.

About those Gamecocks, should Steve Spurrier rename his offense the "Fun 'N' Jump?"

In The State, Dabo Swinney talks about the Tigers' playbook.

Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail says Clemson followers should have hope after Saturday's events.

And what of those Hurricanes?

Their banged-up defense played pretty well in Saturday's win at Central Florida.

I came into this season thinking Miami would start 0-4. Now they're the highest-ranked team in the ACC.

Doh.

At Southern Pigskin, Marc Hudgens takes a look at the ACC.

LW

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