It is time for Clemson
- Thread starter NCDomer1
- Start date
Pretty much the story of Clemson’s entire season. Top 8-10 type defense, mediocre offense, some highly ranked recruits not living up to expectations, and some terrible special teams have cost them. But they don’t get beaten easily, and I don’t they will in Death Valley after getting up for what is essentially their Super Bowl. No turnovers early, and we can grind this one out. My fear is that with their talent, there’s always a game in which teams like that love up to expectations—I hope it’s not this Saturday.
Even in that 28-7 loss to Duke, the Tigers missed two FGs and fumbled twice after first and goal while down 7-13. They easily could have won that game.
Against Florida St., they were up 24-17 and had a fumble returned for a TD against them and then missed a FG down the stretch.
Against Miami, they had a 17-14 lead with 3 minutes left in the third, had several opportunities to make plays on defense and offense and didn’t do it and lost in OT.
Against N.C. State, they had a 20-9 lead in first downs, 364-202 lead in yards, 81-46 lead in plays ran, 34-26 edge in ToP, but once again made mistakes.
It can be argued that they haven’t even really been soundly outplayed a single time this season.
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Right now....Clemson is playing for respect and pride.....at home. If they could pick an opponent to play in their house right now...it would likely be one who has had their number recently. ND is one of those teams. To focus on their record is fool's gold. This is a legitimate team with enough working parts to beat us. And it wouldn't be a "major upset" if they did. ND is favored by 3....in their house. We were 6.5 point favorites at Louisville. We lost Evans...the most reliable hands in the receiver room. In Death Valley......avoid 3rd and long.
Clemson is talented as always, but obviously has been off. We should beat them, but they are fully capable of beating us if things start clicking for them. I doubt we will take them lightly. They will be fired up; this is a chance to turn their season around or let it slip away.
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I feel for this kid, he had a tremendous freshman and sophomore seasons, and now with the team floundering he can’t be featured the same way. He’s also played with a bruised hip, and elbow, and now a concussion.
I think the downfall of the passing game has really hurt Clemson’s run game. No one fears their QBs and WRs since TL left there. They used to have great skill on the outside, they aren’t nearly as talented these days and their OL isn’t as good either.
He should definitely jump to the NFL.
It does, but Clemson could very easily be 6-2, even 7-1. Nothing changes that they are 4-4, but when we play the Tigers, we’re not going to be playing the typical mediocre 4-4 type team.
The offensive game plan sucked. It was a joint bad effort between the players and offensive coaches. I personally think we will struggle at Clemson. If we don’t score at least 21 points it's on him turnovers or no turnovers.
This game worries me to be honest. Clemson isn't terrible, not great either. Unless ND's defense comes up with another stellar game plan and they play lights out for the third game in a row, I expect this to be a very tough game for the irish. Again, until ND can go on the road and win this type of game, the jury is still out.
The question about this game is...What is the sum of Clemson's working parts? They have the individual talent to beat most anybody on a given day. And they have a head coach who is a future HOF'r. Clemson has a ton of potential to put together a game plan and then execute it to bust Notre Dame's season. That will happen if the same ND team that showed up for Louisville shows up in Death Valley. Clemson has been decimated by turnovers. They will make a point to hold onto the ball..and ND has to apply the defensive pressure that we have seen for the past two games. We lost Evans...who will step up? Clemson's secondary is one of their strengths. Hartman needs to have time to use the whole field. I expect Clemson to stack the box early and often. They have nothing to lose. Klubnik will take his shots downfield...We have the speed on the edges to take that away from him. I think the line is 2 1/2 because the thought is....the team that played Louisville will show up. In other words...Notre Dame isn't consistent enough to string these wins together. I know we will see alot of Estime'....but they had better be prepared to mix it up in the backfield. Clemson will prepare a game just for Estime'. Avoid the turnovers and the penalties...and strike first. That is the recipe to take Clemson apart.
I think you are spot on. Our defense has to carry our offense. I am expecting a poor offensive performance this week similar to the Loiusville game -maybe the OL plays a little better.
