Clemson/Wake Forest Prediction
Sorry for whining so much in my last post. It had been a while since I put up a "what's going on in my life lately" blog, so it all came out in a huge jumbled mess. God is faithful, and He's going to work things out. I trust in Him.
Anyway, I'm posting my weekly GameDay prediction a little earlier than usual. Why? Because this weekend is a very special weekend.
Last year, on October 7th, Anna Kate took me on a tour of the Clemson campus. We walked in a persistent rain, ate some Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream in her University Center, and viewed Death Valley from perhaps the best faraway spot there is. Then we went back to her apartment in Central (about 10 minutes from campus) and watched The Sound of Music together. And when we made it to the dancing scene (the one where Maria teaches Kirk to slow dance), I got up the courage to ask her the question I had been debating for quite a while.
"Anna Kate?"
"Hmm?"
"Would you, um, be interested in ... you know ... being my girlfriend?"
*smile* "Yeah! I would."
" ... G-Great!"
Heh heh. That's more or less how it went down. And this coming Saturday is October 7th, so Anna Kate and I will be celebrating one full year of being boyfriend and girlfriend. As it worked out, she's going with her family to the Wake Forest game in Winston-Salem on Saturday, so we arranged to celebrate a day early, meaning Friday. And that's why I'm posting this now, so I won't have to worry about it later.
Okay. End of digression. I promise.
Much has been made of the Tigers' struggles with the Demon Deacons in recent years. Some have called Groves Stadium Tommy Bowden's personal house of horrors. Everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong in our contests there. We've had INTs bounced off wide open receivers, the ball plucked right from the hands of our QB, blocked punt, botched fake FG try...it's like we're snakebit up there. Or more aptly, demon possessed.
You'd have to go back to the year 2000 to remember a time when we completely dominated Wake Forest (55-7). In the years to follow, we squeaked by with scores of 21-14 (Charles Hafley sealed it with an INT in the 4th quarter) and 31-23 (on Homecoming, and we needed Brian Mance's forced fumble to stop Wake from scoring late). Then things turned ugly.
It was a dark day in Tigertown when Wake systematically took us apart in a 45-17 stomping in Winston-Salem in 2003. We surrendered 321 rushing yards to them and had three turnovers on five possessions in the first half. I was working at Chick-Fil-A, and I distinctly remember listening to the game over the radio. I was in shock. This couldn't be the Clemson Tigers I knew. Surely I had the wrong station or something. We don't lose to Wake. It just doesn't happen. But it was true. Even the final score didn't do justice to how badly we were beaten that day.
We speculate to this day that were it not for "The Finish" (a four-game winning streak including victories over #3 Florida State, South Carolina, and #6 Tennessee in the Peach Bowl), Tommy Bowden would be coaching prep ball in some private locale out in the Midwest right now. Clemson coaches don't tend to fare well when they lose to the Deacons. So we scheduled them first in 2004 at Death Valley, hungry for revenge. But as we well know, revenge only lasts up to that first snap when you get punched in the mouth. Wake Forest clawed back from 16 points down and scrapped with us tooth and nail until we finally got the upper hand, 37-30 after two overtimes.
But the nightmare was not over. 2005. Back to Winston-Salem. In many ways, this was worse than two years ago. Whereas the Deacons exposed us then, we clearly had the better squad last year. We took a 27-21 lead going into the 4th quarter only to blow it late and watch them drive the ball back to claim victory, 31-27.
What is it about Wake Forest? Why do we seem to self-destruct every time we play against them? Maybe they are jusr that good. Nah, that's Chicken logic. Maybe it's their misdirection. Or our lack of motivation. Or both.
Whatever the reason, we've clearly got some demons to exorcise this Saturday when the Fighting Tigers travel ... again ... to Winston-Salem (scheduling quirk due to conference expansion) for a showdown with Wake Forest.
The Deacons are 5-0, a rarity for them, but I won't be fooled. Those wins have come against the likes of I-AA Liberty, Southern Miss, UConn, and hapless Duke (and they needed a blocked FG to defeat the Blue Devils). Riley Skinner is their starting QB in place of the injured Ben Mauk. He's second only to Will Proctor in passing efficiency in the ACC and has yet to throw a pick this season. Chris Barclay is gone, and their projected starter at RB, De'Angelo Bryant, is also hurt, leaving freshman Kevin Harris and Micah Andrews to pick up the slack.
Despite their competition, Wake is not to be taken lightly. I sound like a broken record when I say that, but we have every reason in the world to give them our full attention. A win here would have big implications for us. A lot of top-25 teams above us are poised to fall in ranked competition Saturday, meaning we could perhaps find ourselves knocking on the Top 10's door if we win. No room for error in the ACC. And we really owe Wake.
This is from a friend of mine who frequents the Clemson message boards:
"There is only one undefeated team in the ACC. Beofre I being, I'd like everyone to pause and reflect on that.
One undefeated team in the ACC. And they stand squarely in our path, like a bull trying to stare down a locomotive. If you've ever seen the outcome of that collision, you know it isn't pretty.
And I don't expect next Saturday's outcome to be any less disturbing for Wake.
Last Januray, when the schedule came out and I first called for the Wake jihad, I did not anticipate it would so thoroughly crush Wake's hopes. You see, our game aside, I really like the Deacs. I like their mutant mascot, sort of an unholy coupling of the DNA of Richard Kiel and Mr. Peanut.
I like their cozy stadium despite the absolute lack of portapotties in the tailgating area. I like the fact that of all the times I've gone to Groves, handshakes have way outnumbered insults after the game.
I like most everything about Wake...except the outcome. So when the 2006 schedule was released, and it included another road trip to Groves, I decided this was enough.
This losing at Wake Forest crap had to stop.
And I firmly believe it will. There will be none of this "roll our helmets on the field and Wake will fall down dead" belief by our team. There will be no looking ahead (to Temple? right!) or looking back (at La. Tech? right!)
There is only an unbeaten bull sitting in the tracks. Roaring and snorting, full of confidence because he chased Mr. Green Jeans out of his pasture.
Well, Wake, this ain't Mr. Green Jeans. This is the orange-clad He11bound Express, and it's got a first-class ticket punched for your season.
At times I feel sorry for the Deacs. This week they'll be whistling past the graveyard. This week they'll be the guys looking back to previous years (bank on it ... every one of them will be looking for comfort to 2003 and 2005) and looking ahead to how they'll tear down the goalposts after their miraculous mauling of the kitty kats in Groves.
They're like kids the week before Christmas, not knowing that their parents have spent all the Christmas money on liquor and cigarettes. There's nothing under the tree but empty boxes and crushed hopes.
Look down the tracks. That small dot you see on the horizon is orange, not red. It's not a jolly sleigh with magical reindeer, but a crushing machine being pulled by five of the biggest meanest offensive linemen you've seen in years.
It's coming, flinging footballs and pain and grief.
It's the Gee-Haw'd, long promised and now arrived.
So, enjoy this week, Wake. You've earned the right to boast a bit. You're the only unbeaten team in the ACC.
Just watch the calendar. Christmas is coming early and you, my little bulls, are standing in the tracks. Roar and snort all you want, wear all the black you wish, but Santa is coming to town.
And he's gift-wrapped you a one-size-fits-all box of pure he11 to be opened no earlier than noon Saturday.
Ho-Ho-Ho!
Gee-Haw'd!"
What more can I say?
It's payback time, Deacons. You're going down hard. The hex ends here.
Clemson - 35
Wake Forest - 24
Anyway, I'm posting my weekly GameDay prediction a little earlier than usual. Why? Because this weekend is a very special weekend.
Last year, on October 7th, Anna Kate took me on a tour of the Clemson campus. We walked in a persistent rain, ate some Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream in her University Center, and viewed Death Valley from perhaps the best faraway spot there is. Then we went back to her apartment in Central (about 10 minutes from campus) and watched The Sound of Music together. And when we made it to the dancing scene (the one where Maria teaches Kirk to slow dance), I got up the courage to ask her the question I had been debating for quite a while.
"Anna Kate?"
"Hmm?"
"Would you, um, be interested in ... you know ... being my girlfriend?"
*smile* "Yeah! I would."
" ... G-Great!"
Heh heh. That's more or less how it went down. And this coming Saturday is October 7th, so Anna Kate and I will be celebrating one full year of being boyfriend and girlfriend. As it worked out, she's going with her family to the Wake Forest game in Winston-Salem on Saturday, so we arranged to celebrate a day early, meaning Friday. And that's why I'm posting this now, so I won't have to worry about it later.
Okay. End of digression. I promise.
Much has been made of the Tigers' struggles with the Demon Deacons in recent years. Some have called Groves Stadium Tommy Bowden's personal house of horrors. Everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong in our contests there. We've had INTs bounced off wide open receivers, the ball plucked right from the hands of our QB, blocked punt, botched fake FG try...it's like we're snakebit up there. Or more aptly, demon possessed.
You'd have to go back to the year 2000 to remember a time when we completely dominated Wake Forest (55-7). In the years to follow, we squeaked by with scores of 21-14 (Charles Hafley sealed it with an INT in the 4th quarter) and 31-23 (on Homecoming, and we needed Brian Mance's forced fumble to stop Wake from scoring late). Then things turned ugly.
It was a dark day in Tigertown when Wake systematically took us apart in a 45-17 stomping in Winston-Salem in 2003. We surrendered 321 rushing yards to them and had three turnovers on five possessions in the first half. I was working at Chick-Fil-A, and I distinctly remember listening to the game over the radio. I was in shock. This couldn't be the Clemson Tigers I knew. Surely I had the wrong station or something. We don't lose to Wake. It just doesn't happen. But it was true. Even the final score didn't do justice to how badly we were beaten that day.
We speculate to this day that were it not for "The Finish" (a four-game winning streak including victories over #3 Florida State, South Carolina, and #6 Tennessee in the Peach Bowl), Tommy Bowden would be coaching prep ball in some private locale out in the Midwest right now. Clemson coaches don't tend to fare well when they lose to the Deacons. So we scheduled them first in 2004 at Death Valley, hungry for revenge. But as we well know, revenge only lasts up to that first snap when you get punched in the mouth. Wake Forest clawed back from 16 points down and scrapped with us tooth and nail until we finally got the upper hand, 37-30 after two overtimes.
But the nightmare was not over. 2005. Back to Winston-Salem. In many ways, this was worse than two years ago. Whereas the Deacons exposed us then, we clearly had the better squad last year. We took a 27-21 lead going into the 4th quarter only to blow it late and watch them drive the ball back to claim victory, 31-27.
What is it about Wake Forest? Why do we seem to self-destruct every time we play against them? Maybe they are jusr that good. Nah, that's Chicken logic. Maybe it's their misdirection. Or our lack of motivation. Or both.
Whatever the reason, we've clearly got some demons to exorcise this Saturday when the Fighting Tigers travel ... again ... to Winston-Salem (scheduling quirk due to conference expansion) for a showdown with Wake Forest.
The Deacons are 5-0, a rarity for them, but I won't be fooled. Those wins have come against the likes of I-AA Liberty, Southern Miss, UConn, and hapless Duke (and they needed a blocked FG to defeat the Blue Devils). Riley Skinner is their starting QB in place of the injured Ben Mauk. He's second only to Will Proctor in passing efficiency in the ACC and has yet to throw a pick this season. Chris Barclay is gone, and their projected starter at RB, De'Angelo Bryant, is also hurt, leaving freshman Kevin Harris and Micah Andrews to pick up the slack.
Despite their competition, Wake is not to be taken lightly. I sound like a broken record when I say that, but we have every reason in the world to give them our full attention. A win here would have big implications for us. A lot of top-25 teams above us are poised to fall in ranked competition Saturday, meaning we could perhaps find ourselves knocking on the Top 10's door if we win. No room for error in the ACC. And we really owe Wake.
This is from a friend of mine who frequents the Clemson message boards:
"There is only one undefeated team in the ACC. Beofre I being, I'd like everyone to pause and reflect on that.
One undefeated team in the ACC. And they stand squarely in our path, like a bull trying to stare down a locomotive. If you've ever seen the outcome of that collision, you know it isn't pretty.
And I don't expect next Saturday's outcome to be any less disturbing for Wake.
Last Januray, when the schedule came out and I first called for the Wake jihad, I did not anticipate it would so thoroughly crush Wake's hopes. You see, our game aside, I really like the Deacs. I like their mutant mascot, sort of an unholy coupling of the DNA of Richard Kiel and Mr. Peanut.
I like their cozy stadium despite the absolute lack of portapotties in the tailgating area. I like the fact that of all the times I've gone to Groves, handshakes have way outnumbered insults after the game.
I like most everything about Wake...except the outcome. So when the 2006 schedule was released, and it included another road trip to Groves, I decided this was enough.
This losing at Wake Forest crap had to stop.
And I firmly believe it will. There will be none of this "roll our helmets on the field and Wake will fall down dead" belief by our team. There will be no looking ahead (to Temple? right!) or looking back (at La. Tech? right!)
There is only an unbeaten bull sitting in the tracks. Roaring and snorting, full of confidence because he chased Mr. Green Jeans out of his pasture.
Well, Wake, this ain't Mr. Green Jeans. This is the orange-clad He11bound Express, and it's got a first-class ticket punched for your season.
At times I feel sorry for the Deacs. This week they'll be whistling past the graveyard. This week they'll be the guys looking back to previous years (bank on it ... every one of them will be looking for comfort to 2003 and 2005) and looking ahead to how they'll tear down the goalposts after their miraculous mauling of the kitty kats in Groves.
They're like kids the week before Christmas, not knowing that their parents have spent all the Christmas money on liquor and cigarettes. There's nothing under the tree but empty boxes and crushed hopes.
Look down the tracks. That small dot you see on the horizon is orange, not red. It's not a jolly sleigh with magical reindeer, but a crushing machine being pulled by five of the biggest meanest offensive linemen you've seen in years.
It's coming, flinging footballs and pain and grief.
It's the Gee-Haw'd, long promised and now arrived.
So, enjoy this week, Wake. You've earned the right to boast a bit. You're the only unbeaten team in the ACC.
Just watch the calendar. Christmas is coming early and you, my little bulls, are standing in the tracks. Roar and snort all you want, wear all the black you wish, but Santa is coming to town.
And he's gift-wrapped you a one-size-fits-all box of pure he11 to be opened no earlier than noon Saturday.
Ho-Ho-Ho!
Gee-Haw'd!"
What more can I say?
It's payback time, Deacons. You're going down hard. The hex ends here.
Clemson - 35
Wake Forest - 24
posted by david @ 1:28 PM
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