Airing it Out
I hope to see more of this kind of football on Saturday. Now I love the old-fashioned ground game as much as the next Tiger fan. It's what Clemson's reputation is built on, after all. But we've still got an unproven quarterback in Cullen Harper. Willy Korn has yet to see the field. We've shown the running game still works, if not as often as we impatient fans would like. It's time to for the passing attack to re-emerge.
Monday night's game against FSU got me and legions of other Tiger fans pumped up about this season. Lots of good things to note. Many positives to take from it. Yes, we just about collapsed for a critical few minutes in the second half and got complacent when we could've broken the Noles' backs. But we came out the winner of a hard-fought game. Even if you're not one for the dramatics (in which case, you probably don't follow the Tigers much. Or the Tommy Bowden Tigers, anyway), that makes you feel pretty good.
This Saturday, the Fighting Tigers take on the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe. A team coming off a 35-17 pounding at the hands of Tulsa last week. All things considered, if the Hawks had trouble stopping Tulsa's running attack, Davis and Spiller should be licking their chops. Even so, a few things to note.
We're going on only four days of rest and preparation. One of our starting offensive tackles is banged up and may not play. To make things worse, his backup is hurt, too. While things didn't go south with those injuries Monday night, the still-fledgling offensive line never quite had the same sync as when we had Austin or Pilgrim to rely on. We're struggling to get plays called in time. The punting unit needs work.
Most of all, Saturday's outcome should rest on the shoulders of Cullen Harper. If at any point in the season he needed a chance to prove himself, this is the time. It's an easy opponent, in the friendly confines of Death Valley, and he's got the Florida State defense notched under his belt. Now is when he can show us the strength of his arm. His ability to take command of the offense. His determination to show opposing teams that plugging up the line of scrimmage won't slow down the Tigers this year.
Yes, I say "easy opponent" fully aware of what App. State did to mighty Michigan last week. But we're not in Michigan's league yet. We're still an unproven, a dark horse. We have no reason to overlook anyone. But after seeing how we destroyed the lighter competition last year, I'm not too worried. The coaches will have us ready to play.
If Harper gets a chance to shine, we win big. If he falters, we should still win big. Put simply, we have too many weapons in the arsenal to fear much of what the Warhawks can throw at us. The Tigers roll to victory and get some kinks worked out doing so.
FINAL SCORE: Clemson 42, Louisiana-Monroe 14
GO TIGERS!!!
Monday night's game against FSU got me and legions of other Tiger fans pumped up about this season. Lots of good things to note. Many positives to take from it. Yes, we just about collapsed for a critical few minutes in the second half and got complacent when we could've broken the Noles' backs. But we came out the winner of a hard-fought game. Even if you're not one for the dramatics (in which case, you probably don't follow the Tigers much. Or the Tommy Bowden Tigers, anyway), that makes you feel pretty good.
This Saturday, the Fighting Tigers take on the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe. A team coming off a 35-17 pounding at the hands of Tulsa last week. All things considered, if the Hawks had trouble stopping Tulsa's running attack, Davis and Spiller should be licking their chops. Even so, a few things to note.
We're going on only four days of rest and preparation. One of our starting offensive tackles is banged up and may not play. To make things worse, his backup is hurt, too. While things didn't go south with those injuries Monday night, the still-fledgling offensive line never quite had the same sync as when we had Austin or Pilgrim to rely on. We're struggling to get plays called in time. The punting unit needs work.
Most of all, Saturday's outcome should rest on the shoulders of Cullen Harper. If at any point in the season he needed a chance to prove himself, this is the time. It's an easy opponent, in the friendly confines of Death Valley, and he's got the Florida State defense notched under his belt. Now is when he can show us the strength of his arm. His ability to take command of the offense. His determination to show opposing teams that plugging up the line of scrimmage won't slow down the Tigers this year.
Yes, I say "easy opponent" fully aware of what App. State did to mighty Michigan last week. But we're not in Michigan's league yet. We're still an unproven, a dark horse. We have no reason to overlook anyone. But after seeing how we destroyed the lighter competition last year, I'm not too worried. The coaches will have us ready to play.
If Harper gets a chance to shine, we win big. If he falters, we should still win big. Put simply, we have too many weapons in the arsenal to fear much of what the Warhawks can throw at us. The Tigers roll to victory and get some kinks worked out doing so.
FINAL SCORE: Clemson 42, Louisiana-Monroe 14
GO TIGERS!!!
posted by david @ 3:06 PM
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