Season-Ending Salve
Well, we let destiny slip away again last week. And the title drought extends into yet another year.
With that said, let's move on to the annual season finale against our fowl-feathered nemesis, the South Carolina Gamecocks.
A week ago, Tiger fans would have found themselves quite hard-pressed to concentrate on beating the Gamecocks. And who could have blamed them? We were riding high on the wings of a four-game winning streak with an ACC title shot merely 60 minutes away.
On the other hand, USC's season had entered into its annual downward spiral. After starting the year 6-1 and rising to #6 in the polls, the Gamecocks dropped contests against Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Florida. Their run defense was finally exposed for the swiss cheese that it is. There have been repeated questions related to the team's mental drive and attitude. Primarily from the Ol' Ball Coach himself.
My Mom said last week the only hope USC had was if we came into Williams-Brice this week with a swelled head. No chance of that now, of course. We're coming in with the same record as last year, only with another chance to salvage a season suddenly in genuine danger of tanking. We're a wounded team, that's for sure, but more guys are showing a willingness to step up and carry the team on their backs, a stark contrast to last year.
My feeling is this year will, as always, come down to the team that wants it more. I always say the records and stats get tossed in the garbage when two rivals like USC and Clemson clash. Of course, the more talented and experienced squad will normally pull out the victory, but anything can, and often does, happen in a rivalry game.
Maybe it's lingering shreds of optimism not extinguished by Matt Ryan's late-game heroics last week, but I like our chances tomorrow evening. I think Davis and Spiller can pound the Gamecock defensive front. And unlike last year, Harper can beat them through the air if it comes to that. I like to think if Spurrier watched any of our BC contest at all, he'd stick to his team's strengths and defend against the pass. But then again, you never really know with Darth Visor. He scares me.
Anyway, prediction time. We're coming in wounded and need to bounce back in a big way. South Carolina needs to beat us to save their bowl hopes and win two in a row over the Tigers, something that hasn't been accomplished in 37 years. Playing on the road really isn't much of a factor; in fact, we might even gain some intensity from it. I think our running game gets untracked enough to produce some yardage, and most imporanrtly TDs, and Aaron Kelly redeems himself with some clutch catches down the stretch when we need them the most. The Tigers pull out a tough one, send the Cocks home for the holidays, and await an invite from the Peach or Gator Bowl to extend their season.
FINAL SCORE: Clemson 24, South Carolina 17
GO TIGERS!!!
With that said, let's move on to the annual season finale against our fowl-feathered nemesis, the South Carolina Gamecocks.
A week ago, Tiger fans would have found themselves quite hard-pressed to concentrate on beating the Gamecocks. And who could have blamed them? We were riding high on the wings of a four-game winning streak with an ACC title shot merely 60 minutes away.
On the other hand, USC's season had entered into its annual downward spiral. After starting the year 6-1 and rising to #6 in the polls, the Gamecocks dropped contests against Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Florida. Their run defense was finally exposed for the swiss cheese that it is. There have been repeated questions related to the team's mental drive and attitude. Primarily from the Ol' Ball Coach himself.
My Mom said last week the only hope USC had was if we came into Williams-Brice this week with a swelled head. No chance of that now, of course. We're coming in with the same record as last year, only with another chance to salvage a season suddenly in genuine danger of tanking. We're a wounded team, that's for sure, but more guys are showing a willingness to step up and carry the team on their backs, a stark contrast to last year.
My feeling is this year will, as always, come down to the team that wants it more. I always say the records and stats get tossed in the garbage when two rivals like USC and Clemson clash. Of course, the more talented and experienced squad will normally pull out the victory, but anything can, and often does, happen in a rivalry game.
Maybe it's lingering shreds of optimism not extinguished by Matt Ryan's late-game heroics last week, but I like our chances tomorrow evening. I think Davis and Spiller can pound the Gamecock defensive front. And unlike last year, Harper can beat them through the air if it comes to that. I like to think if Spurrier watched any of our BC contest at all, he'd stick to his team's strengths and defend against the pass. But then again, you never really know with Darth Visor. He scares me.
Anyway, prediction time. We're coming in wounded and need to bounce back in a big way. South Carolina needs to beat us to save their bowl hopes and win two in a row over the Tigers, something that hasn't been accomplished in 37 years. Playing on the road really isn't much of a factor; in fact, we might even gain some intensity from it. I think our running game gets untracked enough to produce some yardage, and most imporanrtly TDs, and Aaron Kelly redeems himself with some clutch catches down the stretch when we need them the most. The Tigers pull out a tough one, send the Cocks home for the holidays, and await an invite from the Peach or Gator Bowl to extend their season.
FINAL SCORE: Clemson 24, South Carolina 17
GO TIGERS!!!
posted by david @ 1:28 PM
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