What Has Happened To Clemson

The Clemson Tigers were suppose to carry ACC banner to a BCS bowl this season. Right now the Congressional Bowl is looking good for the Tigers.

Clemson's 12-7 loss to Wake Forest may have finished off the Tigers. The loss puts Clemson at 3-3 overall but most importantly 1-2 in the ACC Atlantic Division. Here it is October 10th and the Tigers have all but exited the road to Tampa Bay, site of the ACC Championship Game.

The Tiger offense couldn't claw their way through the Wake Forest defense only gaining 198 of total offense. The running back duo of James Davis and C.J. Spiller combined for 35 yards. Nothing worked for Clemson's offense against a dominant Demon Deacon defense.

"We tried everything, if you watch. We tried going deep to Aaron [Kelly] and throwing deep over the middle to the tight end." Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden said. "We tried reverses, we tried fake punts, we tried C.J. [Spiller] on the outside and James [Davis] in the middle. They were playing really well defensively. We just couldn't develop any kind of continuity and we sure tried everything we had."

So where does Clemson go from here? Hard to say. I said before the season kicked off that the Alabama game was the kind that would make or break a team and that's proving to be true. The Tigers lost to the Crimson Tide 34-10 and it seems Clemson has yet to recover. The loss to Maryland at Death Valley was bad. Wake Forest is really good but the Deacs struggled too. Clemson had plenty of chances to win, just couldn't get it done offensively.

Clemson's schedule coming up: a much better Georgia Tech team at Death Valley followed by a pair of really difficult games on the road. First a trip Boston College and the Eagles are pretty good this year, then down to Tallahassee where Papa Bobby won't have much sympathy for his son because Florida State needs to keep winning, and the Seminoles are getting better. Running that table will be a tall order for Clemson.

There will be talk about Tommy Bowden's future at Clemson. I'm hearing the natives are very restless. None the less, Clemson is in a difficult position to make a change at the end of the year because of the extension and raise Bowden received in the off-season to prevent him from bolting to Arkansas. How Clemson finishes 2008 will be telling.

Photos Courtesy: Jeff Blake/The Columbia State

College Football: My ACC Atlantic Division Preview

ACC Atlantic Division As I See It

Clemson Tigers

2007 Record 9-4 (Lost to Auburn in Chick-Fil-A Bowl 23-20 OT)

With the exception of beating Florida State, Clemson again couldn’t win games against the top teams in the ACC. Losses to Virginia Tech, Boston College and Georgia Tech kept the Tigers out of the ACC Championship Game.

3 Things To Like About Clemson

Best quarterback in the ACC: Cullen Harper

Best running backs in the ACC: James Davis & C.J. Spiller

Best receiver in the ACC: Aaron Kelly

Clemson has all the weapons and then some offensively

3 Things Not To Like About Clemson

Inexperienced offensive line to open the season

Finding a group of linebackers after losing their top 4 at that position

Opening the season against Alabama

Tommy Bowden told me his biggest concern is losing 4 of 5 offensive line starters and 2 were All-Americans. Not good heading into a big game against Alabama to open the season.

Tiger Tales: Hard to believe it’s been 17 years since the Clemson Tigers won the ACC Championship. This appears to be the year Clemson breaks that title drought barring the usual head scratching loss that has plagued the Tommy Bowden era. The Alabama game though might make or break Clemson. Cullen Harper told me that they will find out real quick who they are against the Crimson Tide. I’m willing to bet Clemson takes the ACC Championship.

Predicted Finish: 1st In Atlantic Division & ACC Champion

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

2007 Record 9-4 (Defeated Connecticut in Maineke Car Care Bowl 24-10)

Wake Forest backed up their ACC Championship season of 2006 by losing their 1st 2 games and never really recovered. The Demon Deacons did finish strong with 3 straight wins including a bowl win.

3 Things To Like About Wake Forest

Attitude: This is a program that expects to win ACC Championships now.

Riley Skinner: Junior quarterback rarely makes mistakes and is steady.

Playmakers on defense

You wouldn’t know it but Riley Skinner has had a nice career at Wake Forest.

3 Things Not To Like About Wake Forest

Lack of a big play threat on offense

Only 2 returning starters on the offensive line

Brutal schedule

It will only be 1,000 degrees in Waco, Texas when the Deacons play at Baylor in August to open the 2008 season. Then Wake Forest hosts a better than advertised Ole Miss team before going to Tallahassee to play at Florida State. That’s just the first 3 games on the docket.

The Dish On The Deacs: If it wasn’t for the schedule Wake Forest would be my favorite to win the ACC this year. The Demon Deacons don’t get a breather until a week 8 match up with Duke. Wake Forest is a team that rarely makes mental mistakes and won’t beat themselves so should Clemson stumble and the Demon Deacons gets past that brutal start to the season, they could be headed to Tampa.

Projected Finish: 2nd In Atlantic Division

Florida State Seminoles

2007 Record 7-6 (Lost to Kentucky 35-28 in Music City Bowl)

Once again Florida State struggled last season on offense and ended up playing musical quarterbacks. Potential is there but the results have been lacking.

3 Things To Like About Florida State

Secondary: Myron Rolle is one of the best safeties in the country. He’s fast and can bring the wood on a ball carrier

Linebackers: One of the best groups in the ACC

Receivers: Greg Carr can go get it. He leads a group of talent pass catchers

3 Things Not To Like About Florida State

Suspensions: 10 players will miss the first 3 games

No proven running back

Run blocking by offensive line

‘Nole Nuggets: I would like to think that Drew Weatherford didn’t blow his wad his freshman year after leading the Seminoles to the ACC Championship. He’s been very inconsistent since. Weatherford told me that he thinks he’s already won the starting job and that the quarterback controversy is made more by the media. Bobby Bowden told me that competition at quarterback is very healthy. Not sure how to read that all I know is that Christian Ponder and DeVontrey Richardson got a lot of snaps this spring. Ponder had a great spring game. We shall see what happens.
FSU will improve on 7-6 but not much more.

Predicted Finish: 3rd in Atlantic Division

NC State Wolfpack

2007 Record 5-7

Last year NC State got off to a horrible 1-5 start but then something clicked and the Wolfpack ran off 4 impressive wins in a row defeating East Carolina, Virginia, Miami and arch rival North Carolina before ending 2007 with a pair of L’s.

3 Things To Like About NC State

Good skill players on offense: Jamelle Eugene is a heck of a running back and the return of Tight End Anthony Hill is huge for the passing game.

Solid Secondary: DeAndre Morgan and Jeremy Gray are a good pair of cornerbacks

Defensive Line could produce a strong pass rush

3 Things Not To Like About NC State

Who’s going to play quarterback: Senior Daniel Evans, red shirts freshman Russell Wilson or true freshman Mike Glennon

Soft offensive line

Inexperience at linebacker

Wolf Howls: For some reason and I can’t pinpoint it but I really like this NC State team. The key will be finding a starting quarterback. Russell Wilson looked very impressive in NC State’s spring game but I really think head coach Tom O’Brien is sold on Mike Glennon taking the reigns of the Wolfpack offense when the time is right. I think NC State has above average athletes in the skill positions on offense to make plays. Again, the key is finding a starting quarterback who can make the right decisions. If NC State gets past South Carolina in week 1, the Wolfpack might contend in the ACC Atlantic this year.

Projected Finish: 4th in Atlantic Division

Maryland Terrapins

2007 Record 6-7 (Lost to Oregon State in the Emerald Bowl)

Last Year Maryland had more ups and downs than the Dow Jones. The Terps would look great for 2 games than look horrible the next 2. The offense was definitely in a bear market finishing near the bottom of the ACC. But hey they went to a bowl game.

3 Things To Like About Maryland

A trio of experienced quarterbacks: Jordan Steffy, Chris Turner and Florida transfer Josh Portis.

Excellent receiving corps: Darrius Heyward-Bey, Isaiah Williams & Danny Oquendo

Best offensive line in the ACC

3 Things Not To Like About Maryland

Inexperience at running back

3 new starters in the secondary

Gaping hole in the defensive line: Dre Moore is gone to the NFL and being replaced by a former walk-on

Terp Talk: Maryland has got some play makers on offense and should be solid at quarterback but will a running back emerge and can the Terps stop anyone on defense. Dave Philistin is a monster at linebacker but he can’t do it all and I don’t see much help for him. I’m just not sold on Maryland being above .500 this season.

Projected Finish: Tied for 5th in the Atlantic Division

Boston College Eagles

2007 Record 11-3 (Defeated Michigan State 24-21 in the Champs Sports Bowl)

A year ago the Boston College Eagles soared at Matt Ryan parlayed a great senior season at quarterback into a multi-million dollar contract with the Atlanta Falcons. It was a great year

3 Things To Like About Boston College

Great front 7 on defense: With B.J. Raji and Brian Toal back in the mix, B-C will be tough to run on.

Nice group of receivers: Brandon Robinson & Rich Gunnell

Though the right side of the offensive line is short on experience, they did jell in the spring.

3 Things Not To Like About Boston College

Inexperience at quarterback: Chris Crane won’t replace Matt Ryan but he must emerge as the leader of the offense.

Who’s going to run the ball: Head coach Jeff Jagodzinski told me Josh Hayden is the only running back he has and Jeff Smith will get some carries.

Big losses in the secondary where Paul Anderson is the only returning starter

Bird Bits: Boston College has a easy schedule the 1st 4 weeks which will be key with a team with many question marks. Then there is no let up with home games against Virginia Tech, Clemson, Notre Dame and Maryland and road trips to NC State, North Carolina, Florida State and Wake Forest. November is going to be hell for the Eagles. It will be a great accomplishment if B.C. can go bowling this year.

Projected Finish: Tied for 5th in the Atlantic Division