2012 Wrap Up.

A little late on the post here, but it's about time I got back into the groove of things.  So for football season and the beginning of basketball season and all other topics relevant here is my 2012 wrap up.

1. Clemson's win over LSU is an enormous victory for the program.
No, Clemson didn't beat South Carolina or Alabama, or any of the rest of the SEC besides LSU.  However, Clemson did find their way over a hump that they have been attempting to overcome since Dabo Swinney became the leader of the program.  It's no secret that the Tigers have struggled against the likes of the SEC in recent years, which is why this win proves so important.  LSU was a team that was one defensive stop away from playing for a National Championship.  Do I think they should have? Of course not.  Their offense is too inconsistent to play for a title, but regardless, had they beat Bama and proceeded to win the SEC they would've been in.  Tajh Boyd took part in 79 of Clemson's 102 plays.  I saw a boy grow into a man in a span of three hours.  Combined with his receiveing counterpart DeAndre Hopkins the Tigers handled the LSU secondary.

Two other notable factors in this game are 1. How the Tigers handled adversity and 2. The edge Clemson played with.

               A.  On the second play of the game Clemson WR Sammy Watkins fumbled, injured his ankle and was immediately ruled out for the game.  The Tigers continued on as if he was never in the game plan.  Clemson trailed early and often against LSU, who scored on their first possession of each half.  Entering the 4th quarter, the Tigers trailed by 11.  The resiliency that Clemson showed to claw their way back into this game was one that the fans were not used to, but delightfully pleased with.

              B.  Whether the word be resilient, tough, edgy or a synonym of your choice, Clemson was it.  They had come to play.  The Clemson Tigers were even a bit over the edge at times, drawing a 15 yard penalty here and there.  It was great to see this Tiger team finally make a stand for themselves.

Clemson finished with 445 total yards to LSU's 219, 32 first downs to LSU's 9 and a 25-24 win.

Click here to view other stats from the game.

2.  The ACC came to play, and brought some unexpected friends.
The ACC finished their bowl season with 4 wins (Clemson, FSU, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech) and 2 losses (Duke and NC State).  As opposed to in the past, the ACC actually showed up to play football.  Along with the 4 wins future ACC member Louisville handed Florida a 33-23 defeat in the Sugar Bowl.  Impressive Bowl Season for the ACC.

3.  Johny Manziel
At this point Johny Manziel is the most popular player in college football and maybe the most popular player in the world.  Since he was awarded the Heisman he has been spotted courtside at a Mavericks Spurs game, in pictures with the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and James Harden.  He posted a picture of himself on twitter in a casino with wads of cash in his hand, which was quickly removed.  Alongside that he has played golf with the Jonas Brothers.  What Johny Manziel or "Johny Football" did this year was nothing short of impossible.  As a Freshman he led the SEC in rushing (as a quarterback I might add) and was the first ever Freshman to win the Heisman trophy (See Manziels Stats).  He returns a steady offensive line next year despite the loss of OL Luke Joeckel and Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.  The sky is the limit for Johny Manziel.

5.  I Love Gonzaga
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are a team I pointed out at the beginning of the year to make an impact this year.  Ranked #9 in the nation the Zags have done just that.  Posting a 16-1 record with their only loss coming to a good Illinois team, the Bulldogs are a matchup nightmare.  The Bulldogs have depth, with 6 players averaging over 7 points a game.  Guard Kevin Pangos has the green light to shoot whenever he wants, which has proven to be deadly in games such as Baylor where he finished with 31 points (21 from beyond the arc).  Freshman 7-footer Kevin Olynyk is evolving into a monster in the post.  Olynyk is the team's leading scorer and has scored 30+ in their last two outings.  David Stockton only averages 3 points per game but is crucial in making the offense flow.  He averages 3.3 assists per game.  Sophomore Gary Bell is another 3 point threat and 7-foot 305 pound center Przemek Karnowski is nothing short of a walking house on a basketball court.  if you ever wandered what JJ Watt might look like playing basketball, check out this large man.  The key for Gonzaga will be the play and motivation of Elias Harris.  When motivated Harris plays at the level of a first round NBA draft pick, but there are times when he mentally checks out and his teammates are forced to pick up the slack.  If Harris can keep the checkouts to a minimum, look for Gonzaga to make a deep run come tournament time.

6.  Duke is THAT GOOD.  
Despite losing at NC State in a very close ballgame yesterday, Duke is still the best team in the nation and has gone above and beyond expectations so far this year.  Mason Plumlee (Averaging 17.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game) is playing like a man possessed.  Ryan Kelly has emerged into a versatile offensive presence that the Blue Devils so desperately needed.  Seth Curry has been consistent as usual and Quinn Cook has provided a very efficient fourth outlet for scoring.  Not to mention standout Freshman Rasheed Sulaimon has been known to fill it up at times.  Duke's downfall for this year could come down to health issues.  In the past week Ryan Kelly injured his foot and Seth Curry reinjured his leg.  But when healthy, Duke is nearly unbeatable.

That's it for my yearly wrap up.  Hope you enjoyed, post questions, opinions and comments below.  Follow me @KFISH0 on twitter.  Thanks.

Cool FSU and Clemson rap songs

We played both of these last week on the Flight.  Thought they were pretty cool.  Enjoy.

FSU Rap song 

Clemson Rap Song

Quit Nit Picking

"This is the biggest ACC game in the past 10 years."  "This is a chance for the ACC and Florida State to get back on the map."  These are quote made by various announcers and reporters throughout the week, leading up to the epic showdown against FSU.  This was only the 8th time in history that two ACC teams ranked within the top 10 would play each other.  College Gameday was going to Tallahassee to cover the game.  The questions swirled around, Could FSU live up to the hype?  Is FSU poised for a National Championship run?  Can Clemson somehow pull this upset?

Coming into this game it was extremely frustrating to tune into the National media because there was no credit being given to the Tigers at all.  All of the pre-game talk was pointed at the Seminoles and how this was "The Year of the Spear."  Meanwhile in Clemson the question swirled, what has Florida State done between this year and last year to deserve this recognition on a national stage?  

Personally, going into this game, I saw nearly no way that the Tigers go into Doak Campbell and leave with a win.  In my mind I played scenarios where I saw the Tigers winning, but none of them seemed very logical.  My prediction was Florida State 40 Clemson 31.  

The game proceeded just as I thought it would.  The Tigers and Seminoles were back and forth early and Florida State was able to push through in the end.  The last quarter of the game began to look reminiscent of the previous year's Orange Bowl, where Clemson was trounced by the Mountaineers 70-33.  This left Clemson fans beginning to trash their team's performance and Carolina fans very purposefully making it known that FSU scored again, and rightfully so.  

Clemson was outscored 35-16 in the second half with FSU scoring 28 unanswered points at one point. Their defense was porous, gassed and confused.  

Here are a few negative things I took from this game. 

 #1. This game was not West Virginia nor was it anywhere near the West Virginia game. 

Clemson outplayed Florida State in the 1st 2 and a half quarters of this football game.  And when the time came in the 3rd quarter, FSU found something that worked and ran with it.  Florida State lived up to the hype.  Some of the plays by the Seminole's cornerbacks were tremendous, mirroring those of some NFL receivers.  

#2 Clemson's defense is improved, but still bad.  Fans of the Tigers came into this game hoping to do just enough to pull the upset, and to do that the defense would have to make a fairly large contribution.  They did not do that tonight.  Clemson allowed  667 yards of total offense.  The wheels simply just fell apart in the 2nd half and FSU took advantage.  

#3 The Tigers are extremely young and lack depth in the trenches.  

THis can be viewed as a positive and a negative depending on your perspective.  In a game where the trenches played a vital portion of the victor, Clemson lost.  They could put no pressure on quarterback E.J. Manuel.  Because of this Florida State was able to go 8/13 on 3rd down conversions.  On the offensive side Clemson is young as well.  Late in the game, when FSU turned up the defensive pressure, Clemson was unable to protect Boyd.  The frustration boiled within Boyd, who eventually caved in and threw an errant interception which sealed the game for the Seminoles.

#4 Our Defensive Backs don't have a clue on how to defend a pass

On numerous occasions, dating back to when Steele was the defensive coordinator, cornerbacks have been penalized for Pass Interference due to a lack of awareness.  For once I would love to see a Clemson cornerback swivel his hips, locate the ball and attempt to make a play.  It drives me insane how every time someone throws the ball up Clemson isn't looking and the opponent either catches the ball for  big gain or receives 15 yards for a pass interference penalty.  Its inexcusable.

On the other side, here are some positive notes.  

#1 The Clemson Tigers can score on any team in the nation.

When in rhythm, the Tigers have one of the most dangerous offenses in the country.  Clemson did not play a bad game tonight, Florida State just played a better one.  

#2  Clemson can still make a BCS bowl

I was impressed with how the Tigers performed, given the environment and the circumstances.  The defense of course was bad but the fight within the Tigers never dwindled.  The Tigrs are still good enough to make a BCS bowl as an at large bid even at 10-2.

#3 Tajh Boyd is growing as an offensive leader

No matter what the situation tonight Tajh Boyd showed great poise and composure.  On one occasion you could sense frustration from Boyd after throwing the ball out of bounds on Clemson's third straight three and out.  But this wasn't the same Boyd from last year.  Clemson was not losing because Boyd was making bad decisions.  Clemson was losing and lost because Florida State stopped them with their defense and scored with their offense.

This leads me into my next point.  Florida State is a forced to be reckoned with.  Their corners are scary good.  They can and will defend any receiver on any field, any day.  

E.J. Manuel is much improved from past years.  EJ Manuel finished the game 27/35 with380 yards and 2 TD's also adding 102 yards on the ground.  Manuel played a nearly perfect game and the Tigers only lost by 12.  If I had been told Manuel would perform this well before the game, I would have called them crazy.  

FSU is even a team that could make a National Championship run this year.  They only leave the state of Florida twice this year and their only remaining tough game is Florida to end the season.

However, there was something I noticed after the game that really got under my skin.  I logged onto Twitter and Facebook after the game and started to notice people trashing and slamming Clemson for giving up this game, and "pulling a Clemson."

Clemson should not be ashamed of this loss.  They did not "pull a Clemson."  Now don't get me wrong, nobody likes to lose.  But let me ask this, Did the Tigers deserve to win?  No, not at all.  They were out played in almost every facet of the game.  They had chances to keep themselves in it, but they weren't able to, because Florida State didn't let them.
 

It's not sinful to admit that the Seminoles are just better this year.  Clemson did not deserve to win, but they did not lose this game.  Florida State won it.  

Clemson has a long way to go on the defensive side of the football, but what else is new?  

The bottom line is, the season is not over, but Florida State simply outplayed the Tigers.  

The world is not ending.  Clemson is not the "same ol' Clemson" and FSU is a national force to be reckoned with.

Clemson @ FSU Interview with Mark Sturgis

Interview with Mark Sturgis.  Host of Smoke on the water and co-host of the James Thurn Show at WCCP in Clemson helps us preview Clemson @ FSU.  Click on the Title Above to listen.  Leave a comment and tell us whatcha think!

The Flight 09-14-12

Missed the first 3 minutes or so.  Still improving.  Click on the Blog post title above to listen.  Hope you enjoy it.  Feedback appreciated.

College Football Preview 9-15-12

College Picks for this weekend

Tennessee 34 Florida 20

Georgia Tech 20 Virginia 16

UNC 30 Louisville 24 UPSET

Michigan State 30 Notre Dame 27

Penn State 24 Navy 13

USC 44 Stanford 20

Keep an eye on: Wake Forest v Florida State.  Wake has beaten FSU in 4 of the last 6 meetings.  In those last 4 losses, FSU has turned the ball over an average of 5 times a game.  FSU should win, but still very interesting.

Auburn vs Clemson Recap

70-33.  The numbers raced through the minds of all Clemson players, fans and coaches all offseason.  Receiving the common joke such as, "Oh, West Virginia just scored again." or "Drove home yesterday,  the speed limit was a high of 70 and a low of 33."  If you are related to Clemson in any way there is an extremely high chance you've heard one of those jokes this summer, due to the beatdown given by West Virginia to Clemson in the Orange Bowl last year.

The offseason didn't bode well for the Tigers either.  5 star running back and rising Sophomore, Mike Bellamy, was dismissed from the team after being ruled academic for the Spring semester. Only a few months later All-American Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins was arrested for possession of marijuana and suspended two games.  

For Clemson fans, the season couldn't have come any sooner.  They had been living a nightmare for the past 7 or 8 months.  Now came the actual football.  A chance to set aside last year, the speculation of the coming year, and play some football.  

The Tigers were ready to reestablish themselves to their early-season form of last year.  After the humiliating loss in the Orange Bowl, Clemson fired defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.  They then went and snatched defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who led the Oklahoma Sooners to the best defense in the Big 12 last year.  (Which isnt saying much cause it's the Big 12, but hey its gotta ount for something).  The Tigers returned most of their players, losing a few offensive and defensive linemen to the NFL.  Andre Ellington was coming off a nagging foot injury that had bothered him for the past two years.

Early on both teams tried to establish their offensive rhythms, while the defenses tried to disrupt it.  Auburn and Clemson both went 3 and out on their first two possessions.  On the ensuing possession Clemson drove down and ended up settling for a field goal.

About 2 plays later Auburn QB Frazier went play action and launched a bomb down the center of the field to wide receiver Emory Blake, who had not a defensive back anywhere in his zip code.  Yes. He was that wide open.  That made it 7-3 Auburn.  Slowly and surely it became a game of field goals.

Clemson running back Andre Ellington looked to be back in highest form, which was shown by an unbelievable run in the 2nd quarter.  Ellington was headed to the sideline and seemed to be tackled, when he spun over on his defender, put his hand on the ground and propelled himself up and on his feet, without his knee ever touching the ground.  The play went for 68 yards before Andre was forced out of bounds.  Ellington finished the night with 231 yards on 26 carries.  The drive was capped off by a 7 yard TD run by 3rd string running back Roderick McDowell (also known as "Hot Rod").

As a supporter of Clemson, it's so nice to know you have a kicker who is as consistent as Chandler "Catman" Catanzaro proved to be.  He was 4/4 on field goals, making kicks from distances of 40, 24, 37 and 18.
All Clemson fans can breathe a sigh of relief with me.  He's only a Sophomore and doesn't look to be going anywhere but up.

The star of the game was DeAndre "Nuk" Hopkins (Why he is called Nuke. http://clemson.greenvilleonline.com/content/story/7425/deandre-hopkins/).  DeAndre set the Clemson record for most receptions and one game catching 13 passes for 119 yards and an incredible over the shoulder catch on a fade route to give Clemson the go ahead touchdown.  Hopkins was a very adequate filler in the absence of Sammy Watkins.

With one final gasp down 26-19 in the fourth quarter Auburn lined up and QB Kiehl Frasier was sacked by DE Vic Beasley.

Game Over.

By winning this Clemson has erased an entire offseason of abysmal memories.  Clemson fans have a new team, new players, a new hope.

They still have a long ways to go, but I'm looking forward to watching them grow the rest of the season.

Clemson should look to improve in their defense under Brent Venables.  Improvement was obvious as the game progressed but there were still many instances where linebackers were nonexistent and defensive backs were burned.  The offensive line also has room for concern.  THey came out extremely passive early, but toughened up as the game wore on.

Biggest stat of the night:  Clemson had one 3 and out.

Next week Clemson hosts Ball St.

Oh, and just as a reminder.  Watkins watch=1 week