"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.
