Thoughts from the Clemson Loss
There’s no need to rub salt in the wound. We Gamecocks can’t really get too excited about Clemson losing until we start beating them regularly. But here’s a few quick thoughts from ‘Bama’s win over the Tigers this weekend:
1. Clemson will probably still win the ACC
Who’s going to beat them? The ACC has become the weakest BCS conference out there, and while the Tigers couldn’t beat a mid-level SEC team, there’s not many teams in the ACC who I think have any chance of beating Clemson. I guess Wake or FSU could knock them off, but chances are they may still win the conference. But will winning the ACC this year be a success for the Tigers? That leads me to point #2…
2. Clemson’s season will be a dissapointment no matter what happens
This is clearly a matter of opinion, but I think that even if Clemson wins the conference for the first time in a long time, it still will not mean their season is a success. The nation now sees, as well as most ACC fans, how bad the conference has become. I just don’t see Tiger fans feeling good about their incredibly talented team knowing that they couldn’t beat the 5th or 6th best SEC team even if they win the conference. The only thing that I could see changing that is if they beat a respectable opponent in a BCS bowl.
3. You just saw the future of college football Saturday night
Everybody is going crazy about the spread offense but I really see a shift back to the power run attack on the horizon. Defenses have tried to adapt by putting smaller and quicker players on the line and at linebacker, but what happens when offenses stop running the spread, and just line up and shove the ball down your throat for four quarters? We get what happened Saturday night. I think you’re going to see the return of the power running game as defenses are getting so small now that they can’t stop it even if they know it’s coming.
aGCb // the gospel, biblical theology, missions, SEC football 
You are absolutely correct in every regard especially in point #2. I said the exact same thing during that game and after the game. If Clemson wins the ACC it only proves that they are the best team in the worst BCS conference. The Alabama game was a measuring stick game, an opportunity for Clemson, and a team from the ACC to step up and say that we’re not entirely dead or a bunch of dancing tutu ballerina girls – however, this is precisely what Clemson looked like on Saturday night. My only hope is that Alabama is not actually the 6th best team in the SEC, that they win the SEC, and that Clemson wins 10 of its next 11 games, wins the ACC, AND beats a real team in prime time in a BCS bowl. After Saturday night, that hope is hanging by a thread with scissors closing in quickly. Oh well, on to the next…
Let’s start over – new predictions.
First, for Clemson:
We will sneak by the Citadel, 38-14.
We will sneak by N.C. State 31-14.
We will beat S.C. State, 45-7.
We will beat pitiful Maryland, 30-17.
We will lose to Wake, 20-27.
We will slip past GT by providence, 23-21.
We will “luck up” finally against BC, 28-25.
We will get beat by FSU, 23-24.
We will exhale against Duke, 41-20.
We will pull a fast one at Virginia, 34-27.
We will, as history suggests, beat USC, 27-17.
9-3 (6-2). We will play Miami for the ACC, and be extremely unprepared, losing 31-14. We will go to the Georgia Dome, AGAIN, and get throttled by an SEC team, AGAIN. 9-5 and Bowden unfortunately keeps his job????!!!
As for USC, now at 1-1.
Lose to UGA close, 13-17.
Crush Wofford, 38-3.
Crush UAB, 35-7.
Beat Ole Miss, 24-14.
Lose to Kentucky, 20-28.
Lose to LSU, 12-27.
Upset Tennessee, 24-21.
Beat Arkansas, 23-17.
Crushed by Florida on its way to playing Southern Cal in a dream national championship game, 13-45.
With no confidence from that defeat or in the history of this rivalry, they lose 17-27.
6-6 (3-5); they’ll beat Louisiana Tech or somebody in the Independence Bowl by 3; 7-6.
On to the next season of great disappointment, and mind-boggling defeats.
I’m not jumping ship yet, but I certainly don’t think we’re a 9 win team anymore. Great predictions. I’ll throw my opinion into the ring as well. We need to get J.P. to contribute.
By the way, is there any way to press reset on this season?
For Clemson:
They win the next four without any trouble, Clemson fans start getting excited again as the team climbs the polls into the top 15.
Lose to a fundamentally sound Wake Forest.
Lose to a GT team that will run like crazy (can Clemson stop the run?)
Beat BC (I know y’all have had trouble but they’re really not any good this year)
Lose to an FSU team that I think is going to be pretty good this year.
Beat Duke
Beat UVA
Carolina – this is a toss-up, but I’ll still go with the Gamecocks here. I don’t think things are as bad as most Carolina fans do, and think Clemson has more problems (especially when you consider the injuries) than Carolina does right now (maybe I’m just delusional and denial after losing to Vandy two years in a row).
Final reg. season: 7-5
I know this is a big swing, but I just think more has gone wrong for Clemson than just having one bad game. They’re going to have real issues with physical teams like GT, Carolina, FSU and fundamentally sound teams like Wake Forest.
Gamecocks:
Lose close to UGA
Beat Wofford
Beat UAB
Lose to Ole Miss (this game has disaster written all over it)
Beat Kentucky
Lose to LSU
Beat Tenn
Beat Arkansas
Lose to Florida (I agree, by a lot)
Beat Clemson (see above)
Final reg. season: 7-5
This is probably best case scenario unless they really figure a lot out. This could truly be 4-8 or 5-7. We’ll see…
Thoughts?