Shoeless has come out with his LaTech video review of the previous game and I must say that he showcased the entire team very well. I especially liked the highlight of Demerick stiff arming his way down the field as well as CJ’s block for Jacoby on his kick return. Also check out his blog for some good stats on the upcoming Wake game.

1 day left before the weekend of Wake, I have been looking forward to this for a few weeks now. Broken and I team up with some other friends to head to Wake and cheer on the Tigers in the supposedly immense Clemson fanbase travelling for the game. I can’t wait!

That is the Tigers point spread in this years home games.

Fla Atl: 54-6  UNC: 52-7   LaTech:51-0

To say that the Tigers have put the “Death” back in “Death Valley” is an understatement.  Now there are always the naysayers that state that Clemson has not had anyone of merit th house yet, but in comparison to how they have previously “played down to their opponents” I think it is fair to say that the Tigers have made their point.  Now for a short recap of the game.

3 running backs run for over 100 yards each.  If Reggie was feeling better he probably could have capped off 100 as well.  I am glad to see that the coaching staff is starting to recognize Demerick Chancellors potential for filling the third man spot when Reggie graduates.  I made sure to stay and watch him play but didn’t get to see him in the endzone.

Instead of Chancellor in the endzone I got to watch the previoulsy mentioned blocking freak, Alex Pearson, catch a TD for  the first Fullback TD in ages.  I am a big fan of the underdogs and underappreciated so Alex Pearson, Demerick Chancellor, Thomas Hunter and all those guys get alot of support from me in the stands when they show up.  I was thoroughly enjoying the third quarter with Chancellor running all over the place and Pearson scoring the TD.

I made my wife stay through the end of the third quarter so I could watch the second and third string guys play.  They don’t get that much respect and I want to cheer them on the same way that I cheer on the first stringers.  I was higly impressed, though, with the Tiger Faithful remaning in the stadium for the entire game.  I could see a fair amount of Orange in all areas and levels of the stadium.  I think that says something for the fans and their respect for the team and the hopes that they have.

Defense once again shows up HUGE!!  Man these guys are young and they are dominant, I just hope it doesn’t ge to their heads before we get through the season.  Crezdon Butler had a great game as did the rest of the young guys.  The Seniors on the D are doing a great job of leadership and developing the younger guys.  My only concern now is that Wake Forest and their deceptive offense will catch the younger guys off step.  Time for the seniors to step in and really get on the guys with game film and experience.

Wake Forest is now 5-0 (as seen on the Gnomes ACC Schedule!), sounds scary but they haven’t played anyone of interest.  Revenge is a dish best served cold, and there will be a ton of Orange to watch the main course served up this coming weekend.  I will be there and can’t wait to see the Tigers exact revenge on the thorn in their sides the past two years.

Georgia Tech upsets Virginia Tech.  First, thanks to GT for pushing the Tigers into the top 15.  Second, thanks to GT for making our home game with them THAT MUCH MORE IMPORTANT!!  That game is already picked up and if Clemson and Tech can get through their next opponents (Clemson:Wake, Temple/GT:Maryland) with wins, that game will be a definite highlight on the weekend.  I’m talking GAMEDAY caliber (ok maybe not but you never know).  The only bad thing is that Clemson goes off the Georgia Tech game to Blacksburg on a Thursday night.  Not much time to recover or prepare, but the depth has had more than enough time to establish itself and experience!!

Yep, it’s time for your weekly Gnome Weather report. This is the first official fall weekend and the nip is in the air. For he diehards, expect temps in the 50′s and dew on the grass during the AM hours. Between noon and 1, expect the tailgating crowd to begin picking up while the temps push into the mid 60′s. By 3PM, most of the real fans will be on campus with a high pushing 75.

Sunshine will abound and there may be an occasional breeze to take into consideration for the beer pong pros. Don’t let the moderate temps fool you. The sun can still light you up if you aren’t protected so have your sunscreen or Q10 (for the men) ready. Otherwise prepare to be a racoon. Skin cancer is bad. Don’t be that old guy with it becasue you didn’t listen to your gnome friends. By kickoff the temps will be sliding back into the upper 60′s. However, La Tech will be feeling the heat. They will be facing the 3rd highest scoring O in the nation (41.5 ppg). On the other side of the ball, they will be feeling the heat in the backfield as they haven’t rushed for more than 75 yards in 2 of 3 games. Don’t expect this week to be any different. The ladies may need to consider bringing long sleeves that are accessible at least at the half if not brought into the game at kickoff. I’m sure most everyone will be in long pants for the day either way. By the end of the game expect temperatures to be back around 60 if not down into the upper 50′s. Pleasant for rolling down the window and letting the cool air blow and keep you awake while making the late drive home.

This Gnome Weather report has been brought to you by Beer Pong, offical tailgate sport of The Sporting Gnomes. Stop by the 3E tailgate to find out what real tailgating sports are like. We would alos like to thanks the Weather.com folks who don’t know we jack their pictures for our forecast.

We’re now three games into the season and we are not totally devastated. The FAU game went as planned. The trip to Boston was heartbreaking. But Saturday’s triumph over Florida State provides solid footing for optimism. Of course extrapolation is a dangerous tool, especially as you move further away from your source data. Projecting 4 games into the future based on 3 games in the past falls in the ‘danger’ category. However, I just can’t help myself. Right now the glass is half 2/3rds full.

If there is a time for a letdown game, this is the time for it. Everyone remembers the Miami/Duke win/loss combo of 2004. There is no reason, however, why the FSU/UNC win/loss combo of 2006 should come into play. And let’s face it, the next 4 games are nothing compared to the last two. There’s no good reason why we shouldn’t be 6-1 when Georgia Tech comes to town. Why do I say that? There are four reasons: UNC, Louisiana Tech, Wake Forest, and Temple.

Certainly there is reason for concern. I won’t get into that here. Instead, this is just a brief reminder that these 4 teams just aren’t that good — or at least that’s how it looks right now.

UNC has played three home games, dropping two of them to Rutgers and Virginia Tech, and almost dropping the third to DI-AA Furman. Maybe their strength is playing on the road? Their offense isn’t statistically bad, but their rushing defense appears to be suspect.

La. Tech has only played two games: first getting killed by Nebraska then winning by 10 over DI-AA Nicholls State (who did only marginally worse against Nebraska). Like UNC, they have mediocre offensive stats, but their rushing defense is even worse, ranked at 106th nationally. They may be able to play A&M close next week, but that’s only because it is almost impossible to have confidence in Coach Fran’s team. Either way, they played patsy to Nebraska, then had to come from behind against patsy Nicholl’s State.

Wake Forest has stumbled along to a 3-0 start. Their rush defense may be good, but their offense lacks firepower. The near-loss to Duke has me questioning the team. What’s worse, is that their next two games look completely winnable as well. Despite the fawning man-love by the media for Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron, his team just doesn’t look good — they even got beat by Kentucky! After them, the Deacs face off against DI-AA Liberty. Wake is likely the toughest game on Liberty’s schedule this year. Still it is hard to gauge Wake since they don’t really play anyone.

Then there’s Temple. The Owls are averaging a DI-A worst 1 point per game. They’re also giving up more than 44 points per game, with each of the last two teams putting up 62.

We should win all these games by at least 20 points.
If we want to be considered among the best in the nation, we need to dominate the next four games.

The Hokies beat UNC in Chapel Hill by 25. La. Tech fell by 39 to Nebraska. Wake Forest almost lost to Duke who put up goose eggs against Richmond and Virginia Tech. Temple is just sad.

The early line against UNC has us favored by 16. Furman put up 42 against them. La. Tech and Temple have cupcake written all over them. And Wake? Well it’s time for us to smack the smirk off their faces.

Individually, none of the games looms very large. Collectively, they are 1/3 of our season and every bit as important as the games against Techs or South Carolina. This is the part of the season where we get to stretch our legs. And we’d better damn well do it.