DejaVu or Things that make you go hmmmm
For a week now Clemson fans have been discussing (re: bitching) about two main components of the Boston College loss:
- Special Teams performance
- The controversial play that was overturned after review.
The special teams were simply abysmal against Boston College as previously noted with the dagger in the heart being the blocked extra point in overtime, which gave the Eagles the go ahead for the win. The blocked kick was due to stacking the left side of the line up and overloading coverage on one end. The Tigers were not able to contain the manning and the result was a one point loss.
The Interception was the deciding factor in the game. If BC lost the ball, Clemson could have stopped the drive deep in their own territory with the chance to burn most of the time left in the game off the clock. Instead the ruling on the field, initially an interception, was overturned after Ron Cherry (who surprisingly isn’t a favored referee in Tigerland) decided that there was “irrefutable evidence” and that Hamlin did not obtain possession of the ball until after the receiver was ruled down by contact.
In the end the Tigers, in their Cardiac Cat fashion, took another one down to the wire and OT to face a loss by another heart wrenching, less than three, amount of 1 point.
This upcoming week Clemson fans will be discussing the following two main components of the FSU game:
- See Boston College #1
- See Boston College #2
As amazing at it may seem, Clemson’s results relied exactly on the same factors that decided the BC game. This time, however, the scales of (in)justice tipped in favor of the Tigers. Just as the special teams inability to perform was the undoing of the Tigers against BC, it was also seemed to be their demise at FSU. At BC the punting team failed miserably in coverage as the Eagles obtained 200+ yards and a touchdown in returns. At FSU the other side of the special teams, the kicking team, took the downward spiral with 2 kicks being blocked and returned for a safety and a touchdown.
The controversial play in this game was the fumble towards the end of the game in which Will Proctor and his center seemed to have some communication problems and fumbled the ball into the backfield. Jacoby “fastest man on earth” Ford was able to fall on the ball but an FSU lineman fell with in reach and began rolling on Fords arms. The call on the field was initially ruled a fumble that FSU had recovered. Once again the challenge got the call overturned as the video supposedly showed that equal possession was had by both Ford and the lineman at the time of the fumble recovery and by rule (which I had never heard of) the offense recovers the ball. If the Tigers had lost that fumble, once again deep in their own territory, the ‘Noles would have had the momentum and the ball and most likely would have gone on to kill Clemson’s chances at a win as well as their morale and season hopes.
Clemson pulled off their first win in Tallahassee since 1989 in what will definitely be played as a gridiron classic and possibly one of the classics this season. The unranked Tigers knocked off number 9 Florida State and will be adding another tombstone to the graveyard upon their return. James Davis was the man of the game as he consistently got positive yards, even though sometimes it was one by one. Will Proctor also stood up to the test in one of the more hostile ACC environments and had a pretty good night overall (although there were some under-thrown passes that are a concern). This game was huge for the Tiger D who came into the game broken and inexperienced. Overall, I would give the Tigers an ecstatic A for their play but the special teams suffered once again so they bring the grade to a B.
Some notes on the game:
1. Jad Dean is a perfectionist and none of the blocked kicks have been his fault. He has done his job, it’s his line that is letting him down. I hope that he doesn’t let this get to his head as he is Mr. Clutch for the Tigers and I am sure that we will need him down the line. It was nice, though, to see the kicking team kick that final PAT for the confidence factor.
2. If Tommy thought that he was criticized last week about not having a special teams coordinator, he is about to get it 10, 50, 100 fold this week. Going from the punt coverage problems to blocked kicks pretty much covers the whole “special teams” area. It was encouraging to see Tommy man up at half time and say that it was his fault that special teams sucked. It was not encouraging to see him say that they weren’t going to kick the ball anymore that game. As Clemson fans rely on their kicking team to pull them through it left me bewildered at the idea of going for two for the rest of the game.
3. I am glad to see that the punting game has returned to proper fashion. Without that end of the special teams I believe that Clemson would have lost.
4. Florida State did not lose that game, Clemson beat themselves into a close game. Take out the 9 points off of special teams and the 1 point that FSU had to get on a 2 point conversion to tie the game at 20 and Clemson handled FSU pretty well. FSU scored one offensive TD, which I would think was a surprise to a lot of people as they are a passing offense. Their passing offense fell apart throughout the game though with broken routes and incomplete passes (re: IT HIT YOU IN THE HANDS!!!).
Finally, this is what you would call a wrench in the gears of the ACCCG. This is what conference football is all about. The Atlantic division just got ugly folks and it’s all Clemson’s fault. You see, Clemson lost to BC and then went to defeat FSU at home. With the loss, BC goes to the top of the division. They also have to go to Tally to play the ‘Noles AFTER playing Virginia Tech in a few weeks. FSU should be nice and hungry for the Eagles after playing the fluff teams that are lined up until then (If you can’t keep up, download the season schedule from the sidebar, go ahead, I will wait). Now if FSU defeats BC on their home turf the three way tie at the top develops among Clemson, BC and FSU. I would say that Clemson would get the nod in the ACCCG game as they defeated the ‘Noles, then at #9, on their home turf. So in order for the Tigers to get to the ACCCG, the ‘Noles have to take care of the Eagles. Hopefully they are up to the task and can get their act together by the time that game comes around. Otherwise, the Eagles will be going to Jacksonville to play the Coastal representative.
Oh yeah, did I call that game or what! Check the PREDICTION kids, 27-21 Clemson (so I was off by 1 point!!). That’s the first time I have ever “called” a game, I just had to brag a bit.
It was last week’s kickoff return coverage that blew, not the punt returns.
But you did hit on the more importatnt trend. I had to call myself out after the game about replays, and other things like the “hurry up and wait” approach.
I need to spend less time complaining and secong-guessing.
Congratulations on a big win guys. It was sad to see how much better your OC was than ours - I think a key difference in the game was the 3rd-and-1 that we tried to run up the middle, as opposed to the 3rd-and-1 when you took a shot at the endzone and scored. Big win for the Tigers, and well deserved.
Thanks Mobius,
Good luck to y’all the rest of the season. But as you say, not “too good.”