Four week forecast
I’m a little pressed for time right now, so this will have to come in two installments. Before I go on to look at the next 4 upcoming games, let me quickly comment on last week’s game.
In previous forecasts, I had called for Clemson to win by 20. Obviously they did not win by 20, nor even the 16 required to cover the spread. They did, however, manage to play 3 horrible offensive quarters and walk away with a 10 point victory. Major credit goes to the Clemson defense for keeping it close for those quarters. They made the Wake offense look average at best. If we could go back and put in an average special teams performance ::coughs:: kickoffs ::coughs:: and the typical offense, the Tigers would have won by 30. The published news reports would have called Wake a pretender. Instead “they are for real.” I hope it gets taken to them in their next 6 games not because I harbor ill will toward the team but because I’m sick of seeing them get undeserved credit as some kind of really good team. If they win at NC State and UNC I’ll eat my words. And since rooting against teams based on media hype ::coughs:: Notre Dame ::coughs:: doesn’t ever work out for me, I’ll be keeping a bottle of A1 around because I’m sure those words will be tough as leather and taste like ass.
And let me add this about my forecasts. I’m including a forecast margin of victory and then a prediction. The forecast is what I think the Tigers are realisticaly capable of winning by. Anything less will be disappointing. It means that the team either underperformed or I gave too little credit to the opposition. The predictions will serve more as my gut instinct and what I would bet on if I were gambling.
And because I’m busy and we have a Thursday night game, I’ll get this published and do the rest tomorrow.
On to the Temple game.
At this point, I just feel sorry for the Owls. Based on outcomes, they are starting to show signs of life. The margin of defeat has gone from 34 to 29 to 11. Granted that was against Western Michigan, Vanderbilt, and Kent State, but who knows. The new coach is playing a lot of young guys to give them experience for the future. Their very low level of respect is based more on their first 3 games than their last 3 (and losing 11 games last year). I always like an underdog and hope they can gain some respectability. But not this week. Clemson should win this one by 40. However, the 44 point spread just doesn’t sit well with me. In fact, the combination of Clemson injuries, new location, and possible growth at Temple lead me to predict a 35 point Tiger win. Hey, we only won by 30 last year (although James Davis was out that game).
So my prediction was a lot wrong.
Hey they were beating us at one point in the game!
Well, I guess we’ve played all the high schools we could. Time to fight for the big prize. I hope our Special teams will realize that they aren’t supposed to be ’special’ and man up for tech games.
I have a new found respect for Temple. All of the staff and football players before the game announced they would make a $1,500 to the Trust set up for Fahmarr McElrathbey. The players made the donation from their own pocket. Among all of the stats within this game and as little credit the nation pays to them, that is the best statistic to take away and they are the most honorable team we have played this year. I will always remember they did this for Fahmarr. Props guys, I’m sure Virginia Tech or any other team in the ACC will do something like this. Best of luck with your program in the future.
Bring out the steaksauce…its time to eat your words:
“I hope it gets taken to them in their next 6 games not because I harbor ill will toward the team but because I’m sick of seeing them get undeserved credit as some kind of really good team. If they win at NC State and UNC I’ll eat my words.”