sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Couldn't bring myself to make a post on this game until now. I have been in mourning a bit on what might have been.
I thought this was a great game. Thought both teams showed great passion and effort all game long. This was a war. Clemson had some bad breaks with injuries and saw a little of what life is like for a non super power program playing with their 3rd string QB and a make shift OL. But the one huge break they got was the weather. Clemson has far more depth than Syracuse and that really hot, humid weather was, I think, a major key down the stretch, when Clemson finally found a way to move the ball, reviving their impotent offense only when the overworked Syracuse defense hit the wall in the fourth quarter and could not stop simple run plays they had been blowing up routinely most of the game.
The play of the game was the pass Bryce WhateverHisName was made on 4th and long on the final drive, where he threaded a needle on a long pass between 2 SU defenders to get a first down and avoid certain defeat. The kid made one good pass the whole game, and he picked a good time to throw it. Props to him.
I don't know what happened to Cordy but it looked like he broke his hand, or a finger or thumb in his hand the week before and I am assuming the injury got significantly worse on Saturday. Great kid, I admire him a lot but the evidence is overwhelming that he cannot play on defense and stay healthy. Playing like you are 6'4, 260 pounds when you are 5'8, 177 pounds is just too much on his body. I hope the injury is minor and he can return. He might want to think long and hard about the offer to play slot on offense next year. It would be his best chance to contribute to the team and get a reward for all the off season work he puts in.
Thought the game plan on offense was excellent. It isn't easy to embarrass Venables but Dino Babers has done it two years in a row. Credit to Brent for making good adjustments in the second half to stop most of the bleeding. He has a lot of answers on the defensive unit. Man, that DL was so good it should be illegal and #11 was all over the field making plays. He almost singlehandedly took the short passes to sidelines away from us.
Kind of surprised we didn't throw more to Custis but I think he was being covered by their top CB most of the game and the thought was it was better to throw it to Devin Butler or Taj Harris, who were mostly working against a true frosh CB, instead. I thought with Pierce out, they pretty much ignored throwing over the middle of the field, where Clemson is loaded with freak athletes and smurfs like N Johnson and S Riley would get killed. They tried to get them the ball in space out wide instead.
Good thinking. We could really use a big, strong TE or a big, strong, tough slot WR to throw to and attack the middle of the field.
Szymt and Sterling were both outstanding (though Hof did kick a couple punts into the endzone that he probably wishes he could have back). But great work by them, the protection teams, the spanner and holder and certainly the coverage units. Great to see our special teams excelling even against uber talented teams like the Tigers. We appear to have the best special teams in the ACC right now, then that might change given the cheap shot than Clemson player took on Keller near the end of the game, where he broke Matt's collarbone for no reason. If there was justice in the world, that idiotic play would have cost Clemson the game, like it cost Matt the rest of his senior season. It is too bad that had to happen in a game that was hard hitting and physical but also largely clean of cheap hits or other garbage.
The team has to be beat up and hurting after that game. They have to find a way to get ready for a bad Pitt team, playing in an empty stadium and they don't have much time to do it. It is a shame the bye week didn't come a week earlier. The Pitt game is a huge one. We haven't won there in way too long and we have to come back from there on Saturday with a win.
I watched them play UCF. Narduzzi is a B1G coach who continues to coach like he is in the B1G. He spent most of the game trying to cover 4.35 WRs with 4.9 LBs. Finally went with 5 DBs late but they couldn't stop them either. They are very vulnerable to a quick team with speedy athletes who can space them out. We don't have the speed UCF has (Killians was their best player, he almost came here; it really hurts to see him and Hassan Hall doing good things for other teams), but I think we have enough to beat up on their meathead defense.
Their offense is okay but they really miss having Canada as their OL, their young QB is struggling and their OL and RBs look slow and unimpressive.
I like our chances.
I thought this was a great game. Thought both teams showed great passion and effort all game long. This was a war. Clemson had some bad breaks with injuries and saw a little of what life is like for a non super power program playing with their 3rd string QB and a make shift OL. But the one huge break they got was the weather. Clemson has far more depth than Syracuse and that really hot, humid weather was, I think, a major key down the stretch, when Clemson finally found a way to move the ball, reviving their impotent offense only when the overworked Syracuse defense hit the wall in the fourth quarter and could not stop simple run plays they had been blowing up routinely most of the game.
The play of the game was the pass Bryce WhateverHisName was made on 4th and long on the final drive, where he threaded a needle on a long pass between 2 SU defenders to get a first down and avoid certain defeat. The kid made one good pass the whole game, and he picked a good time to throw it. Props to him.
I don't know what happened to Cordy but it looked like he broke his hand, or a finger or thumb in his hand the week before and I am assuming the injury got significantly worse on Saturday. Great kid, I admire him a lot but the evidence is overwhelming that he cannot play on defense and stay healthy. Playing like you are 6'4, 260 pounds when you are 5'8, 177 pounds is just too much on his body. I hope the injury is minor and he can return. He might want to think long and hard about the offer to play slot on offense next year. It would be his best chance to contribute to the team and get a reward for all the off season work he puts in.
Thought the game plan on offense was excellent. It isn't easy to embarrass Venables but Dino Babers has done it two years in a row. Credit to Brent for making good adjustments in the second half to stop most of the bleeding. He has a lot of answers on the defensive unit. Man, that DL was so good it should be illegal and #11 was all over the field making plays. He almost singlehandedly took the short passes to sidelines away from us.
Kind of surprised we didn't throw more to Custis but I think he was being covered by their top CB most of the game and the thought was it was better to throw it to Devin Butler or Taj Harris, who were mostly working against a true frosh CB, instead. I thought with Pierce out, they pretty much ignored throwing over the middle of the field, where Clemson is loaded with freak athletes and smurfs like N Johnson and S Riley would get killed. They tried to get them the ball in space out wide instead.
Good thinking. We could really use a big, strong TE or a big, strong, tough slot WR to throw to and attack the middle of the field.
Szymt and Sterling were both outstanding (though Hof did kick a couple punts into the endzone that he probably wishes he could have back). But great work by them, the protection teams, the spanner and holder and certainly the coverage units. Great to see our special teams excelling even against uber talented teams like the Tigers. We appear to have the best special teams in the ACC right now, then that might change given the cheap shot than Clemson player took on Keller near the end of the game, where he broke Matt's collarbone for no reason. If there was justice in the world, that idiotic play would have cost Clemson the game, like it cost Matt the rest of his senior season. It is too bad that had to happen in a game that was hard hitting and physical but also largely clean of cheap hits or other garbage.
The team has to be beat up and hurting after that game. They have to find a way to get ready for a bad Pitt team, playing in an empty stadium and they don't have much time to do it. It is a shame the bye week didn't come a week earlier. The Pitt game is a huge one. We haven't won there in way too long and we have to come back from there on Saturday with a win.
I watched them play UCF. Narduzzi is a B1G coach who continues to coach like he is in the B1G. He spent most of the game trying to cover 4.35 WRs with 4.9 LBs. Finally went with 5 DBs late but they couldn't stop them either. They are very vulnerable to a quick team with speedy athletes who can space them out. We don't have the speed UCF has (Killians was their best player, he almost came here; it really hurts to see him and Hassan Hall doing good things for other teams), but I think we have enough to beat up on their meathead defense.
Their offense is okay but they really miss having Canada as their OL, their young QB is struggling and their OL and RBs look slow and unimpressive.
I like our chances.
