Why Clemson will win | Syracusefan.com

Why Clemson will win

SWC75

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- Because they are Clemson and we are just Syracuse. The two schools have played 10 times and we’ve only beaten them twice. Our “trail of tears”:

- The 0ne time we’ve beaten them since we joined the ACC, we had lost 0-54 the previous years to them and also 23-30 to Middle Tennessee State earlier in the year. They were the defending national champions and had no reason to think that we could even give them a game. Oh, and the game was in the Dome. Last season we lost to them 14-17 and we are 6-0 and ranked #14 coming into a game at their place. They will be ready and waiting.

- Because they are a better team than we are. Clemson is a legitimate football factory. Their starting line-up is studded with All-Americans and future NFL draft picks. “But so is ours”, you say. Maybe. But their second team is as good as their first team. It just has next year’s AA’s and draft picks, not this year’s. And their third team has the AA’s and draftees for the year after that.
It’s our 3 stars vs. their 5 stars.
- We’re losing players like flies and we can’t replace people like Clemson can. We’re holding it together so far but how long can we do that until this thing falls apart?

- DJ Uiagalelei has completed 64% of his passes for 1,665 yards, 17 TDs and just 2 turnovers. That’s better than Garrett Shrader’s 69% for 1,474 yards, 12TDs and 3 picks, although it seems like more. DJ has run for 337 yards at 4.2 yards per shot and 4TDs. The dynamic Shrader has 384/3.8/5, not really better. Sean Tucker has carried the ball 124 times for 661 yards (5.2) and 6 scores. Will Shipley is in ‘ship shape’ with 96/567(5.9)/8tds. Our heroes aren’t any better than their heroes.

- They don’t have any one with Oronde Gadsden’s numbers (31r, 507yds, 16.5 and 5 scores). But they have no less than 7 receivers with double figures in catches: we have only 4.

- Their defense is as aggressive and tough as ours and their special teams are comparable. They aren’t going to lose the game on that score and even if their offense has problems, they will stay in the game.

- What, really have we accomplished this year? We decisively beat a Louisville team that had badly beaten us for three years in a row and everybody got excited. But the Cardinals are only 3-3 with a 1-3 conference record that puts them in last place. We badly beat a bad Connecticut team. Purdue is legit and a good win to have on the resume, but they handed us that game with the 5 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the last minute of play. We barely beat a bad Virginia team and annihilated a Wagner team that belongs in Division III. We beat an NC State missing its star QB, it’s leading rusher and second leading receiver. That sounds like a bubble that’s about to burst.

- OK, we’re 6-0. But our only road game was at Connecticut. Clemson has won four conference road games! They are 4th in the country in strength of schedule. Wea re 26th, although that’s about to go up. After all we are about to play at Clemson, where instead of 49,000 fans screaming for SU, we get 80,000 fans screaming for Clemson.

- Let’s face it. We were hoping to go 6-6. Check. If we can split the remaining games and win a bowl game, that’s another 10-win season. Wouldn’t you take that right now?
 

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