Tiger Tracks

A very delayed Sunday Morning Quarterback

melanie_balog — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:20:00 GMT

(Note: Sorry for the delay in posting this folks, but we are in the process of switching to new blog software. Travis Sawchik wrote this, I just posted it--Melanie Balog, Digital Editor)

CLEMSON – Maybe what we learned Saturday night at Duke is there is simply no blueprint to slow the Clemson offense.

Defenses are running out of answers and turning to desperate measures.

What Duke attempted on Saturday night – man coverage with average athletes and little safety help – was fraught with risk and certainly didn’t work as Tajh Boyd and DeAndre Hopkins strafed the single-coverage.

Florida State showed that if you have a talented front four and future NFL players at cornerback you can press cover and keep two safeties deep and stop Clemson for a series or two. Still, Clemson scored 37 points on the road in Tallahassee in its only loss of the season.

Bud Foster’s Virginia Tech defense was able to creatively bring pressure and gave the Tigers some trouble, though the Clemson offense still scored 31 points in a win.

“I’ve pretty much seen them all,” said Boyd of defenses. “That’s a great part about playing in this system where defensive coordinators try to figure out how (to slow us) by mixing and matching, which helps me out because I’ve seen most the looks.”

Clemson averaged 37 points per game in 1900. The modern record is 34.7 points per game in 2000. Clemson is averaging 42.7 points per game.

Clemson scored a program-record 470 points last season – in 14 games - but is on pace to break that mark with 554 points this year in 13 games. The Tigers are also on pace to break the yardage record set last season.

In the second year under Chad Morris the Clemson offense has reached another level of production and has become a more consistent unit.

Can anyone stop Clemson?

A team with superior front four talent can slow any offense. That’s what will make the Nov. 24 meeting with South Carolina so fascinating. Strength vs. Strength. Can’t wait.

TEN THOUGHTS

10. I wrote last week that Clemson needed to focus on margin of victory and run up scores when possible. Why? The polls mater this November in college football. Clemson can’t control its schedule but it can control how it performs. It can influence voter opinion via the scoreboard. Clemson has outscored its last two opponents 98 to 33.

Said Tajh Boyd: “Style points matter.”

They do when Clemson is eyeing an at-large BCS berth.

9. A few weeks ago I also wrote that I though Chad Morris needed to take more deep shots regardless of coverage. He called his most aggressive game of the season Saturday night due to Duke’s coverage and the results were pretty darn impressive.

Great stat from @seldomusedrsrv: Tajh Boyd vs. Duke on throws of 21+ yards: 8 for 11, 285 yards, 4 TDs, 2 Ints

8. The other big thing is Clemson continues to prove it is a more matured, focused team. I know we can get tired of hearing about the “playing to standards” talk but the fact is it is important. That’s what great teams do. And I think we’ve seen the culture of the Clemson team change this year. One key is that Boyd has really emerged as a key leader.

7. The only negative for Clemson in this offensive explosion is you have to wonder how long Chad Morris and DeAndre Hopkins are going to stay around. Hopkins didn’t discuss his future plans after the game Saturday but it is difficult o imagine him coming back for his senior year. How can he perform any better than this? Three touchdowns in a quarter for the second time this season? Silly numbers.

7a. I’ve been told by a source Morris is unlikely to leave Clemson this season because he does not want to uproot his family. But I’m hesitant to place too much stock in this. If the right head coaching job is there most assistants are not going to turn down that opportunity.

6. Credit the offensive line with bouncing back the last couple weeks after being porous against Virginia Tech. Protection was key against Duke’s pressure packages in taking advantage of the single coverage and the Clemson line held up for the most part. Now, Duke is one thing, South Carolina will present a different test.

5. Martavis Bryant is going to help pick up some of the slack when Hopkins does leave. Bryant is averaging nearly 30 yards per catch for his career.

4. Spencer Shuey has brought a different level of physicality to the middle linebacker position. It’s going to be difficult for Stephone Anthony to get his starting job back.

4a. Think about Clemson’s 2011 recruiting class. Of the four five-star recruits only one is a difference maker (Watkins).

3. We saw freshmen Zac Brooks and Isaiah Battle play late on Saturday, still I think it’s fair to question these decisions not to redshirt. (And Tony Steward)

2. Apparently Andre Ellington is OK. Good news for Clemson which doesn’t have another difference maker in the backfield.

2a. … But the one thing that does lessen Clemson’s vulnerability at running back is that Boyd is just such a better runner this year. Boyd had 388 total yards of offense in the first half Saturday. Yes, another program record. Chad Morris said he almost looks fast.

1 Clemson’s defense has been better the last three weeks but it is also hard to evaluate against this competition. Still, there were some missed tackles and busts Saturday.

STAT OF THE WEEK

718 – total yards of offense, just off the program record of 756 set in 1981 vs. Wake Forest.

HE SAID IT

Boyd on putting up big scores:

“The thing is, with the type of situation we're in, style points matter. The BCS, that's what our goal is. We just have to win out these last three games.”

HE SAID IT II

Chad Morris can’t really say Clemson left yards on the field, can he? Not after this game.

Morris: “We knew they were going to press us up and take our chances and we were going to have to protect (Boyd) and be able to hit on some of our shots. And we were able to do that.”

NON-FOOTBALL RECOMMENDATION OF THE WEEK

I might have said this last week, but go purchase Mumford and Sons’ new album Babel. Great

Notre Dame can't arrive fast enough ... Why Clemson should run up the score ... Is the Nov. 24th showdown for the Sugar Bowl? .... and McFearless Friday Picks

travis_sawchik — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:47:00 GMT

NORTHWESTERN COMMAND - There has been split opinion regarding the agreement the ACC reached with Notre Dame, the one where Notre Dame gets access to the ACC's bowl lineup and plays five ACC teams a year yet retains its independence.

Some feel the ACC gave Notre Dame something akin to a blank check.

I defended the ACC's decision and it is a decision that looks better with Notre Dame's performance this season.

The simple fact is the ACC needs quality games and quality games require quality teams. The Florida State, Clemsons, Miamis and Virginia Techs also need to strengthen their schedules in the future. Consider Clemson's second best win this season, according to computers, is the Ball State victory. Really. If Notre Dame is on its way back to sustained relevance this will be provide a strength of schedule boost to the league even without adding the Irish as a full-time member.

Then there is the simple matter that the ACC needs Notre Dame to improve television ratings. There has simply not been must-see television in the conference this year outside of the Clemson-Florida State game. Notre Dame will bring eyeballs to flatscreens.

At the end of the day, with few great football schools on the board in the conference expansion game, this was a creative solution.

And who knows, maybe Notre Dame will one day be compelled to join a conference and the ACC figures to be frontrunner to land the Irish thanks to its increased Northeast footprint and Florida recruiting ties.

SPEAKING OF THE ACC'S FLORIDA FOOTPRINT ....

Of course what will help the ACC more than anything is Florida State and Miami playing up to their potential. History suggests both teams will at some point return to being consistent top 10 performers.

This could be just around the corner.

Florida State might already be arriving there and Miami's team is loaded with freshmen and sophomores and is the driver's seat to win the Coastal and play Florida State in the ACC title game.

This is the title game matchup the league thought it would be getting more often than not when it added Miami in 2004. Well it might finally be here and it could be a preview of things to come. (Or course the NCAA rulings could set Miami back)

With Clemson ascending and Notre Dame being a de facto part of the conference, I do think the ACC's days as a laughing stock are numbered.

CLEMSON SHOULD RUN UP SCORES THIS NOVEMBER

We saw Clemson leave Tajh Boyd in at quarterback deep into the second half in their rout at Wake Forest so he could set a school passing record.

Clemson should continue to leave starters in late into the second half the rest of the season even if holding comfortable leads.

Why?

Clemson's schedule is not going to impress many voters, and while points margin is not part of the computers' formula (it should be), margin of victory does influence human voters to a degree.

Why does this matter? Because Clemson is in play for the Sugar Bowl, according to analysts....

USC-CLEMSON WINNER GOES TO SUGAR BOWL?

The Sporting News and Phil Steele each projected a Clemson-Georgia Sugar Bowl this week. ESPN BCS guru Brad Edwards picked South Carolina to play in the Sugar Bowl. Could the rivalry meeting Nov. 24 be for a Sugar Bowl berth? Have the two rivals ever played for such stakes?

Clemson has never played in back-to-back BCS, major bowl games.

A Sugar Bowl appearance, and win, for Clemson would really set the stage for a potentially special 2013 season.

McFEARLESS FRIDAY PICKS

TCU at WEST VIRGINIA (-5). West Virginia has struggled lately but I still think they have an athlete advantage here.

OREGON (-8) at SOUTHERN CAL I think Southern Cal can pull an upset here. The Trojans are one of the few teams in the Pac-12 that can athletically match Oregon.

OKLAHOMA STATE at KANSAS STATE (-8.5) Oklahoma State remembers losing to Iowa State last yaer and gets to be Iowa State this year. OSU has the No. 1 offense in the country.

ALABAMA (-8) at LSU: Alabama has outscored SEC competition 5 to 1. Alabama is the most talented and most balanced team in the country. They're so good they'll rout LSU and prove there is a clear No. 1 team in the country. The question is who is No. 2?

PITTSBURGH at NOTRE DAME (-17): Future ACC game, well, sort of.

CLEMSON (-13) at DUKE: Clemson has too much firepower and Duke is really beat up with seven players unlikely to play and two defensive starters out.

FOR THE RECORD …

CLEMSON PICKS

Clemson picks, straight up, career: 35-13
Clemson picks this season: 7-1
Clemson picks, vs. spread, career: 21-25-1
This year vs. spread: 4-3

OVERALL PICKS

Last week vs. spread 3-4

Season vs. spread 21-26-2

Career vs. spread 113-104-6

Midweek notes: Can Chad Kelly carry the torch?

travis_sawchik — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 01:40:00 GMT

NORTHWESTERN COMMAND - Dabo Swinney spoke this week about consistency being the next step for his program.

I wrote earlier this week that a major threat to that consistency is staff continuity. Chad Morris is not going to remain in Clemson forever.

But perhaps an even bigger threat to consistency than losing a coordinator is losing an effective quarterback.

Gene Chizik, your thoughts.

I'm not sure if Clemson Nation is properly appreciates starting quarterback Tajh Boyd. He's been the program's best quarterback in its modern era. Think about that.

What happens when he's gone? Swinney thinks Clemson will be OK. Why?

I asked Swinney this evening how redshirting freshman Chad Kelly compares to to where Kyle Parker and Tajh Boyd where during their redshirt seasons.

"He’s right there. He’s pretty special," Swinney said. "To be honest with you he competed pretty strong with all of them in fall camp. He held his own just walking in there off the street. He’s got a chance to be really, really good if he’ll stay focused and hungry. That edge that he has. It really makes him special. .... He studies. He’s not even playing but he’s dialed in meetings and asks questions."

(Can Clemson keep these two Chads together?)

I questioned Kelly's arm strength entering Clemson but he's received rave reviews for his athleticism, #want and throwing ability since stepping on campus.

He's going to have wait another year like Boyd did but according to Swinney he'll be worth the wait for the program. He'll allow Clemson to have important, consistent production at the quarterback position.

MOVING IN

Swinney said Clemson should move into the indoor facility the week of the South Carolina game. The facility is nearly complete and Swinney said the artificial turf surface will arrive Monday. Swinney said a side effect of the construction is that it has taken away one of Clemson's three practice fields.

"Our fields are completely torn up, they are in terrible shape," Swinney said. "With only two fields it's been hard to manage. Just a dirt pile."

LOST YEARS?

It's tough to question too much in a 7-1 season but it seems like Tony Steward (40 snaps from scrimmage) and Isaiah Battle (61 snaps) would have been better of redshirting and saving eligibility. These are two potential impact starters, who should be saving eligibility for when they can log 600 snaps in a full season as contributors.

INJURY UPDATE

Starting cornerback Bashaud Breeland will return for the Duke game on Saturday.

Video Doesn't Lie: Tig Willard Appreciation Day ... Is consistency the next step? and should Adam Humphries be a full-time defensive back?

travis_sawchik — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 00:39:00 GMT

CLEMSON - I think you have to like Jonathan Willard's determination.

Remember when five-star prospects Tony Steward and Stephone Anthony were supposed to relegate the senior linebacker to a bench role? All Willard has done is get better each year and become the team's most dependable defender this season.

Willard has always been willing to work and get better. As a prep wrestling star, he once had to lose 14 pounds in three days to wrestle at a lower weight class. He made the weight.

"I ran in the gym with like 14 layers on," Willard said. "All I ate was salad."

You have to have some want-to to do that.

He had a 139-16 record as a prep wrestler, so he's not used to seeing the struggles Clemson's defense has had. The wrestling skills of a four-time state champ might explain why he is one of surest tacklers on the team.

He is perhaps in the midst of leading the Clemson defense to a second-half turnaround, video evidence is below.

VIDEO DOESN'T LIE: AN APPRECIATION OF WILLARD AND BRENT VENABLES' ENERGY

Before we get to Willard, is Brent Venables a natural to land a Five Hour Energy spot, or what? Wish you had this much energy in your 40s?

Dude is intense.

The little things have given the Clemson defense big problems in the past.

For example, a Clemson defender might play with the wrong leverage, taking on a blocker on his inside shoulder, when they need to stay outside, resulting in a rushing lane or easy pass completion. Well, in this play Tig Willard offers an example of playing with proper outside leverage. He stayed outside, got off a block, and made a tackle. It's why Willard leads the team with 62 tackles and has been the team's most productive defender.

“It’s football 101, understanding not just what I’m supposed to do, but why,” Venables said Tuesday. “It’s muscle memory. Guys are starting to trust what their assignments.”

Maybe Clemson is ready to graduate to football 201.

Clemson only had 15 tackles for loss last season from its linebackers, Tig Willard already has 5.5 this season, including this sack of Tanner Price on Thursday. Watch Willard dip his shoulder and use impressive closing speed to get to Price. Might Willard be on the verge of being an impact player?

Looks like Sammy Watkins has that acceleration back. That is his unique trait and it allows him to turn 5-yard gains into touchdowns like he does above.

IS CLEMSON IN DANGER OF BECOMING CONSISTENT?

We've heard this term "Clemsoning." It's refers to when a talented teams loses inexplicably to a lesser team.

We saw it in 2008 at Wake Forest. We saw it in 2009 at Maryland. We saw it in 2010 at Boston College. We saw it in 2011 at N.C. State.

You get the idea.

But is Clemson in danger of changing this?

Clemson seems to be doing a job of playing to an internal standard. You might have heard Nick Saban (and by extension Kevin Steele) discuss this idea.

Clemson has won all the games it was supposed to win this season and it has covered the spread at Boston College, against Wake Forest and against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

Clemson is not playing down to competition. This is a critical positive indicator for Dabo Swinney. Clemson will get another chance to prove it is a different program at Duke and vs. N.C. State and Maryland down the stretch.

“My concern is for our program taking is another step, becoming a consistent winner,” Swinney said. “Put two, three, four, five really consistent-type seasons together. That’s what we really need to. We are headed in that direction. This would be a positive step. We haven’t done it much in the past 15 years here.”

SHOULD ADAM HUMPHRIES MOVE TO CORNERBACK?

He didn't say it but I got the sense today talking to Brent Venables that he would love to have receiver Adam Humphries play full-time at cornerback.

Venables notes that Humprhies understand different coverages. He's competitive, he's not a liability as a tackler. And he might be the second quickest player on the roster after Sammy Watkins, according to Chad Morris.

With young talent at receiver like Sammy Watkins, Martavis Bryant, Charone Peake and Germone Hopper Clemson is deep at the position without Humphries.

Clemson needs more help at corner.

Humprhries might be best served at receiver long term, but in the short term might it be wise to move him to corner? I think Venables thinks so. Do you?

Thoughts on the Radakovich hire: the risk-reward shift

travis_sawchik — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 02:24:00 GMT

NORTHWESTERN COMMAND - There are many impressive elements of the Dan Radakovich resume.

For starters he becomes the third person in South Carolina with eastern European bloodlines, joining Gene Sapakoff and myself.

(OK, OK, I'll get serious ... )

*Radakovich gets high marks for his relationships with coaches. He worked well with Nick Saban, which can't be easy. He has seen how an elite SEC football operates. He has watched Saban work. He seems to have an easy, yet competitive, nature about him.

*He can fundraise. Radakovich was involved with overseeing a $90,000,000 enhancement of LSU's Death Valley, a $50,000,000 upgrade of the Ga. Tech basketball facility. Clemson president James Barker said Radakovic has marketing and revenue generating ideas that were a major factor in his hire.

*He received wide praise for his hire of Paul Johnson. Yes, Johnson is struggling this year but in four full seasons Johnson has led Tech -- not an easy place to win -- to four bowl games.

*D-Rad looks like a CEO. He has charisma which can't hurt in raising money. He can communicate well.

*He's tall and has great hair. How many of us can/will be able to say that at 54?

(If you sell orange blazers you probably have two clients: the Orange Bowl committee and Clemson)

But there are a few elements of the Radakovic hire that raise eyebrows:

The obvious thing is Radakovich's role in Georgia Tech's NCAA four years of probation.

Some of the most serious violations stemmed from $312 worth of clothing former receiver Demaryius Thomas received from a former player, who was working for a sports agent. Radakovich turned the NCAA penalties from mild to severe after he alerted Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson that Thomas would be investigated by the NCAA, a violation of NCAA rules.

Clemson president James Barker said Radakovich was heavily vetted.

“We had questions,” Barker said. “I talked with my contacts at the NCAA. I read that (NCAA) report twice. … Having experienced first-hand (NCAA punishment) and saying ‘I never want to go there again’ might be even better than someone who’s not had a problem.”

Said Radakovich: “It was a life-altering experience. Great lessons learned. Mistakes were made that will not be made again.”

Maybe this was a one-time deal. And if you've been in college athletics long enough, you probably have an NCAA file. Still, for a school that hasn't had its football program on probation in 20 years, for a school that distanced itself from the Ford years, the decision to hire somehow who headed a program on probation raised some eyebrows.

The other thing I found interesting is something Barker said regarding debt when I asked what kind of revenue streams Radakovic was going to create:

"We are going to take a good look at whether our debt is the right level or not. Is this a good time to have some debt to build some facilities? There’s a right balance when you have construction costs what they are now and money is as cheap as it is now. You have to take a look at that and we certainly will."

Terry Don Phillips and Clemson CFO Katie Hill were/are conservative with Clemson's spending. That helped Clemson weather the recession without massive budget issues. Clemson has also built important facilities like the West Zone and indoor facility during their tenures.

Hiring an AD who is in favor in debt spending, and is leaving a program under probation, carries risk elements.

Hiring an AD with Radavoich's experience and track record hints at the rewards that might be possible.

What I think it says is that Barker is quite serious when he says he wants a top 20 athletic program and he is willing to increase Clemson's risk threshold to get there.