Shocked if this number gets above 4.
I must say love to see a great discussion thread like this, a lot of great insight and opinions and no BS, I wish the mods here would work on getting rid of the BS so this site could have more of this. Very positive regardless which way you bet. BOL to all regardless what you bet and happy holidays!!
Smoke and mirrors? That's silly.
Clemson's success has been the exact opposite of smoke and mirrors. According to Football Outsiders, Clemson is 9th in adjusted line yards, a metric that defines how well a team run blocks. It's 4th in adjusted sack rate.
On defense, Clemson is 4th in adjusted line yards. It's 14th in adjusted sack rate.
Clemson also has probably the best quarterback in the country--a former 5-star, #1 dual threat QB who hasn't lost a game he's started and finished.
Clemson is winning because it is very good on the lines on both run and pass downs, and because it has +++++ QB play. Clemson's score results have not equated to its on-field dominance for a couple of reasons. Turnovers have had an impact, but teams have scored lots of garbage time TDs against Clemson.
For instance, Clemson outgained South Carolina by 200+ on the road, but USC scored with no time on the clock to make the game look like a one-score game. In truth, after Clemson scored to go up 14-0 in the 2nd quarter, USC never possessed the ball with a chance to take the lead.
Clemson outgained UNC by 200+, and led by 18 through much of the 2nd half. Clemson moved the ball at will and contained UNC through much of the game.
Even against teams like Wake Forest, where the winning margin was only 20 points, Clemson outgained its opponent by 400 (!) yards. 33-13 looks like Clemson and Wake were playing the same game. People watching that game realize that Clemson could have named its score.
Clemson sometimes has little interest in beating up on the little guy even when it can. Clemson does turn it on in crunch time, though. Against FSU, Clemson was a 10-point favorite and hit that number by holding FSU out of the endzone for the last 59 minutes.
When I hear smoke and mirrors, I think of a team that's living on the edge, getting lucky breaks to win games they have no business winning. Clemson is the opposite. It's given other teams those lucky breaks, and won anyway.
Offensive line play, defensive line play, and QB play. That's a combination as old as time (it helps that Clemson has multiple NFL WRs and 2 NFL 1st round DBs). But there's nothing smoke and mirrors about what Clemson's done. It's mostly been stuffing the ball down people's throats.
If Clemson loses a game, it will be because they don't have much of a clue on special teams (kicker aside) and tend to give up short fields all game long.
Outstanding post. Calling Clemson "smoke and mirrors" is just ridiculous. They pummeled UNC, as I have already stated, and TheOMan has given an extremely articulate and reasoned response as to why calling them Smoke and Mirrors is silly.
And one last interesting note. OU goes to Neyland, seats 105K people, I know this because I went to games as a kid and played there as well, about as raucous as it can get. Beats Tennessee, albeit in OT, by a touch. Tennessee goes to BAMA and loses 19-14. Go ahead men, get all the Clemson you want and can afford...... to lose.
~T~
~T~
I'm going out on a limb here DC, betting half my FiveHo's account on the Sooners. I'm waiting of course until the day of the game, as previously stated, you never know what these college kids are capable of doing in their "free" time. Sooners will shut Watson down, plain, simple, period. Clemson will have no answer to what the Sooners throw at them on O. I'm certain GS is groaning over my ambitious claims, but hear me now, believe me later, the Sooners will be playing BAMA for the Nat Championship.
~T~
Relax T.
Going to Tennessee and beating the Vols, you're hanging your hat on that? So any game played at home doesn't count?
You say big deal to beating Fla St and ND, but you get a boner over these wins:
- A road win at Tennessee
- Beating Bayolr with a freshman backup
- Beating Oklahoma St with a backup
- Beating TCU with a backup, as a 17.5 favorite by a point, they lose if TCU converts a 2 pt con...in Oklahoma.
- Kansas ST after they just lost 2 big games and were clearly in a let down situation.
Tell me, where are the impressive wins on their resume?? On the road, since apparently home games don't count?? Tennessee. You're making a win at Tennessee some huge accomplishment?
They beat Tennessee, Tenn loses to Bama by less than a TD, so Tenn is great. If that's how you rank teams, A beat B was competitive Vs C, I can probably find some 3-9 teams that have a shot.
You conveniently ignore they lost to Texas. That must make Texas title contenders too, right? Hell, they should replace Oklahoma by your reasoning.
You're starting to lose a lot of credibility with your nonsense.
N Dame outgained Clemson 432 to 296 and lost. Watson passed for 84 yards. if Clemson wins it will be something like the N Dame game, they won and they shouldn't have. OU will be the most motivated team in a bowl game this year. I think the S. Carolina game is a tell all. SC outscored them 15-7 in the 4th quarter. That is when OU's running backs are at their best.
