I never cease to be amazed by the optimism permeating the Clemson fanbase. The Atlantic division has an extremely rocky weekend and all of a sudden people are talking division championship. Its as if nothing happened two Saturdays ago. Well, let me remind everyone: this team was pushed around for at least three quarters by the Maryland Terrapins.
As much as it hurts to type this, and believe me it hurts, I believe the more pertinent question focuses on is whether or not this team can reach bowl eligibility. Before scoffing and clicking on to the next blog, read the last sentence of the preceding paragraph again. Then remind yourself of the offensive coaching strife that has suddenly been made manifest in last 10 days. Then remind yourself how our offense has by and large been an exercise in utter futility.
We have seven games, meaning we need to finish 4-3 to snag a bowl birth. Alright, alright...I'll give Swinney the Coastal Carolina game. That leaves us needing a 3-3 record in the remaining 6 games. Problem is, based on the performance of the offense thus far, I can't look at a single game with the possible exception of Virginia where Clemson comes off as the solid favorite. Observe:
Wake Forest: tilt Wake. A fundamentally sound team that isn't likely to beat itself or let our offense move the ball. Its gonna be hard to rely on the big play to bail us out.
Miami: yeah, right. I'll buy that Miami is overrated and our defense should test Jacoby Harris & crew, but it would still take a miracle.
FSU: tilt Clemson, for now. The last, largest, and longest-coming Bowden flameout is blazing away before our very eyes.
NC State: toss-up. They've struggled and performed well below lofty expectations. But its a road game and I don't like how we match up.
Viginia: lean Clemson, for now. we'll see how Groh fares in the coming weeks.
South Carolina: as much as it pains me to say this, Clemson is in for a tough battle in Columbia this year. While USuCk is riding a sparkling 5-1 record that belies the close battles they've been in, the reality is they aren't bad. There's still time for the traditional midseason Spurrier trainwreck to develop, right now all I can say is it ain't gonna be easy.
There you have it, if you include "tilts" I think you are realistically looking at a 2-3 record with one toss-up, pushing the "tilts" into the toss-up category and its 1-2 with 3 toss-ups. You can definitely quibble with some of the designations, but its clear that if we lose a couple of the toss-ups, then we're looking at no bowl game, much less no division title.
Now, if somehow the coaching staff manages to straighten out some of the play-calling hijinks and we come out and with a strong performance driven by an improved offense to beat Wake, then the above will need readjustment. But that's not how the offense is trending and until I see improvement, I'm thinking we might just sneak into the Meineke Car Care bowl.
No comments:
Post a Comment