Deja Vu.....or.....Here we go again

Well folks, I don’t know about you but my economy sized tub of TUMS is running out. Following what has become the traditional down to the wire less than a touchdown loss, the Tiger nation sits stunned. There are probably fans still staring at blank televisions or listening to static on their radios, wondering what exactly transpired over Saturdays game in Groves Stadium. To start off, let’s look at the game stats: CU WF FIRST DOWNS................... 28 17 RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 38-150 41-133 PASSING YDS (NET)............. 304 222 Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 42-28-2 25-20-1 TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.... 80-454 66-355 Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0 Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-10 1-13 Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 3-88 0-0 Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-3 2-26 Punts (Number-Avg)............ 3-23.0 4-52.0 Fumbles-Lost.................. 2-0 1-1 Penalties-Yards............... 4-28 6-42 Possession Time............... 30:07 29:53 Third-Down Conversions........ 7 of 13 8 of 16 Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 1 1 of 1 Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 4-4 3-3 Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-14 1-15

(please excuse the table, blogger can't get the spacing straight)

Now lets look at the scoring drive summaries: 7-0 WF (6 plays, 37 yards in 2:11). Resulted off interception 7-7. (15 plays, 80 yards in 7:15) 14-7 WF. (3 plays, 80 yards, 1:10). Resulted off broken coverage 21-7 WF. (3 plays, 29 yards in 1:10). Resulted off interception 21-14 WF. (9 plays, 64 yards in 3:32). 21-21. (9 plays, 64 yards in 1:37). 24-21 CU. (10 plays, 45 yards in 2:48). 27-21 CU (10 plays, 41 yards in 4:16). 27-24 CU. (17 plays, 64 yards in 7:41). 31-27 WF (8 plays, 66 yards in 1:58). Resulted from failed fake FG Logically, in a traditional football game, the team that has 11 more first downs, 100 more offensive yards, and less penalty yardage should win (trust me I aced Logic in school). But we are talking Clemson Football, A magical football program where nothing logical exists. A football program where having a team at third and long defensively usually means that they will get the first on a hitch pass, even though EVERY team before them has found success using the same play. A magical football program, that seems to perform only when the odds are against them. In fact, if we had won all of these close games I would call Clemson a bunch of pool hall hustlers, baiting the opposing team and letting them win the game until the final minutes. But instead, I will continue to call them the Cardiac Cats from Clemson, a team that gives (that’s right…..gives) the opponents just enough to win and their fans just enough to keep watching until the bitter end. After a week of “preparing”, the Tigers entered Groves Stadium hoping to avenge or even avoid the past visits outcome. The Tigers, who had gone down to the wire with Texas A&M, Miami, Boston College and even Wakes previous rival Maryland were going to come into Groves Stadium and open the playbooks, please the fans foaming at the mouth for the passing game, and deliver the sure victory the Tiger Faithful had been waiting for, nay expecting, all season long. The team that had trudged through what, initially, had been taken as a possible 0-4 start and come out with an even 2-2 was finally getting into the comfortable part of the schedule with the old ACC and their traditional foes. What transcended was pure horror as the Tigers once again could not exercise both the physical and mental Demons of Wake Forest. First let me say that I turned the radio off after about 20 minutes of play. I could only take so much of hearing Abbatte’s name repeated over and over as he picked off bumbled receptions from the Tiger WR’s and hearing that, once again, our punting woes would haunt us. I later turned the radio on as I returned from my 12 hour weekend work day…..and then back off in the final minutes. Second let it be said from Captain Obvious that if it were not for the 2 interceptions and blown coverage on the 74 yard bomb in the first half this game would have been a well controlled blowout. Offensively it seemed that the Tigers had two modes, On and Off. In keeping tradition with the rest of the season the Tigers were On when they were down. For some reason, the sense of urgency is not on the field when they are not losing. I am not sure if it is the play calling or the players themselves, but they need to figure out what exactly is causing the effective drives to only occur when the Tigers are down. When you can drive 65 plus yard drives all day, you should win the game. They did a great job of mixing up the plays, with effective 2 front rushing and short and long passes. I guess the pressure for the pass from last week had some affect on the coaching staff, I can say that they did open the play book and it was effective. The lapse on offense is what we have seen all season: dropped passes. Many reports are claiming it to be inexperience, but if the ball hits your hands on the 1-A college level, you should come down with it. This is what has made the difference between a W and an L every week this year. Two interceptions off of bobbled catches by the SAME defender is unacceptable. I could blame the QB for the form of the passes but from what I have seen this season, on the short game Charlie is pretty much on the mark. As I only heard the plays on the radio I can not say if this is true or not, but the announcers seemed to think the same way. The running game was a very nice surprise, as it once again developed itself into a threat. I guess after facing two stingy rush defenses, the Tigers got to stretch their legs a bit. Merriweather and Davis are definitely a two headed monster in the backfield, each with their own style and strengths. Defense……Oh Lord help me. As mentioned before, I am a defense guy. I am the guy who stands up for every down and screams, whistles, jumps in all attempts at motivating the defense. I guess without the motivation of The Valley behind them the defense is lost. Now the defense is in a similar “young” situation as the offense is on it’s side of the ball. Tye Hill and Jamaal Fudge can only cover so much of the field, the rest is left for the QB to pick at. Although the defense did hold the Deacs to their lowest rushing yards of the season, it didn’t pay off. The most disappointing part of the game, besides the wide open broken coverage TD for 74 yards, would have to be the Deacs ability to convert on third and long. The stats in the chart are deceiving as they only show the success of the 3rd down conversion. The important stat would be the distance that was achieved on the successful conversions. It has become evident that it would be beneficial for a team to lose yardage, go into 3rd down, and throw a pass into the flats for 1st down. This was not only successful for the Deacs this past Saturday but for EVERY other team that the Tigers have played. As I said, I will scream and whistle and lose my mind for the Tiger D, but when they continuously give up 3rd and longs, each one sort of takes a chunk out of the effort. The Tigers must remedy this problem, not only to salvage their defensive efforts but also if they expect the fans to continue their raucous behavior when it comes to 3rd down. The Tigers did have good pressure on the QB this week, he was just a bit faster. They need to keep that up as a hurried pass is better than a well timed pass any day, and that is better for the young secondary. Special Teams were par for the season so far. The blocked punt was off of a low snap which is easily corrected and was. On the return side of the ball the Tigers were looking for some improvement. With 88 yards on 3 returns, I would say that is a decent improvement but still needs some work on kickoffs. As for the punt returns, the Tigers were facing one of the best punters in the nation so I wasn’t expecting that much from the return game. And of course Jad Dean is clutch. I will not hold the botched fake against him, but rather point out that he hit a 47 yarder previously in the game and was lined up for a 44 yarder at the time of the fake. The fake is the only problem I saw in the special teams. I know that the Tigers would have been in the losing position if they had made the field goal but knowing how resilient the Tigers are when down, and how long and accurate Dean is, I would have taken the three and challenged the Deacs to another 80 yard drive. In the limited time that they would have had, they would surely had had to go to the air and risk interceptions and sacks. If the Deacs did end up scoring, they could even go for two and the Tigers would have the chance to tie with a good kick return, 2 passes and a Dean field goal. Finally the penalties. There is not much to say here except that the ACC ref’s once again lived up to their horrible legacy with a late late LATE pass interference call that gave the Deacons the life that they needed towards the end of the game. I am sure that there were other penalties that I missed but when the radio announcers state “surely that isn’t pass interference” when the late flag flew, you have to wonder. They also said that the receiver was pretty much wide open at the time of the reception. Oh well, another point lost to radio vs. TV I guess. But once again the Woulda Shoulda Coulda’s don’t win the game. So now the Tigers travel home, egos bruised, Seniors disappointed at their inability to win at Wake through their career and looking forward to a week off. A week off that I am sure everyone in the Tiger family can appreciate for the lack of another down to the wire less than a TD Tiger Football game. And for you optimists: Look at what happened the last time we lost to Wake in an embarrasing defeat. Peach Bowl anyone?