Finally got home from Clemson. The traffic is awful there. After I got back, I kinda wanted to jot everything down before I forgot by Monday.
First, the atmosphere of Clemson is great. There are a few A-hole rednecks but for the most part CU fans are fairly kind and usually apologize for any of their rude brethren. The Tiger band was surprisingly quiet. There were only two forms of music in the stadium: piped in speaker music and the GT band. Note to all fans making the trip to Clemson in 2012: Do not attempt to leave Clemson after a football game. The traffic is horrible. Imagine a small town with only 2 or 3 roads leading into town and 50,000 cars trying to leave said small town. That's Clemson after a football game. It took me about 45 minutes to go 2.4 miles. Can someone explain to me how Death Valley is noticeably louder than Sanford Stadium?
Offensively, we saw some bright spots from Orwin Smith and Anthony Allen. I think there's a small revelation amongst our coaching staff that Orwin can ball. We finally found our 2010 feature A-Back. Allen really had some nice runs tonight despite the loss. Orwin has the hands that we need at A-Back. If there was one offensive highlight that I'd pick out to watch again, it was the total beasting Allen put on Tig Willard for a 29 yard reception.
Defensively, we really struggled against the run. Take out Kyle Parker and Clemson averaged around 6.5 yards per carry. Ellington averaged almost a first down per carry. He had 7 first downs or TD's out of 22 touches. We knew our pass defense was kinda shakey but now we know we're in the midst of rerebuilding defensive season.
The other thing I thought was interesting was tonight had a lot of What Ifs going on during the game. The first penalty we picked up on the roughing the kicker really shifted some momentum as Clemson scored a 55 yard TD following the penalty. We should've not "roughed" the kicker but what if... Either way, I was happy we weren't down 21-0 in the first quarter.
A lot of us in my section felt like the trick plays and tom-foolery on display tonight kinda meant we were pulling out all the stops to win. It also kinda looked like we were having trouble finding the big play in our conventional offense. I think it's an indicator of how our season has unfurled.
Also, I checked a weird rule out because I remember seeing the wide receiver pass to the QB play in the NFL before. The Eagles tried to run it with Donovan McNabb a few years back. McNabb was nailed during the play and they threw a pass interference flag but picked it up after conferring with the back judge. In the NFL, QB's under center are ineligible. However, I checked it out and college QB's are always eligible under center or in the shotgun. Reggie and Bilbo ran a similar play back in 2006.
For more coverage check out Greenville Online, the AJC-Tech Section, the Macon Telegraph's Tech Talk, Shakin' the Southland, and Block-C.
First, the atmosphere of Clemson is great. There are a few A-hole rednecks but for the most part CU fans are fairly kind and usually apologize for any of their rude brethren. The Tiger band was surprisingly quiet. There were only two forms of music in the stadium: piped in speaker music and the GT band. Note to all fans making the trip to Clemson in 2012: Do not attempt to leave Clemson after a football game. The traffic is horrible. Imagine a small town with only 2 or 3 roads leading into town and 50,000 cars trying to leave said small town. That's Clemson after a football game. It took me about 45 minutes to go 2.4 miles. Can someone explain to me how Death Valley is noticeably louder than Sanford Stadium?
Offensively, we saw some bright spots from Orwin Smith and Anthony Allen. I think there's a small revelation amongst our coaching staff that Orwin can ball. We finally found our 2010 feature A-Back. Allen really had some nice runs tonight despite the loss. Orwin has the hands that we need at A-Back. If there was one offensive highlight that I'd pick out to watch again, it was the total beasting Allen put on Tig Willard for a 29 yard reception.
Defensively, we really struggled against the run. Take out Kyle Parker and Clemson averaged around 6.5 yards per carry. Ellington averaged almost a first down per carry. He had 7 first downs or TD's out of 22 touches. We knew our pass defense was kinda shakey but now we know we're in the midst of rerebuilding defensive season.
The other thing I thought was interesting was tonight had a lot of What Ifs going on during the game. The first penalty we picked up on the roughing the kicker really shifted some momentum as Clemson scored a 55 yard TD following the penalty. We should've not "roughed" the kicker but what if... Either way, I was happy we weren't down 21-0 in the first quarter.
A lot of us in my section felt like the trick plays and tom-foolery on display tonight kinda meant we were pulling out all the stops to win. It also kinda looked like we were having trouble finding the big play in our conventional offense. I think it's an indicator of how our season has unfurled.
Also, I checked a weird rule out because I remember seeing the wide receiver pass to the QB play in the NFL before. The Eagles tried to run it with Donovan McNabb a few years back. McNabb was nailed during the play and they threw a pass interference flag but picked it up after conferring with the back judge. In the NFL, QB's under center are ineligible. However, I checked it out and college QB's are always eligible under center or in the shotgun. Reggie and Bilbo ran a similar play back in 2006.
For more coverage check out Greenville Online, the AJC-Tech Section, the Macon Telegraph's Tech Talk, Shakin' the Southland, and Block-C.