My realistic take on the game...

[Backup QB]

Fisrt off I am not confident about this game, nor am I doom and gloom. One minute I feel good the next I dont. This game is going to be what happens when a stoppable force meets a moveable object.

I will start with my biggest concern which is our offense. Connor Shaw is visibly hurt and afraid to run and risk further injury. That makes our offense rather one dimentional and basically ruins running out of the shotgun. clempson will figure out rather quickly that we are not running the zone read and that every time it looks like a run the ball is either going to Miles/Davis. I just finished watching the clempson game from last year and then I watched the Wofford replay. It felt like I was watching two different QB's. Last year Shaw took the snap looked downfield if the first option wasn't there he would look for the second or sometimes the third. If it wasn't there he took off and ran north south with authority. What I am seeing at this point this year is indecisiveness and CS feeling pressure that sometimes is not there. It seems like every pass is either a 2 yard screen or a 40 yard bomb there is no in between. He is not checking down like he used to, and when he runs he runs east west hovering the line of scrimmage and if he decides to go past it he is running very gingerly. The middle of clempsons defense is wide open every single time but unfortunately that seems to be the last place on the field CS is comfortable throwing to.

I am also concerned about our receivers giving up on plays. I do have some experience in this area. I played small time college ball, nothing like SEC ball and we ran a very heavy qb run pass option offense. Nine times out of ten our QB would take off running or end up throwing to a RB. As a receiver I can tell you that you can only see it happen so many times before you anticipate not getting the ball and start running lazy routes.

As for our defense I think anyone who knows anything about football will tell you if we pressure boyd then good things will happen for our defense. The fact is that we will not be able to pressure him on every single play. My biggest concern for our defense is that our secondary is going to bite on play action which I have seen them do many times (see the long pass in the Wofford game). It is only going to take them doing that 3 or 4 times for us to be completely out of the game.

Bottom line is our defense is good and so is their offense. Their defense is bad and our offense is no where near where it should be.

That is my take and I am sure some will call me a tater for not saying we will win by 30 and giving their offense any credit but I am just calling it like I see it.

[Justhatguy]

I'm just worried if this game becomes a shootout, do we have the offense to keep up. Our defense will play well, but it can be a KO or punt returned for a td or a broken run or missed tackle on a pass that can start a shootout. Do we have enough firepower to win a 40+ point game?

I kinda think we might try a ball or time control type of game but I'm not too sure if Miles is the type of back who will get us the 4+ ypc needed to keep the sticks moving. If Wilds was back there, diff story. And with Shaw's tentativeness with his injuries, he's been known to hand the ball off 8 out of 10 times on the read. Just think if Clemson dared him to keep it every single time, can he run it effectively?

I hope SOS's playcall will be an Alabama '10 type of game where it will be the difference but I dont have faith that we can win a shootout. For a Clempson team that has a mindset that they can score 50+ when they want, this might be tough.

[ATL COCK 31]

I think they move the ball well but we hold them to more FGs than TDs. We score more TDs than FGs so we come out with a tough win

[Carolina4Life]

I would add value to this thread but I have a hard time reading essay's on a message board.

[imabeastonu]

our defense will get stops when it matters most

[Kickerspl80]

Lots of members posting this week after not posting for months and months. Maybe this is a big week. Who are we playing again?

[ACPhilson]

Originally Posted by Kickerspl80

Lots of members posting this week after not posting for months and months. Maybe this is a big week. Who are we playing again?

North Greenville High.

[ElTiger]

Originally Posted by ACPhilson

North Greenville High.

I thought we were playing y'all this week. Is that next week buddy?

[Cockholio]

My take is that we're capable of playing for a hard-fought, single digit win. I also believe we're capable of crapping the bed offensively and getting blown out due to the defense getting worn down. The only thing I'm sure of in this game is that our defense will play with heart, regardless of what happens offensively.

[BCWriter]

I don't know why some of yall think our gameplan will be different. We'll line up in the zone read as usual and struggle early. Maybe Connor can hit a couple play-actions down the field.

It'll be up to us playing mistake-free and keeping the Tigers out of the endzone. We do those two things, we win. If not, we're headed to Atlanta.

[Red Devil]

Originally Posted by BCWriter

I don't know why some of yall think our gameplan will be different. We'll line up in the zone read as usual and struggle early. Maybe Connor can hit a couple play-actions down the field.

It'll be up to us playing mistake-free and keeping the Tigers out of the endzone. We do those two things, we win. If not, we're headed to Atlanta.

Watching Connor closely this season and I realize he never pump fakes. Garcia used it all the time to good effect.

[cofcgamecock9]

Originally Posted by Red Devil

Watching Connor closely this season and I realize he never pump fakes. Garcia used it all the time to good effect.

I am not saying he does it all the time, but Connor has had several successful plays where he pump faked. I can think of three or four right off the top of my head.

[Carolina4Life]

Shaw pumped faked last week.

[SpecOps Cock]

I have seen him pump fake then get sacked!!

[Carolina4Life]

All I know is I HOPE TO GOD he get's rid of the damn ball! FOR ONCE can we have an away game where that happens?

[talon]

Last year Clemson played a lot of man-to-man which let Connor run a great deal. I expect Zone to force Connor to throw.

[Carolina4Life]

Originally Posted by talon

Last year Clemson played a lot of man-to-man which let Connor run a great deal. I expect Zone to force Connor to throw.

Then I expect sacks!

[usc1]

It'll be a close game. Not a blowout like the last 3 years

[b381l]

Originally Posted by Backup QB

Fisrt off I am not confident about this game, nor am I doom and gloom. One minute I feel good the next I dont. This game is going to be what happens when a stoppable force meets a moveable object.

I will start with my biggest concern which is our offense. Connor Shaw is visibly hurt and afraid to run and risk further injury. That makes our offense rather one dimentional and basically ruins running out of the shotgun. clempson will figure out rather quickly that we are not running the zone read and that every time it looks like a run the ball is either going to Miles/Davis. I just finished watching the clempson game from last year and then I watched the Wofford replay. It felt like I was watching two different QB's. Last year Shaw took the snap looked downfield if the first option wasn't there he would look for the second or sometimes the third. If it wasn't there he took off and ran north south with authority. What I am seeing at this point this year is indecisiveness and CS feeling pressure that sometimes is not there. It seems like every pass is either a 2 yard screen or a 40 yard bomb there is no in between. He is not checking down like he used to, and when he runs he runs east west hovering the line of scrimmage and if he decides to go past it he is running very gingerly. The middle of clempsons defense is wide open every single time but unfortunately that seems to be the last place on the field CS is comfortable throwing to.

I am also concerned about our receivers giving up on plays. I do have some experience in this area. I played small time college ball, nothing like SEC ball and we ran a very heavy qb run pass option offense. Nine times out of ten our QB would take off running or end up throwing to a RB. As a receiver I can tell you that you can only see it happen so many times before you anticipate not getting the ball and start running lazy routes.

As for our defense I think anyone who knows anything about football will tell you if we pressure boyd then good things will happen for our defense. The fact is that we will not be able to pressure him on every single play. My biggest concern for our defense is that our secondary is going to bite on play action which I have seen them do many times (see the long pass in the Wofford game). It is only going to take them doing that 3 or 4 times for us to be completely out of the game.

Bottom line is our defense is good and so is their offense. Their defense is bad and our offense is no where near where it should be.

That is my take and I am sure some will call me a tater for not saying we will win by 30 and giving their offense any credit but I am just calling it like I see it.

I respect what you said....everyone has a right to their opinion.....and I especially agree with you on WR running lazy routes because they can tell when CS is going to take off running.

[b381l]

Originally Posted by Justhatguy

I'm just worried if this game becomes a shootout, do we have the offense to keep up. Our defense will play well, but it can be a KO or punt returned for a td or a broken run or missed tackle on a pass that can start a shootout. Do we have enough firepower to win a 40+ point game?

I kinda think we might try a ball or time control type of game but I'm not too sure if Miles is the type of back who will get us the 4+ ypc needed to keep the sticks moving. If Wilds was back there, diff story. And with Shaw's tentativeness with his injuries, he's been known to hand the ball off 8 out of 10 times on the read. Just think if Clemson dared him to keep it every single time, can he run it effectively?

I hope SOS's playcall will be an Alabama '10 type of game where it will be the difference but I dont have faith that we can win a shootout. For a Clempson team that has a mindset that they can score 50+ when they want, this might be tough.

I'd like to see Miles/Davis get 30 carries. Nothing causes a high speed team to self destruct like not being able to get back on the field quickly enough. Even if we don't score, just to keep our offense on the field for 5-7 minutes 4-5 times a game will really help, and keeps our defense rested. I think this is the game that Whammy finally turns up the heat. If Boyd gets time, he'll be successful.