Monday October 22, 2007

Central Michigan Review

Central Michigan Review

Boy it sure makes things a lot easier in Tiger Nation this Monday after the Tigers put up 70 on Central Michigan. It seems like it has been almost a month since Monday felt so good around here. I know the opponent was inferior but I thought:

*It was great to see Cullen Harper have yet another brilliant performance. The 20 of 22 for 273 yards and five touchdowns might have been his best of the season. Remember his only two incompletions came on an under throw in the end zone and a play where he threw the ball away to avoid a sack. Harper now has 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions in seven games.

*The wide receiver corps has looked great in six of the seven games this season. Aaron Kelly had seven catches for 121 yards including a beautiful 63-yard touchdown. Tyler Grisham and Jacoby Ford also had productive days once again.

*A 300-yard rushing day is exactly what this offense needed and I thought all three backs looked effective. James Davis had a workman-like effort with 88 yards on 22 carries. I was not concerned with Davis rushing for less than 100 yards because I was just thrilled to see him get the ball 22 times. If he can get it 22 times each Saturday I believe this offense will continue to pile up wins.

*C.J. Spiller looked like his old self Saturday. The sophomore had 96 yards on 15 carries including ones for 13, 15 and 18 yards. He still looked East-West too often and should have had more yards by turning the ball up field but Spiller looked more comfortable throughout the game. He also caught three balls for 19 yards and added 17 yards on a kick-off return.

*I know it was just Central Michigan but it was great to see Sadat Chambers get 10 carries. His 112 yards led the Tigers in rushing and his 63-yard touchdown run was nice but I was more impressed with his physical nature.

*I thought the offensive line looked better and it was nice to see a bunch of linemen get snaps Saturday. Thomas Austin did not have any problems with snaps and he looked comfortable at center. In all 12 Tigers saw action along the offensive line Saturday.

*I thought Michael Palmer made some terrific blocks and did not want that to go unnoticed.

*Any day that includes 70 points, 35 first downs, 656 yards, 341 yards rushing, 315 yards passing and 10 touchdowns in 14 drives is a good day regardless of the opponent.

*Defensively there were concerns after Central Michigan’s first drive but the Tigers adjusted well and held a hot offense to 14 points.

*Clemson also held Central Michigan to less than 300 yards and I thought a key was they limited the running game to 76 yards.

*I would like to have sacked Dan LeFevour at least once but the Tigers did have a decent pass rush. Despite the pressure LeFevour is a big, strong quarterback that escaped several defenders in the backfield.

*Also it would have been nice to see the defense force more than one turnover but it was still a solid effort.

*I also wanted to mention a few individual efforts from the defense and special teams including Phillip Merling who played extremely hard.

*We know the Tigers kicked off 11 times but give Tyler Grisham credit with tackles on four of those special teams plays.

*Intensity picked up after the first drive for the defense and give credit to Crezdon Butler’s physical play.

*A few weeks ago we all felt terrible for Chris Wade after he broke his arm against NCSU. So it was great to see him recover the fumble on special teams Saturday. Wade is a special teams terror and his hard work has paid off.

It was only Central Michigan and little can be taken from this win but if only for one week this was nice to see. Hopefully we can look back at this game and say one very important thing came out of this win and that is confidence. Hopefully this team will emerge with a ton of confidence and take that confidence on the road to College Park this weekend.

Official Visitor

I hear good things about the Dontavious Jackson official visit but it will be hard to pull this star out of Georgia. Clemson has a better outlook on the depth chart because Georgia has freshman Knowshon Moreno and they are red-shirting Caleb King. LSU is also a factor but going into the Peach State and getting a player that UGA covets is extremely difficult to do. We should know something on Jackson by the end of the month. It should be noted that many feel Jacksonville, FL running back Jamie Harper is a better prospect and the Tigers may be in better shape with Harper.

Basketball Scrimmage

I did not get a chance to get to the basketball scrimmage this weekend and have not talked to the staff yet but all reports are positive. I was told that all three freshmen looked good and I also heard good news on the continued development of Raymond Sikes.

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