Wednesday December 02, 2009

ACC Title; Neutral Site; No Thanks Bobby

ACC Championship Game
I woke up this morning and still had the scar from the loss to the arch rival but the hangover is gone because I realized something today. Some have already realized it but it really hit me this morning. What I realized is that Saturday the Tigers will be playing in the biggest game they have played in years. Ron Morris of The (Columbia) State newspaper calls Saturday’s game the sixth biggest in school history.

Yes, it has been a long time since the Tigers had a game this big but how far do you have to go back?

In 2000 Clemson was 8-0 and ranked fifth in the country but lost to Georgia Tech 31-28. They followed the first loss with a bad defeat at the hands of FSU so the Tigers ACC title hopes were gone. But we all knew Clemson was playing a little over its head coming in and FSU was the best team in the league.

Clemson last won the league in 1991 but it clinched the title against bad teams like Duke and Maryland. The ACC schedule that season ended with a 2-9 Maryland team and a 4-7 squad from Duke so there was not a huge game late in that season.

That was also the scenario in the Clemson titles of 1988, 1987 and 1986.

I think you have to go back November of 1982 to find a game as big as the one the Tigers will play in Saturday. Clemson won the ACC in 1982 when they beat Maryland in College Park 24-6.

Obviously the national title game of 1981 was a bigger game and the win at North Carolina that season was a monster game.

I would also point out the 1978 win at Maryland that clinched the conference title was a blockbuster game.

One can argue that this is the biggest game for the Tigers since the 1982 game in College Park, MD. If that is the case then this Saturday is the biggest game for Clemson in over 27 years. Clemson has won titles since and have had chances but there has not been that ACC title showdown since 1982. In my opinion it is one of the five biggest games in my lifetime.

Neutral Site Games
Clemson has had few neutral site games outside of bowl games. This game is not a bowl game but it is also not a regular season game so this one is a little different. In my lifetime, the Tigers have played six neutral site games that were not bowl games.

The last time it happened was the 34-10 loss to Alabama last season in the Georgia Dome. In 2007 the Tigers beat Temple in Charlotte.

Twice the Tigers traveled to Tokyo, Japan for games. In 1991 they beat Duke 33-21 and in 1982 Clemson defeated Wake Forest 21-17 in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Three times Clemson played Maryland in Baltimore (1984, 1986 and 1990) but those were Maryland home games and don’t count as neutral site games.

In 1971 Clemson beat Duke 3-0 in Norfolk, VA and Virginia 32-15 in Richmond, VA.

The Tigers have played Boston College several times away from Chestnut Hill in games played at the old Boston Braves Field and at Fenway Park but those are still counted as home games for the Eagles. For years Clemson played South Carolina in Columbia each year but the games were played on South Carolina’s home field so that can’t be counted as a neutral site.

Most of Clemson’s neutral site games out side of bowls came in the 1930s and 40s. Through the years Clemson has played neutral site games in Roanoke, VA, Lynchburg, VA, Mobile, AL, Montgomery, AL, Birmingham, AL, Jacksonville, FL, Charlotte, NC, Meridian, MS and Savannah, GA.

Until I started researching the subject I did not realize Clemson has played so many neutral site games in the state of South Carolina. I found it interesting that Clemson has played neutral site football games in Rock Hill, Columbia, Greenville, Anderson, Orangeburg and Florence.

Congrats to Bobby But No Thanks
When Bobby Bowden announced his retirement yesterday he said he still wanted to coach in Florida State’s bowl game. This would be his last game and a nice way for FSU to send Bowden off into retirement.

Seminole officials and a few bowl officials have kicked around the idea of Bowden’s last game being in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville or the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. That sounds nice. Hollywood would have liked that script.

There is only one problem with that scenario. The conference rules say a school cannot jump another school that has more than one more regular season win. Georgia Tech and Clemson will play for the Orange Bowl on Saturday. If Tech loses they would be 10-3. If the Tigers lose their record would be 8-5. Virginia Tech is probably headed to the Chic-fil-a Bowl so they would not be involved in the division. Miami is 9-3 and North Carolina is 8-4. The Seminoles went 6-6.

The only way FSU could jump the loser of the ACC title game, Miami and North Carolina is for each of the schools to sign off and allow FSU to take their place in the Gator Bowl or Champs Sports Bowl. There are rumors going around that some politics would come into play and some money could be put up as incentives for the schools involved.

Maybe I have this thing totally wrong but there is no way those schools should ever allow that to happen. What Bobby Bowden did was great for college football but the athletic directors of each of these schools work for their respective school, not Florida State University.

Sure Clemson has jumped Boston College in the past but that was only a one game difference and that was within the rules. Clemson fans travel better than Boston College fans. This situation is totally different.

If Bowden wanted to end his career in Florida he should have gone better than 6-6 this season.

Bowl games are about the players and the fans. If Clemson signed off and let Bowden go to the Gator Bowl then that would be disrespecting its players, especially its seniors. Clemson’s athletic director should keep the school, its coaches, its players and its fans as the priority, not Bobby Bowden.

If the Tigers lost on Saturday, I am sure C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford would want to end their careers in the state of Florida too. While Bobby Bowden is more of a legend than Spiller and Ford, it is not Clemson’s job to protect his interest. Spiller and Ford beat FSU and won two more regular season games than the Noles.

Let’s hope Clemson wins Saturday and Spiller and Ford can go out in the Orange Bowl. However, if Georgia Tech, Clemson, Miami and North Carolina sign off on this deal then the athletic directors and those schools have made a tremendous mistake and have done their coaches, fans and players and seniors a disservice.

Update: The Jacksonville newspaper says the one-win rule is based upon conference standings. In this case GT went 7-1, Clemson went 6-2 and Virginia Tech went 6-2. Those are the only three schools that come into play here because FSU went 4-4 as did UNC. Miami and Boston College went 5-3 and that is within the one-win rule. The Gator Bowl says they don't have to take the loser of the ACC title game and VT is going to the Chic-fil-a so that clears them for FSU. I am still trying to find out why GT or Clemson could be passed over. All of this is more evidence that the bowl system is broken and bowl tie-ins are bad for the sport.

Update II: The Raleigh paper says the Gator Bowl contends its contract with the ACC says it has to take the ACC title game loser only once every four years. I am trying to find out of that trumps the one-win rule. Can you see why this stuff is ridiculous? I need two Advils.

Update III: I have been on the phone most of the morning and this story has changed paths a few times. Some had originally reported that the schools would have to sign off on the idea and that is what I was told earlier. I thought it was the overall record in the one-loss rule but have been corrected and am now told it is the conference record. I am pretty sure we are straight on that one now. Also, the Gator Bowl feels pretty confident that they are not contractually obligated to the rule because of their agreement with the ACC where they only have to take the runner-up once in four years. The Gator Bowl sounds like they think they have all rights to pick FSU without anyone's consent as long as Virginia Tech is taken by the Chick-fil-a. I can't find online access to these contracts so I am depending sources who have talked to those in the know. I hope this is the last update on this subject today.

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Prayer List
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Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Ann Fallaw, Bob Pollock, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe.