My observations from last night (long):

Sep 18, 2015, 12:05 PM

The positives:

1. We won. On the road. In a dreaded prime-time Thursday night match-up. Against a scrappy team desperate to avoid a horrific start to their season. There have been plenty of upsets and near-upsets in the first two weeks of football, but Clemson has not been a victim of one of them...

2. Wayne Gallman. Remember when everybody thought that Dabo was only recruiting him to nab the mama's boy at Ole Miss? It sure looks like our coach knew what he was doing. Gallman's for real. He's athletic, he runs angry, he's out to prove something. With he exception of FSU's Dalvin Cook, the best RB in the ACC this year might just be #9.

3. It's a bold statement, but Brent Venables is a better long-term coaching investment than The Chad. I appreciated everything Chad Morris did to help us get to where we are now. But what Venables has done with our D is just remarkable. We lost a TON of talent from last season, and it doesn't look like we've had much or any dropoff in production. Were it not for one long pass (55 yards) and some ugly kickoff coverage, Louisville would not have touched the endzone last night.

4. Jayron Kearse. Yep, I'm singling him out. He ran down James Quick in Death Valley last year. He ran down a 175-pound speedster last night during that 100-yard return TD. This is a 6'4", 220-pound safety. He's been one of my favorite Tiger defenders since he arrived on campus, and he continues to remind me why. The dude doesn't have an ounce of quit in him.

5. Watson showed some real physical and mental toughness, both in bouncing back from his mistakes and in running the football. On a night when his offensive line struggled mightily, #4 still managed to do what was needed to win.

6. When Bobby Petrino loses, America wins. I have nothing against Louisville, their program, or their fans. But I truly cannot stand their coach.

7. I love seeing a former walk-on kid who earned a scholarship just weeks ago catch a TD pass in a nationally televised game. So way to go, Hunter Renfrow!

8. Greg Huegel hit two very important field goals for us last night. We've asked him to fill in for the first three games while Lakip serves his suspension, and he's delivered.

9. The Sunday morning newspaper will likely feature a Clemson win and a coot loss. That always makes for good morning reading.

10. Ben. ****ing. Boulware.

The negatives:

1. Officiating. Not much to say here. You saw it, I saw it. If a guy's head twists back nearly 180 degrees, it's pretty safe to assume somebody is grabbing his facemask. That was just one instance in a night full of crummy calls and no-calls.

2. Death, taxes, and Clemson's offensive line scares the h*** out of us. They had some very good moments, helping Gallman fight for extra yards, but the consistency just isn't there right now.

3. One week after having a good overall performance against App State, Charone Peake was all but absent last night. We're depending on him to fill in as the sure-handed, big-bodied WR that Mike Williams usually is. I need to see more, especially when Notre Dame comes to town.

4. Kick return coverage. It's been ugly all season. It became downright hideous last night.

5. Chunk plays. Just a couple of long passes last night. I know, the defensive performance last night was superb. But I think Venables, the competitor and perfectionist that he is, would agree with me. There's nothing more frustrating than dominating your opponent at the line of scrimmage, only to have them sticking around because of a handful of plays.

But like I said, a win is a win. Plenty of teams have been upset by or played very poorly against lesser opponents in these first couple of weeks. We avoided the road trap and now have a lengthy break to allow our boys to rest up and get healthy. Notre Dame will be tough, but they're very beatable. Virginia doesn't have our defense, and those boys will be making their first trip ever to Death Valley. Let's coach em up and get to 4-0. Go Tigers!

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"The rock has strange powers. When you rub it, and run down the hill, the adrenaline flows. It’s the most emotional experience I’ve ever had." -Michael Dean Perry

"If you don't like Clemson, something is wrong with YOU." -Dabo Swinney

My observations from last night (long):

Re: My observations from last night (long):

Well said!***

what he said!***

To go with #5

You make a very good point.

That was a great post, man. **

11. Ray Ray & Deon will only get better!***

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