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YOUR BALANCE
Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl
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Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 3, 2018, 8:26 AM

Hey guys, not sure if anyone remembers me, came around last time our teams matched up. thought we had some pretty good conversations and would like to do it again, if you are open to it.

Its been an interesting year, one that i did not think would end up like this. I am proud of what this team has accomplished, but don't have expectations of ND going out down there and winning the game, i just hope they play well and make it a respectable performance (just being honest). I have watched just enough clemson football to be able to pretend like i know what i am talking about, lol, and its a long time till December 29th.

Clemson is a really good team, definitely deserving of the No. 2 spot (duh), i think that if ND comes completely ready to play, there are some places they can take advantage of to make the game interesting though.

So what do you say, is it worth handing around and breaking things down?

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Sure man


Dec 3, 2018, 8:42 AM

That's what discussion boards are for. Don't become belligerent in the support of your team and all will be good.

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monter le cheval de fer
A coot will usually blink when hit in the head with a ball-peen hammer


Re: Sure man


Dec 3, 2018, 8:56 AM

always man, i spend my time bouncing around boards because ND boards are a complete waste of time, as are most ND fans lol. Have almost always been well received and good discussions

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 3, 2018, 8:55 AM

kind of start with breaking down schedule. Now, i am fine with people assuming ND is going to get the s**t kicked out of them, but they do deserve to be in this game for that to happen. 13th game or not, they have played well enough against a "good enough" schedule to be put in this spot.

I tried to rank Clemson's schedule from toughest to easiest and match up ND's schedule, generally doing the same, except inserting common opponents and who i would give the edge to.

Texas Am/Michigan
ND, but that was agreat win by Clemson

Syracuse/Syracuse
ND, yes there were QB injuries against Clemson and for ND in this game, but Syracuse still scored 23 on clemson and ND was beating up Dungy before he gothurt

Boston College Northwestern ND, I think northwestern would beat boston college

Pitt/Pitt
Clemson, this was a stinker by ND, not even close.

NC State/Stanford
Even, I think this was a solid win by both teams.

Wake/Wake
Clemson, but both teams beat them soundly

Duke/Virginia Tech
Even? This was a hard one to call

South Carolina/Vandy
Clemson, ND was still struggling on offense here, but a QB switch and RB1 returning after this really helped.

Georgia Tech/Navy
Even, Georgia Tech is a better team then navy, but I put them together since they were both tripple options, both teams won convincingly.

FSU/FSU
Clemson, I was going to call this even, since both kicked the crap out of them, but the -21 yards rushing pushed me towards Clemson

LOU/USC
ND, yes ND did not play well here, but USC is better then LOU and it was their 4th road trip in 5 games, they were sluggish in the first half, but outscored them 24-7 in the second half.

GASO/Ball State
Clemson, ND had a terrible game plan and looked like crap this game.

Furman/nobody
Even, I wont give a "13th data point" when its to an FCS team, especially a 6-4 one who got beat just as bad by Elon Phoenx

so 4 better victories for ND, 5 for clemson and 4 draws. But i think it shows they have played very comparable schedules.

Doesn't matter when these 2 line up, but i just kind of proving a point that win or lose, they earned their spot in this game just like clemson and oklahoma.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 3, 2018, 9:31 AM

Nice job with the match-ups. I agree with your assessment except MI is a step better than ATM and USC is waaay better than LOU, they were horrible this year, so I agree with your assessment.
While Clemson has a slight edge with talent, the game will come down to coaching and execution. Either team can win. If our hated rival with a mediocre QB can put up 500 yards thru the air, anything can happen.
I like this matchup because it pits two quality teams with great coaching staffs and winning traditions.
GO TIGERS!!!

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 3, 2018, 2:24 PM

I agree USC is better then LU, but i kind of ran out of teams to match up. i think its an excited game.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 5, 2018, 2:59 PM [ in reply to Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl ]

Nice job with the match ups. Home field wasn’t taken into account though. That does make a difference.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 9:10 AM [ in reply to Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl ]

Being a Notre Dame fan, you should respect Elon simply because they use to be "The Fighting Christians" before political correctness got in the way.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 3, 2018, 9:18 AM

I think Brian Kelly tries to attack Clemson the same way the gamecocks and Duke did with the short passing game and exploiting our LB's and Safeties over the middle. I think Venables will have this locked down in the 4 weeks Clemson has to prepare. Trevor Lawrence will only get better now that he has several weeks to break down film and prepare...He started playing a lot better after the bye week this year with a little time to review and get better. I can't imagine how much better he will be after 4 full weeks to look at film. I really expect this to be a 35-14 type of game if both teams bring their A game.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 31, 2018, 8:05 AM

Hey everyone, well coming back a little more beaten down. Such high hopes for this being a good game, yet so disappointed....

So you guys have bigger and better things to look forward to, but for the sake of closure (ill try and make this quick), here are some final thoughts.

Clemson is everything i expected them to be. There really wan't anything that surprised me on the Clemson side, just on the ND side. Hopefully none of this comes off as whining or complaining, but just some general thoughts on the game. I would like to preface that i do think clemson is the better team, despite what i may say below. I predicted a clemson win all along, i just expected it to be close.

I am not going to understate the result of Julian Love getting injured for most of the 1st half. Obviously a game is not won or lost by 1 player, but that absolutely killed ND. TL attacked his replacement (Vaughn). TL was 15-18 for 244 yards and 3tds when love was out and 12-21 for 83 yards when he was in. That to me blew the game up. 2 of those 3 tds were directly at Vaughn and the 3rd one was largely because ND was trying to help him out - the 2nd quarter was ugle. This does not excuse the poor play of the offense, if Love isn't out, maybe this is still a game in the 3rd quarter. Now alot of ND's fans are complaining about the lack of depth at this position and blaming kelly for it, but in the spring weed had 3 people who could play competitive at this position of needed, Love easily wont the job, so 1 kid transferred and the other imminently tore his ACL. So that left us very thin there.

Secondly, there were 4 VERY close plays and none of them went ND's way. Now, 3 of them clearly were the right call, so not complaining about that, but a matter of an inch or two on each of those plays, and maybe the flood gates hold on. The one that really bothered me was the fumbled kickoff return. i could not believe that they saw enough to overturn it. To me, the call on the field should have stood. Now this is not a "hey my team got screwed" kind of thing. I consider myself very objective to these kind of things, and if it would have been called out live, then i would have been fine with the call to leave it. But nothing that we saw, told me that ball was 100% out of bounds. I don't know what happens, or if its even reviewable, if the person who recovered the ball went out of bounds and back in though, so that might have negated the call anyway?? But my point is, who knows, that stays ND's ball, maybe the score, maybe they don't, but that decision changed every play after that (including the one where Love got injured lol) i know thats reaching, but true. That was the one call that really frustrated me.

I think that our defense was prepared in the 1 quarter and we survived the emotion of starting the game, but this was a game where ND needed a couple things to go their way to win, many things did not go their way and they got beat up. But if the offense could have been a little productive, i think our defense could have kept us in the game.

I was disappointed with our offense. I think our receivers played too tight. Dropped balls, weak routes. I think my concerns all year on Book showed. he is a fine QB, but he's not going to carry a team. Overall he did much better for ND then i expected and he definitely earned the starting job over Brandon Wimbush, but i never felt like he could win a game like this. I thought in the 3rd quarter we may see a switch just to see if a more mobile QB could open things up. Our offensive line was overwhelmed, but i really thought they played better then i expected.

Basically, i am here to say congrats on the win, good luck against bama. I dont think i can watch the game and really cheer for either team, but i will watch it.

There obviously has been a ton of hate against ND and how they didn't deserve to be in, i think that they did though, even after the game. And i know this game will hurt them in considerations for future playoffs as long as it remains a 4 team and they are independent. And i am OK with that. I have never had a problem if they remain independent or join a conference, i just understand the risk/rewards that come with that. But looking at teams ranked 5-10, i can't pick 1 who i can 100% is any better then ND. Ohio state looks good, but 29 pt loss to Purdue? ill take the 27 pt loss to you guys over that. We beat Michigan. Everyone has discussed UCF to death. Washington and Florida both lost 3 games each, which included losses to auburn, cal, and miz. ND had good quality wins this year, just had a bad game against a really good team.

This is not 2012 where we didn't know what we were doing or won most of our games by luck. This team had 8 convincing/dominate wins. People really underestimate the snowball effect in college football. Georgia is the one top ten team that has some ground to their argument. I don't get into the whole 2 losses and your out thing. To me, this is where the line comes in the playoff between the 4 best and 4 most deserving. Given what i just went through above, i think ND is still a top 6-7 team this year, before this game i thought 4-5. So i figured that they are close enough to be in the discussion for a best team AND more deserving then a Georgia team because they didn't lose by 20 to LSU. If Georgia's only loss was a 7 pt loss to bama, im honestly Ok with them being in and ND out, but it happened and ND was good enough and deserving enough to be in.

i am frustrated by the loss, but not hanging Kelly out or believing that ND is miles away from Clemson. But none of my ramblings matter, just one fans thoughts.

Congrats again on the win, and even not being a fan of Dabo, he is a great coach and will have likely have clemson right here for at least the next few years. Hopefully ND can pull it together next year.

Thanks for the chats and good luck!

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 31, 2018, 8:16 AM

I will keep this short.
We lost Lawrence, you were not able to run on us.
You lost Love, we successfully passed on you.
Depth. Until ND has depth, your team will not be able to compete for a championship.

PS we were going to successfully pass on you with or without Love. Clemson needed to settle down like they have had to in several games.

PSS it may take your AD and coaches until the end of the 2022 season to figure this out but, you will need to join the conference and win the title before you can make it back to the playoff.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 31, 2018, 8:36 AM

Depth is an issue. We lost our best OL and didn't have much to replace him with, we lost our best DB, you know the results. ND has starters that are able to compete now, but don't have the depth and a lot of positions.

You may have had success passing, but it wouldn't have been on love and wouldn't have been that successful.

i wouldn't be surprised if they don't get another chance till an expansion or they join a conference. The AD at ND is a bigger problem to me then the coach.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 31, 2018, 9:35 AM [ in reply to Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl ]

Totally agree with you on the replays. I try to protect myself by anticipating all of them going against Clemson but I couldn’t believe they actually saw something on the kickoff replay to overturn the call on the field. As for the others it just baffles me that Dabo has to use a timeout to challenge the ND fumbles. The replay booth should have buzzed in on every one as soon as TV showed them. That’s why I have no faith in the process normally.

Some here want to take offense that Kelly didn’t heap praise on us after the game but he is protecting and building his team’s psyche. Yes it was just a few big plays but that’s what incredible talent at the skill positions does - you are on edge every single play knowing Clemson can go the distance if one guy makes a mistake or is beaten. It’s a wonderful thing to have on our team.

And that #11 played an awesome game for ND. He was coming up and popping people and made several plays that kept the score down.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 31, 2018, 9:41 AM

i agree on the fumble, it was clear, shouldn't of taken that long. I didn't actually listen to Kelly's post game, i had an idea of what he would say and didn't find it necessary.

also, i forget to mention that the announcers were driving me crazy during the game... so bad.

Clemson has built a great team. TL should bring you guys right back here next year. I will be curious after that though. I imagine he will leave after next year and your 2nd round of DLineman are going. I am sure everyone feels pretty good about Dabo keeping the train rolling, but that will be a big test. In that year you do come to Notre Dame and SC comes to you.

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Dont' worry.


Dec 3, 2018, 9:21 AM

Everyone here on Tnet pretends to know what they're talking about.
Especially that moran Francis Marion®

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Why do dogs always race to the door when the doorbell rings? It's almost never for them.


^ Doesn't know the difference between Mark Fields and


Dec 3, 2018, 9:23 AM

Justin Fields.

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"I've played multiple sports and would bet any amount that I'm still more athletic than you at this present time...."


TBH


Dec 3, 2018, 2:43 PM

I don't know who either of those poasters are

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Re: ^ Doesn't know the difference between Mark Fields and


Dec 11, 2018, 10:21 AM [ in reply to ^ Doesn't know the difference between Mark Fields and ]

Except Mark Fields probably took about as many meaningful snaps at quarterback as Justin Fields.

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Welcome back.


Dec 3, 2018, 9:23 AM

For those of us that haven't seen ND play this year. Can you tell us what to expect from your team on offense and defense? Like what are your strengths?

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Re: Welcome back.


Dec 3, 2018, 9:43 AM

Thanks for the welcome.

I was just talking with a buddy about this game, and i think these 2 teams are very similar, just with Clemson being a little bit better at almost everything. Meaning you guys have a really good QB who is efficient, runs a little and does everything you want him too, ND has a Qb is is really efficient, runs a little and makes all the throws you want him too, BUT TL is a little better then Book, you guys have a great defensive line, ND has a pretty good defensive line, i think both have average offensive lines, nothing spectacular, but ND's has shown vast improvement, which hopefully continues up to this game. Both have punters capable of flipping the field, but Clemson's is more consistent, plus ours looks like Joe Dirt haha. ND's statistics are hampered by the first 3 games when BW was QB and dexter williams was out, but when they are clicking, they can really move the ball well. With 60 more yards, Williams will reach 1000 yards in 9 games.

now what i think they will do...

My hope is that they come out attacking through the air. Like mentioned above, short passes, very quick throws, slants, drag routes, too the edges, etc. When clemson brings up the pressure to stop it, we take chances deep. ND has pretty good receivers and great height, the question is will Book put the ball where it needs to be. He has struggled some on deep throws. But Boykin is 6-4, Cole Kmet is 6-6, Aize Mack is 6-5, Claypool is 6-4. I would expect a lot of Chris Finke and Mack early and then later in the game Boykin and Claypool. This receiving core is finally starting to find out that they have to fight for deep balls and not just catch the open ones. If this continues, they could be dangerous. Dexter has finally developed into a more complete back, he can actually pass block, catch some balls out of the backfield and has still maintained his speed. i m not sure if he will get his 60 yards (needed to hit 1000) in this game or not, but if he can get past the front four, he can be dangerous. So, i think they will run enough to keep everyone honest, but truthfully, to win, it will need to be through the air. My hope is we can be north of 3 yds/carry. **question, i know your front 4 are all really really good, but are they speed guys, power rush guys, or everything guys?

On defense, i hope they sell out and force Clemson to make plays. Against USC they tried this whole keep everything in front of htem in soft coverage, and it blew up in their faces and was painful to watch. I think you bring pressure and a lot of it. Trust the guys on the outside with man coverage and take your chances. If you get beat deep, then so be it, but don't let Clemson start getting 7-9 yards a play.

Same question back at you?

My guess would be Clemson will try and establish a strong run game to control the game and nail ND with big plays, while on defense allow the front 4 to bring pressure and keep everyone else back so Book doesn't have any open guys and is forced to hold the ball longer?

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Thanks for the update. I think you are giving our punter


Dec 3, 2018, 2:14 PM

WAY to much credit. He averages 38 yards but thats including a lot of generous roles. He had had some ugly ones all season and even managed to punt it into our own players back during the acc championship game.

Without having seen ND play, I wouldn't feel comfortable predicting how Clemson will try to attack them. Clemson is balanced on offense and our OCs have mainly taken what the defense has given them. So I would say that if ND stacks the box then you will see us pass more but if ND is gunning to stop the pass then I'd look for us to maybe run more and sprinkle in some play action passes. We also like to run some rpo plays.

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Re: Welcome back.


Dec 5, 2018, 3:02 PM [ in reply to Re: Welcome back. ]

Our defense approach always includes some type of pressure. I would expect the DE play containment and bring extra bodies up the middle.

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Re: Welcome back.


Dec 3, 2018, 9:47 AM [ in reply to Welcome back. ]

Claypool is a real weapon to watch out for. He loves blocking, is an animal on special teams and is a big physical receiver. He game from Canada, so i think the X's and O's of the game have taken awhile to develop, but if i had to pick 1 receiver to have a chance to succeed a the next level, it would be him. the other guys are good for this level, but he just plays the game differently.

I will be really curious how the team handles the time off. I think this has been kelly's best year coaching by far. I think they make smart half time adjustments. The 2nd quarter has been the clunker for them all year though. They start out well and play the third quarter well, but give it up in the 2nd

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 3, 2018, 10:07 AM

Welcome Domer!

Look forward to the discussions over the next month and the game!

More importantly, can I count on a tailgate invite for some brews and food when we get to visit south bend!

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 3, 2018, 10:15 AM

absolutely! If im not out there, ill be sure to set you up with some people who will be.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 5, 2018, 8:35 AM

This defensive line that has been so good all year, do they have a weakness? like are they really strong at pass rush, but miss screens? with 45 sacks this year (holy crap by the way), im hoping their is a weakness.. please say their is a weakness lol. One think that Book has really struggled with is when a DE or outside linebacker starts on the line and then drops back into coverage at the snap... he just doesn't see that well. Is that something that you guys do very often?

FYI ND has 31 sacks this year, i consider that pretty good, but you guys are getting at least 1 more per game... impressive.

Have you faced many mobile-ish QBs this year?

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 5, 2018, 12:03 PM

stole this little fact from someone, so can't verify it, but nice nod to both teams.

Notre Dame held all 12 of its 2018 opponents below their season scoring average. Clemson held all but 1 of its 2018 opponents below their season average.

also, looking at the games where Book is QB (post game 3), ND's total offense moves up from 28th to 16th.

Just throwing out some comparisons:

Clemson Offense:
Yards/Play 7.2
Points/Play 0.617
Rush Play % 52.96%
Pass Play % 47.04%
Completion % 64.50%
3D Conv % 43.95%
RZ Scoring % 89.47%

Notre Dame Offense
Yards/Play 6.1
Points/Play 0.450
Rush Play % 55.38%
Pass Play % 44.62%
Completion % 65.36%
3D Conv % 44.32%

Clemson Defense
Opp Yards/Play 4.0
Opp Points/Play 0.198
Opp Completion % 52.99%
Opp 3D Conv % 27.60%
Opp RZ Scoring % 75.86%

Notre Dame Defense
Opp Yards/Play 4.4
Opp Points/Play 0.227
Opp Completion % 56.08%
Opp 3D Conv % 37.82%
Opp RZ Scoring % 75.00%
RZ Scoring % 84.31%

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no time to run the numbers right now, but


Dec 5, 2018, 12:34 PM

TL didn't start a full game until game 6. Games 1-4, KB was the starter and they shared the QB role. TL started game 5 but was knocked out in 1st half. In our last 7 games, we are averaging 50ppg. (400-94)

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Welcome back ! As I'm sure you remember from the last time,


Dec 5, 2018, 12:37 PM

stay away from posers who's handles start with gwp . . . . and you will be fine.

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Brad Brownell: Only Larry freaking Shyatt has a WORSE overall winning percentage among Clemson basketball coaches since 1975. Let that sink in. It's Larry Shyatt & then Brad Brownell.


Re: Welcome back ! As I'm sure you remember from the last time,


Dec 5, 2018, 1:57 PM

thanks for the welcome! too long till the game starts!

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I expect the game to be close.


Dec 5, 2018, 1:13 PM

We'll play four deep starting in the first quarter and continue throughout the game. We're also spending our practice time concentrating on Bama so you'll score enough to look competitive.

If it isn't the way I've described it I'd appreciate you returning and allowing me to apologize for appearing to dismiss ND as just another team. I have much respect for your program though I admit I have hated ND since my teen years.

If my prediction turns out to be correct you should return and say so.

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Re: I expect the game to be close.


Dec 5, 2018, 1:55 PM

ill come back no matter what, we could lose 50-0 or win by 3 and ill come back. I can't firmly stand here and tell you your prediction is wrong. I can look at the stats and remember the way i have seen ND play and the little bit i ve seen clemson play and say that this will be a good close game, but i have a sick filling in my stomach that its 21 pt difference... based off of past experience ha.Hopefully my gut is wrong.

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Re: I expect the game to be close.


Dec 5, 2018, 2:32 PM

The thing about our D is other than South Carolina they may have one or two bad series a game but the rest of the game shut an offense down completely. One thing to say about the Pitt game when they were moving the ball the first time they had any progress down the field we had most of our starters on the bench. We have played a lot of people on both sides of the ball but on the D side it has affected our stats big time in several games. We would have had better stats on D if we would have stayed with our starters longer in each game.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 11, 2018, 8:39 AM

Injuries suck, but they do happen. Whos the one person on each side of the ball that you really think could impact the game if he is lost in the 1st quarter.

For me, its: Book on offense (and i am assuming it will be TL for you guys), really struggling who would be more impactful on Defense, between Gilman, Tranquil and Tillery, but i think i will have to go with Tillery...

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TL on O, for sure


Dec 11, 2018, 10:13 AM

On D, we're most thin in the secondary. Would hate to see AJ Terrell go out early.

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The definition of awesome!


Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 11, 2018, 11:24 AM [ in reply to Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl ]

Don't want to see anyone for either team go down. I'm still going with Dabo and Chase Brice would still win the game at QB if something happened to TL. If one of the RBs go down, there are 3 more that can take it to the house. If one of the OL goes down, there are 6 more that played over 100 plays this year (not just slop time). I had to take my shoe off to count the number of receivers and TEs that are quality, and so on. There really is no one person that changes the game for Clemson. How many players did ND average playing per game and do they even have quality backups for their starters? If you don't think ND is not going to see the most physical team they have played all year, you're sadly mistaken. When you look at the Clemson schedule and opponents, see if you can figure out the "Clemson Affect".

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 11, 2018, 10:39 AM

Welcome! One thing that has sort of bothered us all year is that we often take a while to find our rhythm although we eventually do. The Syracuse game is most telling, but it was due to Lawrence making his first start and getting knocked out of the game fairly early. However when we haven't found our rhythm, our defense has kept the other team in check. Too often for my taste, we start rolling a little and decide to throw the ball on 3rd and short ... often killing a drive.

Quite frankly, the scary part for ND may be the fact that I personally don't think our offense ever played a compete game. We had some really good games offensively (and almost all defensively), but if we play like we are capable, it will be hard for any team to outscore us. Finally, it will be difficult for your defense to key on any one player. Almost every game, when one player may not be at their best, others step up. We have half a dozen receivers and four running backs that can make big plays.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 11, 2018, 12:04 PM

i agree, but i think the same can be said about ND's offense. They have clicked in stretches and just looked really really good, but then they get it ruts too...

My heart says clemson wins by 7, my brain says ND could win, but my gut is afraid Clemson wins by 21 lol

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 11, 2018, 5:03 PM [ in reply to Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl ]

Hello, I like to snoop around opponents boards to see the chatter and thought I’d make an account to share a few thoughts. First, Clemson is a very good football team and very capable of winning it all. Most people don’t understand that college football is a game of experience and confidence, rather than just purely talent-based. A Clemson team that has “been there” before and has rammed heads with the bama juggernaut possesses the superior confidence and preparation techniques than teams who have not done so (Notre Dame for example and OU to an extent). With everything considered, Clemson is the better football team and SHOULD win but this will be far from a cake walk imo.

The thing I’m most intrigued about on this board is the attitude that ND isn’t a threat whatsoever. I’ll be the first to say that I never like to get my hopes up too high with this program because of their tendencies to crap the bed, but this is the first time in a LONG time that ND actually has talent that matches up with the heavy weights of CFB. Ian Book has completely changed our offense and Dexter Williams is a game changer. Our O Line is never a problem and I have little worries of being able to at least limit the Tiger D-line.
Our defense is what has really been the anchor this year. Don’t get this squad confused with the 2012 team where a magical run and a great player (Te’o) allowed us to limp into the natty. The talent and veteran experience is there.

Now if the tigers run the Irish off the field come game-time, I wouldn’t be surprised but personally, I’m going to be all over ND +11.5. Good luck and here’s to a good hard fought game

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 7:07 AM

Yo everyone. Been away for awhile, just busy. Got a couple of days before the game, getting supper pumped.

Couple updates:

-Obviously the big news of the drug test. Im not really sure what to think of it. I dont think its some big conspiracy, mainly because i think the NCAA wants the best possible game for the NC, and they think its Clemson/Bama. Now there could be an argument made for not wanting to see that match up again, but i think if thats the case, they would push harder for Bama to lose to OU. I guess we will wait and see what the B sample comes back and says. Im not really sure how the whole process works, not sure if any of us are. I was talking to a friend who said "i'd rather they be at full strength when we play..." blah blah blah. If they have proof Dex did it, then he shouldn't play. If they can't prove it 100%, then let him play. I think all that talk about getting clemson (or any other team) at full strength is kinda lame. I mean ND has 2 starters injured for the year, so are they at full strength? If ND wins, then they win, no asterisk. I just hope they get it right, for the kids future. Im not going to hang the kid out, but if both tests come back positive... you better be able to produce the shampoo that caused it if thats your argument. the kid denying, Dabo denying it, doesn't mean a whole lot, because thats what i expect them to do.

-Sounds like everyone from ND made the trip, no new injuries (1 backup OL) and a few guys healthier then they have been for a long time.

-ive thought about this game a lot, and i don't think ive changed my thought process much. I expect clemson to come out running and ND to come out throwing. Clemson DL is better, but ND's DB's are better. i think that if ND keeps it a game in the 4th quarter they have a real shot bc i think our 2nd string DL are better and we can keep guys fresher. Both QB's are very accurate, i expect ND to lean on Book more and Clemson to try and take the pressure of TL.

Any final thoughts/Questions on ND i can answer?
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q FINAL
Clemson: 7 14 10 3 34
ND: 7 7 3 10 27

The thing for me is, obviously i would love to see ND win this game, but just as importantly they need to make it a ball game. If clemson rolls them by 21, they won't get a shot at the playoffs for 3-4 years, assuming they stay independent. So this game is big for them on a few different levels.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 7:17 AM

Definitely.


What do you see as your strengths?


What holes do you see in your team?


Tigers strengths and flaws imo.

Offense

Not really a weakness. Sometimes play calling can be questionable and we end drives with poor play calling where we waste some plays that just put us at 3rd and long. I would say overall though when we are clicking we have no weakness on O. That said, we don't use the TE like ND does. We are a very balanced O otherwise.

Defense

You can throw the ball over the middle on us all day. We are currently thin at DT. Great starters, but our backups are average imo. The DL will get a lot of pressure on your QB. Our cb's are studs. Our safeties are often lost.

Special teams.

Very solid aside from our punter. He is awful. There is no telling what will happen when he punts. He may even kick into the helmet of of our snapper or Olinemen. When he is punting, you have a great chance of great field position.

My score prediction.

Tigers 38

ND 27

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 7:32 AM

Thanks for the info.

Strengths - Our Defense is better then any Clemson has faced all year.

(Total Defense Rankings)
Clemson - 9
ND- 19
Texas AM - 34
Georgia Southern - 41
Georgia Tech - 43
Syracuse - 87
Wake Forest - 112
NC State - 53
Florida State - 76
Louisville - 121
Boston College - 65
Duke - 79
South Carolina - 86
Pittsburgh - 95

The weakness we have on defense is sometimes runs up the middle and drag routes across the middle/to the edges. Our DLine is built more on speed and slants compared to bruit force like Clemsons (IMO) But without the bruit force, sometimes we are susceptible to runs up the middle. Our line backers are pretty solid, so its not like it goes to the house, but turns into 4-6 yards runs. Thats why i think ND should blitz Conney consistently to try and rush TL and attack the running back.

For offense, the weakness is the offensive line, the strength is the skill positions. We have a lot of guys who can make plays, so you can just take away that one guy. Where clemson takes away multiple guys is with pressure. I really don't expect much out of Boykin, but think that Finke and Mack will be huge early. Then you open it up to Claypool and eventually late in the game, Boykin may become an option. But Book has to snap, step and throw. An improved Dexter williams will be huge, i really think that this is the game he has waited his whole life for, i just think unfortunately he won't get to carry the ball for as many yards as he would like. But he will be huge in pass protection and maybe catching a few out of the backfield.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 7:47 AM

Some of your weaknesses really play into some of our strengths. We can run up the middle well. If your OL is a weakness, we may be all over your QB. If I were you guys, I would throw quick plants over the middle all day. It seems to work against us consistently. The ball will be completed to a wide open WE on a quick slant over the middle before our DL can get to your QB. On the other hand, hopefully our great DC has solved that issue over the last few weeks of down time. Anyway, thanks for the response.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 8:30 AM [ in reply to Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl ]

Clemson's defense gave up an average of 277 yards/game (#4), facing five offenses (15, 17, 19, 29, 35) in the Top 40 yards gained/game. The rest ranked lower.

Notre Dame's defense allowed an average of 332 yards/game (#22), facing five offenses (17, 29, 42, 43, 63) in the Top 65 yards gained/game. The rest ranked lower.

Clemson's offense gained an average of 530 yards/game (#4), facing five defenses (36, 44, 46, 54, 66, 79) in the Top 80 in yards allowed/game. The rest ranked lower.

Notre Dame's offense gained an average of 456 yards/game (#28), facing six defenses (1, 59, 62, 70, 78, 79) in the Top 80 in yards allowed/game. The rest ranked lower.

Four common opponents: Syracuse, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Florida State.

What's it all mean? By 8:00 EST Saturday night, we'll all know. ;)

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 8:57 AM

yes, we will all know by Saturday... i honestly don't think these 2 teams are separated by as much as people think, so then it goes to matchups. If Kelly/Long can put together a complete game plan, and not a quarter or 2 quarters, then there is no reason to think they can go play for play for Clemson. ND's offensive average is about 30 yards higher under Book then Wimbush, but more importantly average about 13 pts more per game


I am extremely interested in the QB play in this game:

Trevor Lawrence (As a freshman in 13 games): 2606 yards, 24 td, 4 int, 8 scaks, 65% completion, attempts per game: 25.1, 144 yards rushing/1 td. QBR: 79.1

Ian Book (as a junior, in 8 games); 2468 yards, 19 tds, 6 int, 12 sacks, 70.4% completion, attempts per game: 35, 250 yards rushing, 4 tds, QBR: 83.9

i think both of these kids play widely consistent and that makes for good football. TL is impressive as a freshman and i have been blown away at Book as a first time starter

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 9:08 AM

You have to remember, Trevor's numbers includes split duty with Bryant and, thus, the overall offensive production is reflected, too.

Frankly, the aspect that can affect this game more than any other is the layoff. Granted, the game wasn't much, but the Tigers did get an extra week's action in. Whether that's helpful...I'll go with it can't have hurt.

The wildcard in this game will be how Venables adapts to Dex's absence and the wrinkles he will introduce. My expectation is XT's versatility will be on full display...just a hunch. ;)

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 9:12 AM

And Book's time was limited with Wimbush too.

The layoff is a concern, hopefully kelly has learned from past mistakes.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 8:52 AM

I guess reading things, there were 2 remarks that stood out: 1) That you think our punter is better. Yours must really be bad. I am hoping that playing in a controlled environment is good for Spiers. He has shown the ability, but inconsistent would be an understatement. 2) You think that your 2nd string Dline is better. With Clemson the lines between the 1st and 2nd group have gotten blurred in a big way at nearly all positions. I don't know how yours is so I won't say that we are better, but you will not be any fresher unless there is just a big time of possession difference. Our reserves play early, often, and in all situations.

I think that as usual it can come to turnovers, and we have protected the ball pretty well this year. If we are -1, even or in plus territory then I think that we win. If we are -2 or worse then I think that it would go from a crap shoot to a really bad day, depending on how far down the number gets.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 9:03 AM

Fair enough, i made a mistake on the punter situation. I was half way going off memory and was thinking your guy had a leg. My fault. Tyler Newsome has a booming kick, but can be inconsistent.

I get the defensive line situation too, maybe im just being blind to Clemson's situation given the small amount of information i know and the huge amount of attention given to the starting 4, but i've seen us rotate in key moments of the game, and there is very little drop off between 1's and 2's.

These teams are pretty close in turnover margin (+5/+4)... another stat they are close in.

other then perception, there really isn't huge differences in these two teams lol

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Oh, Spiers has a leg...


Dec 26, 2018, 9:10 AM

Two of 'em, in fact! ;) The problem is directional...like my driving game.

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 9:48 AM

Article that adds to this post.
https://www.onefootdown.com/platform/amp/2018/12/26/18111435/notre-dame-fighting-irish-football-clemson-tigers-q-a-trevor-lawrence-travis-etienne-dabo-swinney
Feedback?

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 26, 2018, 10:05 AM

i didn't really see anything jump out at me. I think 7/10 times Clemson beats ND, but will this Saturday be one of those 3?

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Keep it civil....


Dec 26, 2018, 10:13 AM

And not mention anything about “A” or “B” test and all should be fine! ???????

Here’s to a great game indeed!

Go Tigers!!

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Re: Keep it civil....


Dec 26, 2018, 12:40 PM

thoughts on this quote?
#Clemson DE Clelin Ferrell on why defensive coordinator Brent Venables is so intense: “I don’t know, maybe he should be the one that’s drug tested.”

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 27, 2018, 8:38 AM

Alright guys, i may not make it on here tomorrow. Thanks for the chats. Good luck and safe travels. I really do hope its a great game.

Go Irish!

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Re: Clemson - Notre Dame Cotton Bowl


Dec 27, 2018, 4:23 PM

alright, saw this on another thread:

This drug test is a farce!!! [1]
Posted: Dec 27, 2018 4:00 PM
Reply

The players have the right to a fair hearing. It seems wrong that the NCAA can serve as prosecutor AND judge. The players have the right to present their case. Maybe we need an arbitrator.

The more i think about how this process is playing out, the madder i get. There could be sabotage involved (ND or Bama fan spiking our food). And is a ridiculously small amount of this chemical, which could have come from anywhere, really a big enough problem to result in suspensions?!?! Innocemt until PROVEN guilty, right? It could take weeks to PROVE this or disprove this.

I just gotta say... i think a sabotage involving spiking food would be lower on the list of possibilities. i think this is a very tricky situation. If it was one player, ok some weird false positive, but 3 out of what 20 or so tested? i hate to say it (and yes i understand innocent till proven guilty), but i think it would be more likely that there are some players taking something and using other means to "flush" their systems of the traces and that flush didn't work 100%. Im not outraged either way, just kind of what my gut tells me as a likely possibility. And im not just being a homer for my team or anything like that, honestly this is a HUGE boost for ND if he can't play, not saying its going to flip the game, but it definitely helps. But trying to put myself in the position of a clemson fan, i honestly believe i would feel the same way. Reading the body language of dabo and DL, there isn't outrage and anger, they are denying it, but too easily accepted the results. I do understand that Dabo has a game to prepare for and can't dwell on it, but if DL was innocent, i believe we would see more... just my 2 cents, but im not cal lightman (if you get that reference you get a thumbs up lol)

For the kids future, as a general college football fan, i hope hes cleared able to play and goes on to great things because its bad for the sport for these things to happen.

I dont think there is a conspiracy by the NCAA to keep clemson out, i think the most profitable thing would be to keep Alabama out. I think the timetable is the most ridiculous part of this. Its a urine test. Samples are taken, tests should be done in 24 hours. If sample A comes back with something, NCAA notified, a rep sent over to witness sample B being done by a different doctor and you have your results. 36 hours max. Let both teams prepare properly.

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