Bowden Looks to Correct Mistakes

by Dan Scott - Correspondent - Sun Oct 21 19:42:19 GMT-04:00 2001

CLEMSON - Tommy Bowden's inclination to burn the film of Saturday's 38-3 Clemson loss to North Carolina was overcome by his desire to correct mistakes.

So, as usual, Sunday morning after church he was in his office watching the debacle unfold before him again. Call it the price coaches pay in their efforts to succeed.

"I'd rather try to correct their mistakes," Bowden said during his regular Sunday teleconference. "We won't see a similar front or scheme (to North Carolina's) personnel-wise, but I'm sure Wake Forest will look at the film and do some (similar) things. So I like to try to look at that and get it corrected...and I like to look at it with the team to make sure they see it..."

What he saw in film study was a Tar Heels team running an aggressive defense, much like that of Georgia Tech and N.C. State, but with two noticeable differences:

"They tackle better, and they're a little bit better players," said Bowden. "They'll be the best physical defense (Clemson faces). Florida State might be a tad faster, but they won't be any better looking."

North Carolina also added a wrinkle to its scheme that the previous two opponents did not. When Clemson quarterback Woody Dantzler tried to run, the Tar Heels had a linebacker or weak-side safety in the hole waiting on him.

And unlike the games with Georgia Tech or N.C. State, North Carolina defenders didn't miss tackles on Dantzler.

"We really needed a big play and we never got one," Bowden said. "(Dantzler's) the guy who makes most of our big plays, and if he doesn't make them all the sudden you've everybody standing there kind of looking around..."

NOTES

- Clemson came out of Saturday's game with no major injuries. Sports Information Director Tim Bourret did not issue an injury report for the first time in weeks.

- The Tigers dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll, while North Carolina jumped in at No. 23. Clemson fell to No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, the 26th consecutive week it has been ranked in that list.