Thursday Thoughts
Clemson-FSU
The Tigers have their home opener in conference play tonight at 7 p.m. when they host Florida State. Clemson is 10-3 overall and 1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference after winning at Boston College 62-60 this past Saturday. The Seminoles are 9-3 overall and 0-1 in conference after dropping a 62-50 decision at home to Virginia.
This series has been close over recent years and has produced some thrilling finishes. Last season Florida State beat Clemson in all three contests, but all three were decided by five points or less.
The Tigers and Seminoles have had only one common opponent this season. Clemson dropped a 62-56 to UMASS on a neutral site. Florida State beat UMASS 60-55 giving the Minutemen their only loss of the season.
Clemson Notes
The Tigers have issues with depth and experience in the post, and this has shown up more on the offensive end than the defensive end of the court. I had
Brad Brownell
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on my show Monday and he said he was very pleased with
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on the defensive end. He mentioned Nnoko staying out of foul trouble as a key but he was also impressed by Siddy Djitte's work on the defensive boards. Brownell says if a player can average a rebound every three minutes then that is outstanding, and both have done that so far this season.
Brownell said Clemson still has troubles in the half-court offense, partly because of the post issues, but he is pleased with the free throw shooting. The head coach said he feels this can be a big part of pulling out close games as the Tigers get into the ACC season.
ACC Basketball
The ACC season has gotten off to a crazy start with some surprising results. Duke dropped its conference opener at Notre Dame. The Blue Devils rebounded Tuesday night at home against Georgia Tech and head to Littlejohn for a game at Clemson on Saturday at 2 p.m.
NC State looked awful in the second half of its conference opener at home against Pittsburgh Saturday but rebounded by going to Notre Dame and winning Tuesday night.
North Carolina continued its roller coaster season to date by getting worked over in a loss at Wake Forest this past weekend.
Syracuse has been the most consistent team so far this season and Maryland is off to a 2-0 start in the league.
Clemson faces a very difficult schedule in the middle part of the ACC slate, so tonight's game against Florida State appears to be a big one for this program as a 2-0 league start would give the Tigers confidence.
Statistical Comparison
I got a copy of Clemson's final football stats this morning and wanted to make some comparisons from last season to this season.
The Tigers had 65 less total yards this year on offense. Last season they had 6,665 yards and averaged 512 yards per game. This year Clemson had 6,600 yards and averaged 507 yards per game.
Clemson ran the ball a little better last year when it averaged 191 yards per game on the ground. This year the Tigers averaged 174 yards per game on the ground. Part of that was due to Tajh Boyd running the ball less in 2013. The other part is because the Tigers threw the ball out in the flats more.
The Tigers improved passing yards from 321 to 333 yards per game this season.
Clemson averaged 41 points per game last year and 40.2 points per game this year.
Last season the Tigers turned the ball over 21 times and they had 24 turnovers this season.
The biggest improvements came on defense. Last year Clemson allowed 396 yards per game. This year they lowered that average to 356 yards per contest.
The rushing defense stayed the same over the past two seasons. Clemson allowed 155 yards per game in each of the last two seasons. In fact, the Tigers allowed a total of three less rushing yards this entire season.
The biggest jump came in terms of passing yards allowed. Last season Clemson gave up 240 yards per game. This season that number dropped to 201 yards per game.
The defense improved in creating turnovers. The Tigers created 23 turnovers last year and 30 in 2013.
We also saw a significant drop in points allowed. In 2012 Clemson gave up 24.8 points per game. This past season the Tigers lowered that number to 22.2 points per game.
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Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
If you would like to add someone to the list please email me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list.
Those who need our prayers include: Finn Brookover, Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got Igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S., Daniel Rosborough, the Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L., Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Perrin Seigler, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, the Nicolopulos family, "the Jacksonville, FL guys," Kim Sims, the Coyle family, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, the Thomas V. family, Emary Claire Young, Kitty Bowers, Julie Locke, the Scheider family, Lauren Kittles' family, Frank Gentry, Joyce Bussey, Stacey McKeown, Dale Childs, Larry Lentz, Jr., Carl Sharperson, Scott Hannon, William Perry, Tyler Swaney, Lillian, Mark Feit, David Frame, Chad Berry, the family of Matthew M. Watson, the Dowis family, Shervin Messer, Alan Putnam, the Olivers, Lee Tate, Ronnie Abrams, Eddie Greene, the Jackson family, Bill Vader, Jim Taylor, Tina DeWitt, Rock Horne, Christopher Tuten, Bobby Wayne Thomas, Emma and Danielle Carothers, Robert Ditty, Mr. and Mrs. Murray Smith, Dot Cartee, Ayden Mills, Millie Heatley, Lynn Martin and family, Michael Pinson, Jake David family, Angie Crowley, Ira, Mike Tolson, Poly Wells, Dr. Muriel Bishop, Jack Cunningham, Emily Jefford Meister, Zachary Stoller, Aaron Clackum, Pat James, Cortney Moore, William Moore, Angelia and Savannah Anderson, William Ross, Meredith Legg, Scott Johns, Frank Carroll, Brandon Thompson, Alvin Sammons, Georgine McAlhaney, Glen Davis, Mike Price, Clay Childers, Aaron Knight, Danielle Johnston and family, Nicholas Abrams, Lana Kuykendall, Gary, Gary G., William Huggins, Jim Bennett, Chantz Fowler, Ethel McElveen, Michele Gurganus, William Gentry, Lewis Usher and Tanya Sanders, Shon Cooper, Nick Collins, Amanda Peake, Danny Hammond, Chip Turner, Nick Collins, Allen Steen, the Sturkey family, the Lance family, Nick Chrisley's family, Allison Williams, Lt. Kyle Walker, Summer and Joel Johnson, Nicole O'Donnell, James O. Johnson, Joy Pruett and family, Bill Schmidt, Jack Bailey, Gardner Family, Charles Turner, Kathy Bartholomew, Ray Sanders, David and Robin Blocker, J.R. Ray, Kenneth Kowe, Lauren Sielicki, Doug Bailey and family, Jenna Phipps, Mark Lawrence, Harlan Sullins, Peter Laboy, Kat and Carlisle Jones, Elizabeth Galloway and family, Anita McDonald, Willard Harryman, Liz Surratt, Molly Senn, Jackie Shearer, Richard Sellers, Tim Drisdelle, Edward Easterling, Dawson Bourne, Susan and Mike Brown, Julie Goodman Marshall, Willard and Dorothy Harryman, Justin Jernigan, Jack Cunningham, Mia Daughtery, Tee Senn, Jim Lanier, Bob Garrett, Skylar, Joseph Thomas, Mrs. Nelis, Jeanne Thompson, Sean Rowell, George Parker, Levon Kirkland and family, Catherine Sewell, Randy Davenport, Patrick Destefano, David Vaughn, Keith Dalton, and our great country and the men and women in uniform that protect and serve it every day, plus their families.
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