From Turnaround to Letdown |
There are several possible spins that can be put on the debacle that occurred Saturday in Durham. However, in reality excuses may only help a few disgruntled fans sleep better at night. This was a letdown in every sense of the word.
First, take a look at the better part of 15,000 fans that made the trip to Durham. This was the second time in two years that the Clemson faithful has taken 10,000 plus fans on the road and came away feeling sick at their stomachs. The fans responded to challenges put out on the radio and on this website. The fans do not want an apology. Fans want the same result that happened last year when the team came back to Death Valley, a win over a big rival. Except this time it is the big rival, South Carolina. Secondly, this is the second time in less than a year this program had all the momentum and let it go. After the four game stretch, this program was headed for new heights then a 1-4 start let it slip away. Now, one of the biggest wins in school history has been followed up by one of the biggest disappointments. Momentum is a very important in today’s game. Clemson was fortunate to regain momentum with a win over Miami, now this team must salvage any remaining momentum with a win over South Carolina. Next, the offense was coming off its best performance of the year. It looked like maybe we were seeing the Charlie Whitehurst of old. Not what happen in Durham. The same problems that plagued this team during the 1-4 start were back again. The four turnovers against Duke was the same number of turnovers the Tigers had in the four game winning streak. Was this a case of bad coaching or did the players just over look a bad football team? The over looking factor does not work for me. At some point, this team needed to realize they were in a dog fight and up their level of play. The defense carried the load once again. It was obvious on the touchdown by Duke how important Leroy Hill is to this football team. A letdown is the only word that can describe what happened in Durham. Give credit to Coach Ted Roof for devising a game plan that would put his team in a position to win. In the end, this is just one loss. The bad taste has a chance to be quickly erased with a win next Saturday. Fans and the team need to forget about this one ASAP, and turn their focus to South Carolina. The season is on the line, and the truth about the true character of this team will be discovered on Saturday.
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