Setting the tone.....

            What a turn of events experienced by Clemson fans since the last time I wrote. The Tigers showed true mettle against a scrappy Florida State team and did what many thought was unthinkable, and went to Blacksburg in a cold rain and defeated the defending ACC Champions 23-3.

            Now here we are October 2011 and the Clemson Tigers are 5-0 heading into their second division game as Boston College comes to Clemson Saturday on Homecoming. I am tickled to death about what this team has accomplished up to this point. The key phrase is “up to this point”. I have tuned into the talk shows on WCCP and I have seen the love Clemson has been getting on ESPN. Friends, we are a mere five-games into a twelve game season.

            I could not be more excited about being ranked in the Top 10 nationally, it excites me to see my alma mater talked about on ESPN and on other national shows but trophies are not awarded after five games. I swell with pride every time I see the paw displayed on the screen or hear media types like Jack Arute, Bill King and Mike Leach talk about Clemson on their respective nationally syndicated shows but the war has not yet been won.

            Never in a million years did I see this team going through the past three games undefeated. There cannot be very many well reasoned individuals who on September 2, 2011 who could have convinced me that this team would go 3-0 against Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech. In fact I wrote a long and emotional email to my father prior to the season cautioning expectations, how Coach Swinney did not need to be on the hot seat regardless of the results of the last three games in September. Most know now that 42 of the 85 scholarship players on the Clemson roster are either redshirt or true freshmen. No one likes to hear about a coach having a young team but it could not be truer when examining the Clemson roster.

            In the same email I sought to temper Signing Day zeal by reminding my father that people need to realize that the recent additions to the Clemson Football family were in the midst of making a significant life transition of which football is merely a small part of the puzzle. I went on to write about the need for leadership within IPTAY and the Athletic Department not to get caught up in the whims of fans and stay the course given what the new additions could do in the future, not this season.

            I have to admit that I was wrong about this team, about some of these freshmen, about how quickly this team would gel.  There was nothing in the last decade that could have given me or any other realistic Clemson fan an inkling that the 2011 team would come out of the gate in spectacular fashion.

            The big three game gauntlet is now over. If you are a Clemson fan, the words Boston College should cause you to feel a nauseous feeling in your stomach. Since joining the ACC 2005 Boston College has caused much consternation and heartbreak among Clemson fans. Boston College holds a 4-2 advantage over Clemson since 2005. I do not find it necessary to rehash the overtime losses and the disappointment back in 2007 and the empty feeling I experienced leaving Alumni Stadium last fall.

            That all being said the 2011 Boston College football team is bad. The Eagles are 1-4 on the year and have struggled offensively missing All-ACC running back Montel Harris early in the season. Harris is back and has run the ball well but the Eagles have failed to find their stride with sophomore quarterback Chase Rettig under center. Boston College has suffered losses to Northwestern, Central Florida, Duke and Wake Forest. Sounds like a perfect recipe for a Clemson nuclear meltdown on Saturday.

            You can say what you want about Boston College, you can talk about their stadium, their talent, their fans or lack their of but, the Eagles have been a thorn in the side of Clemson since the day they joined the ACC. For any Clemson fan to be “looking ahead” is silly.

            This is not an attempt to diminish what Clemson has accomplished on the football field during the last three weeks but, the season started Saturday after the Virginia Tech game. Hate to rain on the Clemson parade but it is easy to get excited about playing the defending National Champions from Clemson without a lake, it is easy to get excited about Florida State, there is no lack of motivation going on the road playing a team that has beaten you five straight times.

            How does this team handle itself going into a game where they are favored by three touchdowns? How does this team perform when they have a clear personnel advantage at almost every position? Can this team come out and take care of business or will they come out Saturday thinking they can just show up and find themselves in a dogfight?

            Saturday will set the tone for the rest of the season. If this Clemson team can come out and deliver a solid performance and leave no doubt that they are the better team it will go a long way in determining how far this team can go. If this team comes out sloppy, missing tackles, dropping passes, unable to block, turning the ball over and missing kicks, Clemson will be facing a repeat of their 2010 trip to Chestnut Hill.

            There has been a lot of talk on message boards and talk shows on how this Clemson team could go undefeated. I remind you that Clemson still has Boston College, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, North Carolina State and South Carolina left to play. North Carolina State is the only team on the remaining schedule that Clemson has beaten on a consistent basis in the last several years.

            In the same way David Wilson the running back from Virginia Tech got his yards during the game last week, I think Montel Harris will do the same thing. You have to give the young man his due. He was a high school teammate of former Clemson running back Jamie Harper. Harris can play and will be a focal point for the Eagles offense and Clemson defense.

            On the other side of the ball Clemson fans will get a chance to see the best defensive player in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly. He is on pace to shatter the ACC tackle record and he is only a junior. Absent from the Eagles’ defense are space eaters like B.J. Raji. There is a lot of youth in the secondary and Clemson should be able to take advantage of the inexperience and mismatches Boston College presents.

            Reiterating my earlier thoughts, Boston College is good enough to beat Clemson if the Tigers show up on Saturday thinking that they are on a coronation tour to Charlotte. Fans do not need to get complacent and come to the Valley on Saturday thinking that they are in for Saturday afternoon mingle at the Polo Grounds.

 It is incumbent upon this staff to keep the pressure on the team to prepare for Boston College and Boston College only. Fans can sit around and pontificate but they better head to Clemson with their minds right that Boston College is coming into Clemson not intimidated in the least. I assure you they do not give a rip about Clemson’s previous opponents or that the guys on the other side of the ball have won five games. They know that history says if they play their game, they have an excellent chance of coming out with a win when the clock hits 0:00.

The talk and the media attention is nice but there is a game to be played on Saturday and the tone for the second half of the season starts with Clemson coming out and performing well against Boston College.


******9:15 p.m. October 5, 2011 Per the Boston Herald Boston College Running Back Montel Harris will miss the Clemson game.******