It was the of worst of times, it was the best of times. That pretty much sums up the game at Maryland Saturday night. I had grown more confident as the week went on but my worse fears that I had going back to when the game time was originally announced were fulfilled. You saw a desperate Maryland team come out raring to go offensively and a Clemson team that looked like the clock had finally struck twelve.
Despite the questionable opening kickoff return, the Clemson offense went down the field with relatively ease only to settle for a field goal after having the ball inside the three-yard line. Then the wheels promptly seemed to come off the bus. After getting a stop Clemson botched a punt return and gave Maryland the ball inside their ten-yard line and would score a touchdown a few plays later. On the following Clemson offensive possession, Clemson threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
It was 14-3 Maryland and many Clemson fans were thinking this ain’t good. Clemson would find itself down 28-10 at one point in the first half before cutting the lead to 28-17 with two minutes before halftime. At this point it was apparent the offense was starting to find itself. Tajh Boyd who had looked like a dumpster fire early on, had settled down and there was a sense that the only team that could stop the Clemson offense was the Clemson offense.
The turning point for me was when Maryland got the ball after Clemson had cut the lead to 28-17. If you remember the Terps quarterback, CJ Brown had gone up and down the field with ease throughout the first half. Despite getting the ball deep in Clemson territory, if I was the Maryland Head Coach, I have to try to get points before half. I understood his thinking, Maryland got the ball to start the second half no need to risk it. Maybe under ordinary circumstances I would agree.
It was clear, however that Maryland was going to need all the points it could get if they were going to pull off the upset. At that point momentum had shifted towards the guys in orange, I thought Coach Edsall and offensive coordinator Gary Crowton would be more aggressive before the half. One run up the middle and a quarterback kneel and it was halftime. It was apparent to me and a lot of Clemson fans that Randy Edsall knew he was the luckiest man on the planet.
You have to give Maryland credit they came out and started the second half by going down the field and scoring a touchdown like the Clemson scout team defense was on the field. It was 35-17 yet most Clemson fans in the stands felt like there was too much football remaining and were confident this team would respond.
And boy did this team respond. The Tigers outscored Maryland 39-17 in the second half. The defense finally came up with a few stops when we had to have them. I have to admit, I was the only Clemson fan on the planet who was pissed off when Sammy Watkins went 89 yards on a kickoff return. Maryland had just scored and we were about to put a tired defense right back on the field against a Terrapin offense that had shown it could sustain drives. At that point I wanted to see Clemson sustain a drive, run some clock and take the lead. Good thing for Clemson the defense came up with a huge stop and several plays later Andre Ellington sealed the win for the Tigers with a 44-yard touchdown run.
Speaking of Andre Ellington, can the boy get some love? The junior from Moncks Corner, SC ran for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns Saturday night. Let that marinate for a minute. Andre Ellington rushed for over 200 yards in a game and no one is talking about it. CJ Spiller was the last Clemson back to rush for over 200 yards when he ran for 233 yards against Georgia Tech in 2009.
I love Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Dwayne Allen and Tajh Boyd but Clemson had a running back rush for over 200 yards in a football game and that needs to be recognized. Credit needs to be given to the offensive line that asserted its will on the Maryland defense throughout the game. It was fun watching Ellington look like his old self, gracefully gutting the Terrapin defense.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this Clemson team is special. I have been to Byrd Stadium more times than I would like to admit and seen Clemson teams embarrass themselves. It looked like they were on their way to another disappointing crash landing in College Park last Saturday. This team was not going to be denied. Overcoming two 18-point deficits to ultimately win by 11 points is no small feat. I saw a team show no panic and poise in a tough situation. We know how previous teams would have responded.
To go on the road and weather the storm like they did is something special. There is no other way today say it. You look back and you see teams who have special seasons and there is always a game or two where they are forced to respond during a less than stellar performance. This team persevered and was able to improve its record to 7-0.
In come the Tar Heels from Chapel Hill for a noon kickoff at Death Valley. The trials and tribulations of the North Carolina football program have been well documented over the past two years. The biggest surprise came a week before fall camp started when then Head Coach Butch Davis was relieved of his duties.
The Heels come into the game on Saturday with a 5-2 record with losses to Georgia Tech and Miami. Last week the Tar Heels fell behind early and saw their comeback bid fall short in the closing seconds. This is a team with good players, many who were recruited by Clemson, including Tar Heel receiver Dwight Jones who was once committed to Clemson but was told he would not earn admissions to Clemson and signed with North Carolina. Yes, try to figure that one out.
North Carolina is led by Springfield, VA native Bryn Renner who has had a nice year through seven games, completing 75% of passes. Freshman running back Giovani Bernard comes into the contest on Saturday having rushed for at least 100 yards in the last five games. You couple that with Dwight Jones who is slightly ahead of Sammy Watkins in receiving statistics, the Clemson defense will have their hands full on Saturday. They are not flashy, but they are content executing their offense and taking their shots down the field when appropriate. The Tar Heel offensive line is huge averaging 320 pounds across the front, they also are experienced. Clemson is going to have to play well to have chance to slow down the efficient North Carolina offense.
The UNC defense comes into Death Valley yielding only 109 yards of rushing offense per game. The Tar Heel defense is led by linebacker Zach Brown and defensive end Quinton Coples who is a sure first early round NFL draft pick. Things are not so rosy in the North Carolina secondary where the Tar Heels are giving up 250 yards through the air per contest.
There will be opportunities to make plays through the air and the Tigers will have to run it enough to win against a solid UNC team. I expect the game to be a close contest. North Carolina is certain to take their shots deep throughout the game on Saturday. Slowing down the running back Bernard is going to be important in slowing down the Carolina play action pass game.
The Tigers can’t sleep walk this week. Another slow start coupled with a fast start by Carolina could prove costly. I do not think the Clemson faithful will allow that this week. There is an article circulating quoting UNC quarterback Bryn Renner talking about Death Valley as being no worse than ECU. Bless is Northern Virginia heart. I think Mr. Renner has provided the juice Clemson fans needed as noon approaches on Saturday.
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