For the all of two (perhaps more) of you following this 48-hour-old blog, thanks for coming aboard and bearing with what was a damn near unbearable situation at Clemson on Saturday. Had a share of meltdowns in 20-plus years in this business, but Saturday was the intersection of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. Clemson folks did everything they could, and my appreciation to them.
Anyway, there's new, updated content on the site now as we move forward to the Rice game. In the next 24 hours, I should have some important news for you. Back on the horse and all that.
As for parting thoughts on the game, I'll start with Clemson. The Tigers can run the ball like nobody's business, but the defense and passing game - yeah, I know Parker had that 70-yard bomb - bear watching when Clemson gets to ACC play. Top 25 team? Probably, but they'll have to win the ACC to get to the BCS. Maybe, maybe not.
Today's Clemson-UNT rewind at TMGR pretty much sums up the Mean Green side of Saturday's contest. Before we declare the offense a beast to be reckoned with, let's see more. Like Lance Dunbar said, gotta finish.
By the way, did you catch Dunbar's postgame comment about Clemson not being all that fast, at least to him? If you've ever met Dunbar, he barely speaks above a whisper, but maybe the kid's getting a little swagger. UNT needs a few of those who can back it up. Craig Robertson's got a little wound up after the game, too, while talking about Clemson's offense scoring quickly at times. Robertson and other seniors have been on the receiving end of that trend so many times that it might be a sore subject.
In reality, it's something the visitor more often deals with in guarantee games as a byproduct of being overmatched. UNT kept it close for a while, but two or three big plays make these games as predictable as dinner time. It's one reason I rank them somewhere above agents and conference realignment as toxic aspects of the sport.
Smaller programs benefit financially from guarantee games, but they're a drag on the early part of the season, save for an App State or a Jacksonville State here and there (won't ever get tired of those). More often, the visitors are used like obedient dogs to fill a big program's stadium. It's like being told, "Here's a check, we will beat you, and you will like it." It's a necesary evil...get all that. Don't have to like it. In a perfect world, everyone could fill their own stadium, but we know better.
Probably punch drunk from lack of sleep, so tell me to pipe down if need be.
No comments:
Post a Comment