Wednesday July 07, 2010

Road Warriors

Road Warriors
A caller on my radio show this morning asked an interesting question. He asked, “With the exception of the Wake Forest game, will Clemson be the underdogs in every other road game this season?”

There is a big difference in the home games this year and the road games in terms of difficulty. Road games are difficult anyway but the 2010 Clemson schedule features a greater disparity because of the quality of the road opponents this season.

I am in the process of looking at Clemson’s past schedules and trying to determine if this can be considered the most difficult road schedule in Clemson history but that may take a few days.

So, will Clemson be underdog in four of its five road games this season?

I have learned in college football we don’t know what will happen next week so predicting lines of November football games in July is impossible. However, I think there is a good chance the Tigers could be underdogs in their first four road games.

I don’t want to sound like Lou Holtz, Vince Dooley or Larry Munson and try to convince everyone that this will be the Bataan Death March but road wins will be difficult to come by in 2010.

The first road game this season is September 18 at Auburn. Gene Chizik has 15 returning starters from his first team that went 8-5 last season. Jordan Hare Stadium is a very difficult place to play for visiting teams and this one will be electric because it is scheduled for a night game on ESPN.

Auburn will also have an extra two days to prepare for Clemson because they play Mississippi State on a Thursday the previous week.

Auburn’s offense will be the main threat in this one. The Tigers return eight starters from a team that averaged 33 points and 432 yards per game last year. Auburn has a big back in Mario Fannin and speed back in Onterio McCalebb to highlight its running game which should operate behind one of the nation’s best offensive lines. The Tigers have four senior starters returning along their offensive front. JUCO transfer Cam Newton takes over at quarterback and his 6-6, 245-pound frame will be a storyline coming into this one.

Defensively, Auburn must improve from last season but returns eight starters including two great linebackers in Josh Byrnes and Craig Stevens.

After an open date and a home game with Miami, Clemson travels to North Carolina which will feature a completely different scenario. The Tar Heels have question marks on offense but could have one of the nation’s most talented defenses.

UNC returns nine starters from a defense that allowed only 17.1 points and 270 yards per game a year ago. The Tar Heels have five or six NFL prospects on their starting defense including defensive linemen Marvin Austin and Robert Quinn. Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant might be the top two linebackers in the ACC and Deunta Williams and Kendrick Burney lead the league’s top secondary. It is rare that one team has the best at every unit in a league but I think the Tar Heels have the ACC’s best defensive line, linebackers and secondary.

Offensively, North Carolina returns 10 starters from a year ago but there is not the talent on this side of the football. Quarterback T.J. Yates and running back Shaun Draughn are above average ACC starters but nothing to be overly concerned about.

Keenan Stadium has seen improvements and there is nothing that can get a crowd into a game like a dominating defense, but this atmosphere should be less of a concern than the one in Auburn.

The day before Halloween the Tigers play in Chestnut Hill against Boston College. This is not the most intimidating venue in the ACC but BC is a solid program that plays well at home. In fact, the senior class at Boston College enters this season with a 17-4 record at home.

Boston College wants to run the ball again this year and should be well equipped to do so with Montel Harris who had 1457 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. The Eagles also have four returning starters on the offensive line including All-ACC candidate Anthony Castonzo. Their offense should be improved with more experience at quarterback with Dave Shinskie.

Defensively, Mark Herzlich makes his heroic return and the next great defender in the line of Eagles is linebacker Luke Kuechly. BC should be pretty solid again defensively in 2010.

On November 13 Clemson travels to Tallahassee to take on the Seminoles. There is renewed enthusiasm in the FSU program with Jimbo Fisher’s first season as the head coach of the Noles.

FSU is excited about an offense that returns nine starters from a team that averaged 30 points and 421 yards per game last season. Christian Ponder might be the league’s best quarterback and he will operate behind an offensive line that returns all five starters including Rodney Hudson and Ryan McMahon.

Defensively, the Noles can’t be much worse. Last season they allowed 30 points per game but return six starters. A new scheme under new defensive coordinator Mark Stoops may help improve morale.

The final regular season road contest this season is in Winston-Salem against Wake Forest. Clemson has struggled against Wake at times in Winston-Salem but the Deacs may be in a rebuilding mode in 2010. Wake Forest is coming off of its first losing season since 2005 and must replace quarterback Riley Skinner and three offensive linemen.

On paper the Deacs return six on offense and seven on defense. It is hard to what any team will look like in their 11th game of the season but I will be interested to see how Wake progresses against a fairly difficult schedule. This matchup could be for the Atlantic Division title or it could be a battle of two .500 teams.

Road wins may be difficult to come by in 2010 which means there might be more pressure for the Tigers to “hold serve” at home this season. Auburn and FSU will present tough atmospheres and talented offenses. North Carolina and Boston College might be two of the toughest defenses in the league and Wake Forest is a wild card in my mind. If the Tigers can find a way to have a winning record on the road in 2010, they may wind up back in the ACC title game.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

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 e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*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, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, The Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Ethel Southard, 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, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle familty, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Richard Crawford, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, Steve Williams Jr, Steve Williams III, Kim Thomas, Reid Thomas, Sam Thomas, Linda Wiggs, Emily Claire Young, Dr. Wallace Honeycutt, Stacy Fowler, Kitty Bowers.