Posted by Willy Mac

Hey there. Thanks for stopping by again. I traded barbs with the Wake Forest outlet Blogger So Dear over at SB Nation this week and came up with some stats and uncomfortably dodged questions about the topic of the week: Riley Skinner’s Hog. No homo. Check out my responses here (forthcoming.)

1) Wake Forest has one of the better passing attacks in the ACC. What kind of set up should Clemson expect to see? Who are Wake Forest’s big men catching the football?

To be honest, I’m about as in the dark as you guys are. That’s typically what happens with us. We’ve been running some no huddle and a lot of shotgun lately but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we come out in the I just because Coach Lobo (the offensive coordinator) likes to out think himself and basically put formations in a bowl and pick one out.

But if you held a gun to my head, I’d say expect a lot of shotgun. We haven’t been using a lot of double T so you’ll see a lot of three receiver sets. With big men, are we talking TEs, because that’s Andrew Parker’s domain. If we’re talking “big” men, like big play guys, you’ll get a heavy dose of three receivers: Marshall Williams (32 rec, 472 yards, 5 TDs), Devon “Y’lou” Brown (22 rec, 334 yards, 1 TD) and Chris Givens (26 rec, 356 yards, 5 TDs).

2) Have any other teams had any success defending against the Riley Skinner and his passing? If not, what do you think the Tigers defense needs to do in order to slow down Wake?

Baylor had a lot of success containing Riley (as evidenced by his 3 INTs), but to be honest I feel like a lot of that was Skinner feeling pressured to carry the team with all the talk of the new defense. So he forced some throws, had happy feet and all in all looked downright terrible. He looked a lot like that in the first half of the Stanford game too, but played a lot better in the second period.

The way to contain Skinner is by collapsing the pocket from the outside in. He is extremely comfortable making his own play and scrambling (especially right), so keeping him in the pocket and blitzing from the ends will force him to throw over the DL, something he has trouble with because of his size.

3) On the other hand, Wake Forest has been lagging in the rushing category. Where is the breakdown occurring?

The rushing struggles are a bit exaggerated. In two of the last three games the Deacs have rushed for 142 yards (BC, 4.6 ypc) and 156 yards (Maryland, 4.0 ypc). In the NC State game, the terrible stats are heavily weighed down by State’s pressure on Skinner. He was sacked six times and on “11 rushes” lost 33 yards. So if you remove that from the equation Wake rushed for 53 yards (still not great) on 2.9 ypc (also not very good). But Skinner threw 45 times and Wilson attempted 43 passes so it was a shootout type of game and running wasn’t exactly the focal point.

The fact remains that Wake isn’t a run-first team this year. The team is running way too many unsuccessful end-arounds and pitches. The inside draws and the sweeps to the sidelines have worked well though.

4) It’s kind of worrisome for you guys that the Deacs have had some trouble in Death Valley lately, especially given your recent upswing of talented players. Is this the year that the cycle gets broken? How has the Wake Forest defense fared against the schedule this year?

Who knows? I was at the game two years ago and it was just plain domination by the Tigers. The crowd was into it and the atmosphere was tremendous (not to mention you guys were really good hosts to me during tailgating, confederate flag beer pong table aside), but BOY did the Demon Deacons look horrible.

Do I want the cycle to get broken? Of course I do, or I wouldn’t write a Wake Forest blog. But do I think it will? Well again, I write a Wake Forest blog so I have been conditioned to expect the worst. I just flipped a coin. Heads was win, Tails was loss. It was heads. So with the shakiest of convictions I will take the Deacs by 3.

5) Who are the standout players that Clemson fans should highlight in their programs for Saturday?

Because he’s good and because his name is so darned fun to say, Gelo Orange (Really?  – WM.) Also defensively [we've got] John Russell and Brandon Ghee. On offense you can draw whatever you want next to Riley’s name, but also star Marshall Williams, Brown and Givens.

6) Run a Google image search for “Riley Skinner” with the safe search option off. What the hell is that? Seriously? I need an explanation for this. Also, no homo.

It’s obvious Riley decided to give himself a fall back plan in case the NFL does not pan out. And he has a built in adult film name… Riley Fore…well you can figure out the rest. Plus, the Remington rifle sign in the background is a nice touch. It gives new meaning to the “he has a cannon” and “gunslinger” cliches. There’s a lot of speculation and rumor behind the picture, but I won’t go into any of that because I’m still not sure what the truth really is. Plus, it’s more fun to just make stuff up.

Posted by Block-C Staff

This week we do battle with the fearsome Testudo Times.  Ok not so fearsome.  Also, their football team… no so much either.  Their responses are over here (forthcoming). Also,  didn’t have time to make corrections to his other than spelling. English geeks, point me out some errors!

1) Guys, what on earth is going on this year? Are you going back into “Waiting for basketball season” mode?

Turnovers, young O-line, and a new defensive coordinator. For whatever reason, the Terps have really struggled turning the ball over this year. Our running backs have just been coughing up the ball left and right. We also have a young offensive line that has suffered through injuries and is still trying to gel. The other problem (which is getting better each week) is the new defensive scheme of new defensive coordinator Don Brown. The Terps are improving on that front, but it has been a problem early on. Otherwise, Maryland hasn’t been as bad as the record indicates. If they just stop turning the ball over and shooting themselves in the foot every other play, we’d probably be 3-1 coming into this week. But until they can prove that they can not turn the ball over, you can’t give them much credit as a good team. (Personally, I was waiting for basketball season in July, but that’s because Greivis Vasquez is gonna unleash hell on the ACC this year).

2) On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being boiling, brick hurling rage and a 10 being that fuzzy fluttery butterfly feeling in your tummy that some call love, rate the Maryland fan bases feelings towards the Fridge and explain. How much longer does he get?

There are probably two camps on this. Camp one is probably at a 2.5 and camp two is probably at a 6. Camp one would argue that the Ralph’s performance has suffered since the first three, 10+ win seasons in Ralph’s career. Camp two would argue that despite some struggles, Ralph is still a good coach who has turned the football program around and is averaging 8 wins per season in his tenure at Maryland. But despite what each camp thinks, Maryland probably won’t fire Ralph at the end of the season because of how his contract is structured and they can’t afford to buy him out, not when they have 23 unsold suits in the newly renovated Tyser Tower.

3) What has happened to your offensive line? They went from a fairly solid unit that paved the way for Da’Rel Scott to rush for over 1000 yards to a broken down unit that has given up fourteen sacks and couldn’t block a hungry septuagenarian ambling after some delicious pudding only feet behind them.

Even with a pretty experienced group last year, Maryland’s offensive line wasn’t great. It just so happened that three starters graduated, and the two that didn’t changed positions. Oh, and we actually recruited zero linemen in 2006 – that’ll do a team in.

The OL is young and inexperienced, but not devoid of talent. Bruce Campbell is a future NFLer at LT, and Rick Costa is a solid C. The young guys look like they have potential. Toward the end of the year, you should expect them to start putting it together. Until then, it’s a crapshoot.

4) We’re giving you 200 yards of offense against the Clemson defense. Are you taking the over or under? Please explain good sir.

Clemson’s D is great, no denying that. But Maryland’s problem hasn’t been trouble moving the ball. It’s been converting on opportunities and not turning the ball over. I wouldn’t be surprised if Torrey Smith alone got 200 yards on you. Of course, you’ll probably get 12 sacks and 7 turnovers, but we’ll get to 200. Gotta take the over.

5) Seriously, should we even try tailgating on your campus or should we just get ripped at a DC bar then take the train in?

You can definitely tailgate on campus. You won’t get too heckled. Maybe a few “F*** Clemson” but that’s probably it. Fans tend to be less hostile when they’re expecting to get beaten. You should try to do it in lot U4 or U5 near the business school. It’s more low key there, still close to Byrd, and you likely won’t be too harassed by angry, drunk students.

6) Which DC area sports team is worse: The Redskins, the Nationals, or the Maryland football team? We would refer to you guys as the Washington Mystics of the ACC but that might offend the upstanding lesbian athlete community.

Bad year for DC sports. Terps football team is probably better than the losing-to-the-worst-team-ever Redskins and god-awful Natinals, but that’s not saying much. They’re not a bad team, they just need to stop with this turnover crap. If they do that, I think Clemson could be in for a surprisingly close game Saturday.

Posted by Willy Mac

This week we shot some questions over to Brian & co. from BC Interruption for the “Know Your…” segment. These guys are pretty knowledgeable and are probably one of the better Boston College blogs out there (in my honest opinion). Check out our answers over there.

You guys have a fairly young team this year. How do you think they will fair fare against the noise and atmosphere at Death Valley?

I think the Eagles will fare OK in Death Valley. I think the noon start time will be an advantage to the Eagles. If this game was a later start like the 2007 game, I would be more concerned about the atmosphere. The Eagles were placed in a similar situation in 2005 when a fairly young Eagles team came into Death Valley. That game was also a noon start but it was hot. Saturday’s forecast calls for thunderstorms and a 50% chance of rain, so I think that will also benefit BC in slowing down the Tigers speedsters and damping the Tiger faithful’s spirit.

Who is your primary source of points? Offense? Special teams? You’ve been padding some stats here in the first few games and it’s got me pretty intrigued. Who are the key players to you getting in the end zone?

On offense, it all starts with Justin Tuggle who has been named the starting QB (but Spaz has said he will play both Tuggle and Shinskie). We’ll need both Tuggle and Shinskie to be decent field generals and run the offense. If the quarterbacks are successful in getting the ball to our wide receivers, a talented core of receivers has emerged with senior Rich Gunnell, Colin Larmond Jr. and Clarence Megwa. Finally, the running game bolstered by the Eagles offensive line, will be a strength. Montel Harris is the #1 option at running back, but Josh Haden and true freshman Rolandan Finch have also been solid contributors. On special teams, Steve Aponavicius returns for his senior year and has been more consistent than years past … so far. He’s 3-3 on the year with a long of 33…

I thought you guys were supposed to be suffering this year. Granted Northeastern and Kent State aren’t exactly great programs, but what the shit man. We were relying on you to make us look good. Are we going to have to actually have to get in another knock down, drag out, epic battle with you guys again this year?

Boston College vs. Clemson is always a great battle between teams with contrasting styles of play. I am expecting this to be the case again this season. The team that turns the ball over less will win in my opinion.

Our games usually come down to our special teams. How are your punters and kickers doing? Who do you have returning the ball and how effective have they been doing so?

Hard to say what we really have on special teams given that we have only played Northeastern and Kent State, but early signs are that the special teams are improved for the past few seasons. Punter Ryan Quigley was able to pin Kent State deep in their own zone on two occasions last week. We haven’t seen a lot of the kick return game yet through two games (a unintended consequence of only giving up 7 points in two games) but expect to see Rich Gunnell and Montel Harris on punt returns, and Harris and Jeff Smith on kickoffs. All three of viable options to move the ball up the field, but BC has to limit the penalties on special teams.

What new stuff does you new head coach Frank Spaziani bring to the table that Jags didn’t Would you rather have Jags or Spaz (yeah I fucking just did that)?

Spaz and Jags brought very different styles to the Eagles sideline. Jags was the more polished NFL guy and self-proclaimed “fun guy” that was going to have BC winning and looking good doing it. My impression of Spaz is that he is much more down-to-earth and inspires the team with brutal honesty and subtle confidence. Spaz says exactly what is on his mind, even if it doesn’t come across as the most intelligent of sound bytes. While the two coaches are very different, if I had to answer the Spaz vs. Jags question, I’d go back to the fact that none of the drama that unfolded last January had to happen. If I could go back through time, I wouldn’t have had any of the coaching drama unfold and Jagodzinski would still be head coach. However, this should take nothing away from Spaziani, as Spaz is 3-0 and it seems that the Eagles recruiting efforts have been improved since Spaz became HC. Still, with all the other off-season turmoil (Dominique Davis, Mark Herzlich, etc.), I would have preferred not to also have gone through a coaching staff overhaul.

Posted by Block-C Staff

This week we traded blows with some of our favorite ACC bloggers, From the Rumble Seat (formerly The Legacy x4), in what will hopefully be a semi-entertaining, semi-informative nugget of information for you. If not, then go step on some broken glass. Check out our responses over at their site.

You thought I was joking when I asked you this earlier, but… Fuck you motherfucker, what now?!?!?

Don’t make me Blount you in the jaw!

Bitch. Bitch. Then why you be blinkin’? Then why you be blinkin’ fo’, bitch?!?!

Now you are asking to get Deaderick’d!

Didn’t you guys have a few fumbles against Jacksonville State? Maybe we had you pegged as a different team than you really are. What went wrong?

Underestimating our opponents.  That’s really why we think Nesbitt was running around all lackadaisical and such against Jax State.  Don’t expect him to underestimate the Tigers.  There will be a big difference between fumbles this year and fumbles last year.  Fumbles this year will be stripped from our ball carriers.  They won’t be from bad snaps or bad QB-BB meshes.  If an opponent wants a turnover, they’ll have to work for it.

Regarding DeAndre McDaniel’s quote:

“They didn’t run for that much on us last year (207 yards, fifth-lowest among Tech foes), and no offense, I think we’re a better defense this year,” McDaniel said Monday. “I don’t never see 400 yards getting put up on us.”

Ignoring the fact that “holding” an opponent to 400 yards isn’t exactly a Namath-like guarantee, what is your take on how Clemson’s defense will affect the option? Keep in mind, we almost beat you last year in the midst of a coaching change.

First off thanks to the Birddog...

“In 2002, Navy lost to UConn 38-0. The Mids only had 82 yards of total offense in that game. Randy Edsall made comments to the media afterwards that hinted at how he had Johnson’s offense figured out. They played again in 2006. This time, Navy churned out 605 yards of offense and won, 41-17. After the season, UConn dropped Navy from its future schedules.”

There are many other examples of Paul Johnson remembering random acts and quotes and laying it on the opponent the next time. Is this the “next time”. Maybe so. If you feel like reading that entire post from the Birddog, I think it lays it out fairly well as to why “defending the triple option” is so difficult. Right when you think you know what’s going on, BAM! the team goes to the left instead of the right. I encourage all of you to peruse the Birddog’s website if you want to learn more about the offense and what teams have to done to attempt to defend it. Simply search “Paul Johnson” and you’ll get everything you need. We also played like crap last year. Just because we won 9 games doesn’t mean they were well-played. If Clemson wants to accurately defend the option they need a good mix of discipline and freedom. They need eyes in the front and on both sides of their head honestly.

Demaryius Thomas is catching passes. He had over 100 yards for the Jax State game. WTF, guys. How successful are you at passing?  Is he your only target?

No, we don’t really have another legitimate wide receiver threat at this point.  Demaryius “Bay-Bay” Thomas caught 53% of all our passes last season and accounted for 49% of the receiving yardage.  I don’t expect these numbers to change much being our number one receiver again this year.  He will definitely have more yardage but distributing the ball over a multitude of wide receivers is not CPJ’s game. If you wanted to see another wide receiver who has the potential to get the ball in the air more look for redshirt freshman Kevin Cone. He was impressive in fall practice and worked his way into the two-deep.

What’s the major thing (sans ball carrying) that you guys need to work on for Thursday night?

Our defensive line needs to pick it up. Besides Derrick Morgan, the line seems to be lacking and it was shown against Jacksonville State. Losing Darryl Richard, Michael Johnson and Vance Walker was a big’n. We must pressure the quarterback!

Regarding Brandon Maye’s quote:

“Clemson devoted lots of preseason prep time to the Jackets’ offense, taking time in spring as well as several days last month. The motivation, said middle linebacker Brandon Maye, was getting a jump on this shortened preparation week.”

Clemson has been game-planning Tech since well before the season, did GT do the same for the Tigers, and if not, what does that say about each team?

Georgia Tech did not game plan for Clemson weeks in advance like the Tigers did. CPJ said himself that we focused more on Jacksonville State. We lost a lot on defense last year and all reports indicate that we were more worried about solidifying our defensive personnel than tailoring a defense to match your offense. Offensively, Paul Johnson will do what he wants and where he wants. We’ll see something nifty or new in the game on Thursday, count on it.

Does Jonathan Dwyer have a good complement in this offense? If so, ‘splain please.

While Jonathan Dwyer has been given the “star player” title, many have forgotten about the quality running back positions in the A-back slots, most notably Anthony Allen and Roddy Jones. Every one of those players has a role that they are given and they do it well. When one runs poorly, the entire team suffers. For you Clemson fans, Anthony Allen is a Louisville transfer who sat out last year. He brings fire, grit, and determination to the backfield. Take all those characteristics plus blazing speed and you have a nasty weapon.

So tell us, how geeked up do you get driving the Wreck around the stadium?

Man, I was stoked! My face was also sweating like crazy because of an overdose of excitement and nervousness. When Paul Johnson told me to go (even though TV was not ready) it was time to go and either sink or swim! Luckily I made it without hitting any cheerleaders. The Clemson rideout is going to be even more intense, loud and just awesome!

Video evidence of said account provided below.  If you listen closely, you can hear an irate Paul Johnson yelling at Winfield to get the wreck going.

Posted by Willy Mac

Since there aren’t any MTSU bloggers out there, I figured that we should reach out to Mark Packer, of syndicated radio fame.  Mark, as you may or may not know, is Class of ’85 but unfortunately got stuck up in North Carolina trying to entertain the snobs above the border. You can check out his personal sports blog Pack Smack. Also, don’t forget to check out this year’s Southern Fried Football tour and remember to check out the babes sections of seasons past while you’re there too.

In preparation, I talked to Mark about the Blue Raiders to see what he knew about them and he knows about as much as we do: The Stockstill connection and the fact that they’re around 19 point dogs right now. Then I asked Mark some general, slightly crazy, slightly left field questions when I apparently had anger sharks swimming around and this is what we came up with. This should be a great reminder of why he’s syndicated on radio stations across the southeast and I, uh… well I just run a blog in my spare time.

From what I’m seeing, the ACC is going to be largely dominated by 7-8 win teams again this year with Virginia Tech hopefully breaking the mold and winning our BCS game. Briefly, what are your thoughts on how things will shake out. Will we have a ton of bowl invites again? Will we be doormats for everyone else?

I think the ACC is primed for another year of quality depth and a lack of star-power at the top. With all the solid returning QBs in the league, it wouldn’t surprise me to see at least 8 ACC teams qualify for bowls this season. Granted it is becoming ridiculous that we have 34 bowl games, so it screams for a ton of 6-6 and 7-5 teams in the post-season. I don’t think the ACC will be the “doormats” in ’09, that distinction should land to the Big East which couldn’t place a single team in the pre-season Top 25. But the ACC title still goes through Blacksburg in 2009.

Do you think there is a good chance that ACC will break the mold in the coming years and become a “stronger” conference with a “clear” leader? Or will the SEC homers just yell louder and more frequently about how great they are? (We did beat them head to head in regular season last year…)

It’s hard to rip the SEC when they continue to dominate the BCS and the post-season. You don’t have to like them, but you must respect them. The last three seasons, the SEC is 19-7 in bowl games, won 3 BCS titles and has lost only 1 BCS game (Bama to Utah last year in the Sugar)….that’s impressive.

The ACC needs the combination of the Sunshine state and Clemson to step up….it’s that simple. Those schools consist of the “football mentality” that have either a reputation of winning titles and/or a rabid fanbase. The Hokies are carrying their entire load for the ACC…if FSU, Miami or Clemson could get it going along with VT….the league would be much better off.

Hypothetical situation: If we got the Chik-Fil-A or Gaylord bowls again, would you like to see a rematch of Clemson vs. South Carolina (Considering any result of the post-Thanksgiving showdown)?

I would hate to see a rematch between USC and Clemson under that scenario. What makes the game so special is that it’s once a year…loser leave town match….bragging rights at stake….it’s a great game for the fans regardless if it’s played in Death Valley or Columbia. I would not be in favor of a rematch between these two teams or anybody else. Just a few years ago, there was all this rhetoric that Michigan and Ohio State should have a rematch after their epic #1-#2 showdown in Columbus. They both proceeded to get smashed in the bowl game. South Carolina and Clemson should meet once a year on the gridiron.

If we’re actually wanting to present a stronger image as a conference, then why does our championship game move around every chance they get??? Couldn’t we hold the bad boy in Charlotte or something so it’d be semi-neutral? What can we do to get a stronger fan showing at the championship game instead of having it look like a televised Division II game?

The ACC title game moves around because of politics. Jacksonville and Tampa have been given gifts from the ACC, and to be honest with you, neither city has done squat with the event. I’ll predict that when the game gets to Charlotte, it will find it’s permanent home.

Keep in mind that as great as the SEC and Big XII title games have become, both of them moved around before finding the “right fit”. At least the SEC in Atlanta makes sense, and the Big XII still is a work in progress. The ACC Championship game will be a hit in the Queen City.

What is unfortunate for the ACC this year is that the title game is in the prime time slot….the league better hope that the “right teams” make it. Can you imagine a Georgia Tech – Boston College game in prime time? That would not help the league’s reputation…..but Charlotte will support the event better than Jacksonville and Tampa.

Do you think that Swofford even really cares about ACC Football as much as he does ACC basketball. I mean, it’s obvious that we’re stronger in round ball, but it seems as if we’re getting surpassed by other conferences and he just seems to roll his tongue around in his mouth and do nothing. Perhaps we were jinxed as a conference after raiding the Big East?

John Swofford absolutely cares about football. After the SEC’s latest TV bonanza, he better figure out a way for the conference to match the TV rights-fees that they have received from the television partners. We all know that ACC basketball pulls their weight, it’s time for the football to start carrying the load, too. It is imperative that the conference gets a couple of big-time football teams to join the BCS mix….Virginia Tech has done it…who else is going to step up? It is a prime opportunity for Clemson, but can they do it?

How do you think Dabo will pan out at Clemson?

The Dabo question is a tough one. I really like the guy. How can you not like Dabo? The question is can he coach? I know he can recruit…I know he can get along with the boosters, fans and potential recruits and players…..but can he put together a quality staff and win consistently on gamedays?

At this moment, I don’t know the answer…and I don’t think anybody else knows, either. It’s so early in his tenure, but I thought he did a nice job under a tough circumstance in 2008. What I do know is that if he does win, and win big…he will be a dominant force in the ACC. Everything is in place for Clemson to get back to the glory days…now they have to prove it by winning. It sounds easy, but it’s not.