SB Nation - Wake Forest Demon Deacons

BC Set To Open 2010 Season Against ...

Brian @ BCI — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:54:50 -0000

More photos » by Andy Carpenean - AP

3 months ago: Wyoming free safety Chris Pprosinski (24) makes an open field tackle on Weber State wide receiver Joe Collins during the second half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 in Laramie, Wyo. (AP Photo/Laramie Boomerang, Andy Carpenean)

Browse more photos »

... Weber State?

Like I said, I don't fault the Athletics Department for going the I-AA route, but could we have found a I-AA school a little closer than Utah? (Yes, Weber State is located in Utah. And yes, I had to look this up. I'm just not up on my Big Sky geography like I used to be.) Weber State reportedly reached out to the Athletics Department and was happy scheduling the one-off game.

The Weber State Wildcats are an FCS team from the Big Sky Conference. This past season, the Wildcats went 7-5 and lost to William & Mary 38-0 in the FCS playoffs. Weber State played Division I-A opponents Wyoming and Colorado State this year, losing both in close games.

The 2010 non-conference schedule appears to be finalized now. BC gets Weber State (Sept. 4), Kent State (Sept. 11) and Notre Dame (Oct. 2) at home, and travels to Syracuse on Thanksgiving weekend (likely Nov. 27). The Eagles' ACC schedule includes Virginia Tech, Clemson, Maryland and Virginia at home, and Wake Forest, Florida State, NC State and Duke on the road.

It appears that Jeff's dream of a Boston College-UConn football game will have to wait at least another decade or so.

Week Fourteen BlogPoll Ballot Draft

T Kyle King — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:52:12 -0000

The time has come to cast my final regular-season BlogPoll ballot---or, at least, I think it has; I’m assuming we’re not submitting new top 25s after next weekend’s Army-Navy game---and here is what I came up with after starting with a blank piece of paper:

Rank	Team	Delta

1	Alabama
2	Cincinnati	2
3	Texas
4	Boise State	1
5	TCU	1
6	Florida	4
7	Oregon
8	Ohio State
9	Georgia Tech	1
10	Iowa	1
11	West Virginia	9
12	LSU	1
13	Arizona
14	Oregon State	2
15	Southern Cal
16	Virginia Tech	5
17	Stanford
18	Miami (Florida)	4
19	Pittsburgh	7
20	California	1
21	Oklahoma State	2
22	Brigham Young	1
23	Nebraska	1
24	Penn State	7
25	Wisconsin	1
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: Houston (#18), Central Michigan (#25).

The Alabama Crimson Tide (13-0) are No. 1. Duh! Of the dozen Division I-A opponents beaten by Nick Saban’s squad, nine finished with winning records, including the sixth-ranked Florida Gators, the twelfth-ranked LSU Tigers, and the 16th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. The Tide’s only close calls came in rivalry games against teams who will be playing on New Year’s Eve or later.

In spite of their close call against the Pittsburgh Panthers in a game played in the snow featuring two botched extra point attempts, the Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0) captured the No. 2 spot on my ballot by virtue of seven regular-season wins over teams that finished above .500, among them the 11th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers, the 14th-ranked Oregon St. Beavers, and 19th-ranked Pitt. Also, Cincy gets credit for having a logo reminiscent of Chick-fil-A's.

While I understand and respect C&F’s argument, I awarded the No. 3 ranking to the Texas Longhorns (13-0) because Mack Brown’s outfit went undefeated against a slate that included no Division I-AA schedule fodder and only four teams that posted losing ledgers. Wins over the No. 21 Oklahoma St. Cowboys and the No. 23 Nebraska Cornhuskers provided heft to the Big 12 standard-bearer’s resume.

I ranked the Boise St. Broncos (13-0) ahead of the TCU Horned Frogs (12-0) for a variety of reasons. Both took advantage of a Division I-AA victim and each faced five Division I-A teams with winning records, but Boise State has an additional win and Texas Christian has two close shaves (at Air Force and at Clemson) as opposed to the Broncos’ one (at Tulsa). Boise State’s second- and third-best wins (over Nevada and Fresno State) are comparable to the Frogs’ (over Utah and Clemson), but the Broncos’ marquee victory over the seven-ranked Oregon Ducks far outshines TCU’s best pelt, that of the 22nd-ranked BYU Cougars.

The Sunshine State Saurians (12-1) slipped to sixth after their less than competitive neutral site outing against ‘Bama, as befits the nation’s lone once-beaten team, and Oregon (10-2) led the parade of two-loss teams because the Ducks fell to two quality teams on the road and made up for those setbacks with wins over three teams ranked in my top 20 (Arizona, Oregon State, and Cal).

The Ohio St. Buckeyes (10-2) earned a No. 8 ranking on the strength of wins over the tenth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, the 24th-ranked Penn St. Nittany Lions, and the 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-2) rode their ~~fourth-place finish in the SEC East~~ ACC championship to the No. 9 ranking, although the Ramblin’ Wreck’s loss to the Georgia Bulldogs at home serves as a drag on a resume that includes five close calls in the Golden Tornado’s ten Division I-A wins. Only two of the Engineers’ victims finished with fewer than five losses, but one of those triumphs came over No. 16 VPI.

Iowa (10-2) carded quality victories over a trio of top 25 teams (Arizona, Penn State, and Wisconsin, all by double-digit margins) to overcome respectable losses to Ohio State and Northwestern, both of whom will be playing on New Year’s Day. (For whatever it might be worth, I would point out that the five BCS bowls pit No. 9 v. No. 10, No. 7 v. No. 8, No. 4 v. No. 5, No. 2 v. No. 6, and No. 1 v. No. 3 on my ballot. This ought to be a pretty good bowl season.)

West Virginia narrowly edged out Louisiana State in my estimation. Both teams boasted similar resumes: both finished 9-3; both won three games by a touchdown or less; both lost one game by a touchdown or less. However, as ashamed as I am to admit it, the Mountain Men’s win over Pitt counts for more this season than the Bayou Bengals’ win over Georgia. I know, it hurts me to admit that, too; visions of Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino will haunt my dreams tonight.

A glut of 8-4 clubs out of the Pac-10 proved difficult to untangle, but I declared the Arizona Wildcats first among equals by awarding Mike Stoops’s troops the No. 13 ranking. Three of Arizona’s four losses came on the road, two of them were nailbiters, and only one of them was the handiwork of a team with fewer than eight wins. The Wildcats carded victories over No. 14 Oregon State, the 15th-ranked USC Trojans, and the 17th-ranked Stanford Cardinal, with Central Michigan thrown in for good measure.

The Beavers landed right behind Arizona, partly because of wins over Cal and Stanford but mostly because of a quartet of quality losses. Oregon State’s four setbacks all came against opponents sporting eight or more wins, and, of the four, only the one against the No. 2 team in the country wasn’t a close call.

I will grant that it appears somewhat strange that I placed Stanford at No. 17, two spots behind Southern California (a club the Cardinal beat handily in Los Angeles) and three spots ahead of the California Golden Bears (a squad that defeated Jim Harbaugh’s outfit at the Farm), but Stanford had no legitimate third-best victory after the Cardinal’s wins over Oregon and USC to overcome the trio of triumphs notched by the Men of Troy over Ohio State, Oregon State, and Cal. Likewise, the Bears of Berkeley had trouble overcoming the fact that all four of their losses came by margins of 17 points or more. Oddly enough, Southern California, Stanford, and California each lost to a 5-7 team on the road, but the Trojans’ loss to the Washington Huskies and the Cardinal’s loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at least had the virtue of being close.

Sandwiched amid those West Coast outfits were No. 16 Virginia Tech (9-3), which beat top 25 teams Miami and Nebraska while sustaining three respectable defeats (including two to top ten squads); the 18th-ranked Miami Hurricanes (9-3), who are able to boast of a marquee win over Georgia Tech; and 19th-ranked Pittsburgh (9-3), which sneaked ahead of California by virtue of a more forgivable set of losses. The Panthers’ three setbacks all came by close margins, with two of those coming in down-to-the-wire clashes with top eleven opponents Cincinnati and West Virginia. Pitt’s loss to N.C. State was comparable to Cal’s loss to Washington---both came on the road against 5-7 squads---but the Wolfpack won by seven and the Huskies won by 32.

The inclusion of Oklahoma State (9-3) attested to the fact that next year’s BlogPoll should rank only 20 teams instead of 25---which the Associated Press poll did prior to 1989, by the way---but somebody had to be No. 21, so the Pokes were as qualified as anyone. Why was Les Miles’s old team ranked nine spots behind Les Miles’s current team when both have identical records and both count a win over the ‘Dawgs among their most impressive conquests? Simple: LSU lost to three teams with a combined 33-5 record by a combined 62-41 margin, while OSU lost to three teams with a combined 30-8 record by a combined 113-49 margin.

BYU (10-2) had absolutely no business being ranked after getting positively smoked by TCU and the hapless Florida St. Seminoles, but Brigham Young beat the Oklahoma Sooners and the Utah Utes, which counts for something. Nebraska (9-4) did little to impress me in the win column---the ‘Huskers beat only two teams with winning records---but, since all of the Big Red Machine’s losses were to teams that finished .500 or better and three of those were by razor-thin margins, I gave Bo Pelini’s team the benefit of the doubt.

The fact that Penn State (10-2) and Wisconsin (9-3) made the grade proves that I was scraping the bottom of the barrel; both the Nittany Lions and the Badgers lost convincingly to the Big Ten’s two top ten teams and neither beat more than two Division I-A teams that finished above .500, but the dearth of quality squads at the bottom of my ballot allowed a PSU team whose best win was against Temple and a Wiscy unit whose best win was against Fresno State to sneak undeservedly into the top 25.

Consideration was also given to the Boston College Eagles and the Mississippi Rebels. I’d like to tell you that I took a look at the Central Michigan Chippewas, East Carolina Pirates, Houston Cougars, Missouri Tigers, Navy Midshipmen, North Carolina Tar Heels, Northwestern Wildcats, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and Texas Tech Red Raiders, but, if I said so, I’d be lying.

I watched the Oregon-Oregon State game on Thursday, the Central Michigan-Ohio (Ohio) game on Friday, and a Saturday slate consisting primarily of the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh, Alabama-Florida, and Clemson-Georgia Tech games, with bits of the Nebraska-Texas and Hawaii-Wisconsin tilts sprinkled in for variety.

As always, I actively solicit your input with respect to what is, after all, a draft ballot. Feel free to register your disagreement or lobby for or against particular teams in the comments below.

Go ‘Dawgs!

The Coaching Carousel's Effect on BC 2010

Brian @ BCI — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:25:27 -0000

More photos » by Richard Shiro - AP

Virginia's Al Groh is one of three coaches who won't be roaming the sidelines against the Eagles next season. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro)

Browse more photos »

Brian: We aren’t three full days past the end of the regular season in college football and the axe has already been dropped on three of Boston College’s 2010 opponents’ head coaches.

Meanwhile, down in College Park, Ralph Friedgen’s future remains uncertain. Looking at the 2010 schedule, here is the Eagles’ list of opponents, their head coaches, and their current tenure at their school:

Opponent	Head Coach	Years	W	L	T	Pct.
Notre Dame	TBD	0	0	0	0	.000
VIRGINIA	TBD	0	0	0	0	.000
@ FLORIDA STATE	Jimbo Fisher	0	0	0	0	.000
@ Syracuse	Doug Marrone	1	4	7	0	.364
CLEMSON	Dabo Swinney	2	12	7	0	.632
@ DUKE	David Cutcliffe	2	9	15	0	.375
@ NC STATE	Tom O'Brien	3	16	21	0	.432
Hofstra	Dave Cohen	4	18	27	0	.400
Kent State	Doug Martin	6	24	46	0	.343
MARYLAND	Ralph Friedgen	9	66	46	0	.589
@ WAKE FOREST	Jim Grobe	9	59	51	0	.536
VIRGINIA TECH	Frank Beamer	17	185	92	2	.663

With over half of BC’s opponents having coaching staffs with less than 3 years of experience at the program, this has to be a positive for the Eagles going into next season, no?

Jeff: I would have to agree with you that this is a positive for BC, at least as it pertains to our in conference games. Let's say Maryland decides to make a coaching change as well. Then the Eagles will play 3 conference games against new coaches plus Notre Dame. I will expect victories in all three of those games with the Virginia and Maryland home games certainly being the most winnable conference games of next season. The Notre Dame game I am a little less confident about though because won't their new coach come in and win 9 or 10 games and take them to a BCS game which will then get him a contract extension?

Brian: Perhaps. But Notre Dame likely will have to get to 9 or 10 wins without the services of Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, who both might jump to the NFL draft. In addition, the Notre Dame defense has been terrible this year. I'm not sure how they turn around their defensive unit. Finally, the schedule is much less forgiving next year than it was this year.

Regardless, looking at these programs and the tenure of the head coaches at those schools, you have to be pleased with how the schedule is shaping up. Consider that the coaches at Hofstra and Kent State will be two of the more tenured coaching staffs on the Eagles 2010 schedule.

Jeff: This is the first time we've really talked about next year's schedule and the ACC slate looks awesome. Since we learned this year the importance of BC's home field advantage, having Clemson and Virginia Tech come to the Heights next year looks to be a huge advantage. In addition, Florida State is the only road game we'll have against a team that is bowl eligible this season. Despite Duke improving this year, they are still Duke and Thaddeus Lewis played his last game Saturday. Without Riley Skinner, traveling to Wake Forest does not appear to be a very high hurdle either.

Brian: The trip to Winston-Salem always seems to give the Eagles fits. Tom O'Brien should also have the Wolfpack improved from this year. And sleeping on Duke is a dangerous proposition (just ask Virginia, Maryland and NC State). That being said, three trips to the Research Triangle, a road trip down I-90 to play Syracuse and a trip to Tallahassee to play first year coach Jimbo Fisher seems like a much more manageable away schedule than this year's gauntlet that included trips to Death Valley, Lane Stadium and Notre Dame Stadium.

Unlike this year where the Eagles played nine bowl teams, BC will only face four bowl teams in 2010. Two (possible three?) of those teams will have new head coaches. Not exactly a murderer's row for next season. The turnover in the coaching staffs at Notre Dame, Virginia, Florida State and potentially Maryland all help make the schedule that much more manageable in 2010.

Wake Forest downs Duke, 45-34

MRickman84 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:14:39 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

Browse more photos »

In a fitting end to his career, Riley Skinner threw for a career high 391 yards and 5 touchdowns in route to a 45-34 win over Duke.

Full recap after the jump...

Plain and simple, this was a better team than their 5-7 record. And today really proved that. Skinner showed why he was one of the best, if not the best player in Wake Forest history with his career day. Wake started out in a shootout, with Duke setting the tone and the Deacs matching punch for punch.

The Deacs had too much firepower in the end, as Marshall Williams had 8 catches for 120 yards and a TD, finishing a truly stellar season. Devon Brown had 10 catches for 97 yards and 2 TDs and Chris Givens had 79 yards and a TD on 5 catches. Wake Forest fans have a lot to be excited for, as all three of these receivers will be returning next year.

This team deserved to make a bowl. It hurts because there were so many close games that just got away from them. A big part of that had to do with missed opportunities, but as only real life can play out, Alex Frye intercepted Thaddeus Lewis for a TD near the end of the 4th quarter. Frye, who was in the doghouse most of the year, sealed the win with the TD and gave the defense the big play they had been missing most of the season.

It's easy to play the what if game, but in the end, this senior class, coupled with the senior class from last year, was the most successful in Wake Forest history, and there is so much to thank them for. It is great to go out on a win and there is a lot to look forward to in the future.

Saturday NFL Draft watch notes

Mocking Dan — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:59:19 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

Browse more photos »

• The Clemson/South Carolina game features two of the best 3-4 outside linebacker prospects in Ricky Sapp (Clemson) and Eric Norwood (South Carolina). Both are seniors and having good seasons. Norwood might be the most-ready college player for a 3-4 outside linebacker spot, but Sapp's physical tools give him more upside.

• The North Carolina/North Carolina State game also features top 3-4 linebacker prospects in junior Bruce Carter (North Carolina) and senior Willie Young (NC State). Quietly, Young is putting together a solid year with 12 tackles for a loss and eight sacks. Carter is much stronger and is good at handling the run and the pass.

As mentioned previously here at MTD, North Carolina has perhaps the best group of junior talent on defense in the nation. Tackle Marvin Austin is full of athleticism. His numbers may be down, but he consistently faces double teams. Middle linebacker Quan Sturdivant leads the team in tackles with 71 and an impressive 12 tackles for loss. Strong safety Deunta Williams is a big hitter with six interceptions. Cornerback Kendric Burney might be short, but he's a playmaker.

• The key players in the Wake Forest/Duke game are interior defensive linemen. Wake's Boo Robinson is an underrated pocket pusher and Duke's Vince Oghobaase is incredibly athletic.

• Syracuse running back Delone Carter has injury problems throughout his career, but he's been a solid player this season. He's only a junior, but someone to keep an eye on. In the last three weeks, he's rushed for 339 yards and two scores.

• While teammate Carlos Dunlap has had a very disappointing season, Jermaine Cunningham has shown to be a solid contributor. He might not be a starter at the next level, but he can be a solid contributing backup because he can get after the passer and is decent against the run.

• Ole Miss running back/wide receiver Dexter McCluster has been one of the most buzzy-worthy player the last two weeks. Against Tennessee and LSU, he rushed for a combined 430 yards and four touchdowns. He's very undersized, but could be the next Darren Sproles.

• The LSU defense has plenty of NFL players, so it will be one of the biggest challenges Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett faces all season. Third nationally in pass efficiency, Mallett has 3,195 yards passing and 28 touchdowns this season. The redshirt sophomore seems ready for the NFL right now. A big game against the Tigers today, and maybe he should enter.

• Hey, remember Eric Berry? You know, the Tennessee safety. One of the best players in the nation? His pass defense numbers – two interceptions, six pass breakups – might be down this year, but he's played more against the run. This is just a friendly reminder that the junior is still one of the top five players in the nation.

Deacon Dump 11/26: turkey, stuffing and links

MRickman84 — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:41:23 -0000

Happy t-giving all. Obviously, it'll be a bit slow at BSD today, but Jake gave us a nice solid recruiting article to snack on, so definitely check that out.

Wake Forest Tops High Point, 76-52 - WAKE FOREST OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Sandra Garcia added 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Demon Deacons as the Wake Forest women's basketball team topped High Point 76-52 on Wednesday afternoon. Wake Forest improves to 5-0 with the win and High Point evens out a 2-2.

Sweet Sixteen lineup comprised of familiar names - NCAA - ESPN Soccernet
Duke vs. No. 3 Wake Forest These ACC foes meet for the 40th time, this time with the season on the line. Duke (14-6) holds a 21-13-5 advantage overall, but hasn't beaten Wake Forest since the 2006 ACC tournament. The Demon Deacons' most recent win over the Blue Devils -- a 3-0 win at Wake Forest on Nov. 6 -- is certainly a recent memory for both teams. Duke has plenty of incentive and motivation to beat its in-state and conference rival, but No. 3 seed Wake Forest (15-3-3) is a formidable, and lately dominant, opponent. The Demon Deacons know what it takes to win it all and will do everything they can to assure themselves a place in the College Cup semifinals for the fourth straight year. Getting past the Blue Devils is another step in that direction.

NBA Draft: Stock Watch | Flagrant Fouls
Last year Aminu played a complimentary role on a star studded cast that sent two players to the league in the first round. Anyone who watched that team play more than once knew that the best player was still a freshman. With the white gloves off Farouq has been let out of the cage and has become the team’s best player and go to scorer. One of the knocks on his game was that he is 6-8 and did most of his damage from 6 feet and inwards. Thus far Aminu is averaging 23.3 pts per game through three contests and has been showing shooting range out to and beyond the three point stripe. The most impressive part about those stats is he is only attempting eleven field goals per game. If he can maintain this torrid pace against some of the tough ACC competition, scouts will be talking about Aminu in the top five picks. Current Draft Projection: #6 to #12

The Legacy of Riley Skinner: Deacons' record-setting quarterback helped turn sagging program around
"He's the All-American kid," teammate John Russell said. "He has that look and that attitude and the confidence. You know he's a quarterback, just in the way he carries himself. "He would be the quarterback on the football team, the point guard on the basketball team and the pitcher on the baseball team. That's just the kind of guy he is."

Jim Caldwell is the Indianapolis Colts' invisible man - ESPN
"I mean, we were really bad," says LaRue. "And some of that was that he was a first-time head coach. I think he was learning a lot, as well. But he never broke down. He obviously expressed that the things we were doing weren't good enough, but he never demeaned us or put us down in any way."

Wake Forest guard Ish Smith, center David Weaver swap roles for a game : News-Record.com
"You know what?" Smith said. "I think the doctor must've put some extra springs in my foot along with those screws when I got hurt (last year). Seriously, it's just all off reaction. Everybody's going to play me for the pass this year, and I knew the guy (defending me) thought I was going to throw the alley-oop to Farouq (Aminu). So I just took off. It felt like I had angel wings or something. … Hopefully, I've got a few more of those in me."

One last chance at history for Wake's seniors - Associated Press
Wake Forest's 22 seniors figured it was only a matter of time before they took their place as the winningest class in school history. Turns out, it's taken much longer than they thought - and now they're down to their last chance to get it done. The Demon Deacons' seniors have been chasing that elusive 33rd career win for 1 1/2 months, and they enter their finale against Duke on a five-game losing streak.

Quick Thoughts: Through UVa, Early Week Thoughts for USC

FIGUREFOUR — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:20:35 -0000

More photos » by Richard Shiro - AP

20 days ago: Clemson's C.J. Spiller (28) acknowledges fans during the first half of their NCAA college football game against Virginia, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, at Memorial Stadium in Clemson S.C. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro)

Browse more photos »

I think we are all pleased that Dabo Swinney, in his first full season at the helm of the Clemson football program, finally meshed the talent that Clemson has recruited with more intensity, enthusiasm, and a winning attitude to completely transform the program from where Tom Bowden left it just over a year ago after getting crushed by Alabama, giving one away to a bad Maryland team, then looking completely inept against Wake Forest. There is nothing like promoting your receivers coach to clean up an underachieving mess. It was also refreshing to see Swinney remove the Mad Scientist from his role, add Pearman, Steele, etc... to the staff, and come out with lots of energy all season. Interestingly, Swinney's contract calls for the 40 year-old coach to receive a nice (approx $1 million) bonus due to Clemson earning a spot in next month's championship game. Not too shabby for the former Crimson Tide walk-on. This incentive-laden contract really was beneficial for both parties.

The Virginia game was, by itself, not entirely impressive other than the fact that Clemson came in and was able to to take care of business and lock up sole possession of 1st place in the Atlantic regardless of how BC plays next week. The defense was obviously confused by the Wildcat formation and the misdirection/trickery from the Wahoos. The defense, led by senior Ricky Sapp, did get it together in the second half to pitch a shutout over the final 30 minutes. I was happy to see this group get after the Virginia QB late in the game and record a half dozen sacks in the final period of the game. Clemson also forced two fumbles on the afternoon, giving this defense 29 turnovers this season. Winning the turnover battle has been extremely important for the Tiger this year because it limits the opponent's touches while keeping them on their heels all game long. I was happy to see Da'Quan Bowers in the game for a handful of plays Saturday. Hopefully he will be ready to go this weekend against Carolina then next again against Tech. Bowers gives us a lot of athleticism and creates depth along the defensive line. Clemson was aided in the second half by an injury to Mikell Simpsonon Virginia's final TD to end the half. Al Groh elaborated after the game on this loss and the how it limited the ability of the Cavaliers and their wildcat strategy.

C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford combined for two great senior efforts to conclude their Death Valley careers, with both tallying touchdowns and Ford breaking the 100 yard receiving threshold on the day. Kyle Parker again had a steady day, compleing 19 of 26 passes for 234 yards and 2 tds. His maturation over the course of this season combined with an exceptionally strong arm and decent mobility set Parker up to be a great collegiate QB should he chose to avoid professional baseball. I was a little disappointed not to see Willy Korn in a mop-up role. His future at Clemson appears to be all but sealed with Parker's success this season and Tajh Boyd becoming available next season. Both Andre Ellington and Jamie Harperboth ran well here, with Ellington punching the rock in for a 3rd quarter TD. Once again, Clemson got good consistent play from the TE's, with Michael Palmer having three grabs and Dwayne Allen bringing down an early TD catch. Rendrick Taylor got a couple looks Saturday. I really expected more out of Taylor over his CU career, but was pleased to see him get some work on senior day.

All in all, this team has played hard all season long. Clemson never gave up, even after the embarrasment at Maryland. In fact, I firmly believe that the meltdown at College Park may have spurned the offensive coaches to return to a more basic and focussed offensive strategy, featuring only the proven playmakers (Spiller, Ford, and the TE's). Since laying an egg against the Terps, Clemson has not been defeated. The defense has continued its solid play and the offense has scored 34 or more points in each of those six contests. The improved play calling and execution coupled with a more focussed attack has silenced both critics of Swinney and Steele. As we pointed out earlier in the season,inexperience from the offensive staff as well as the QB position was a huge question mark, and both areas should immprove as each member gets more real game repetitions week in and week out.

On to our feathered friends in Columbia. South Carolina's season began well and has really tapered off over the balance of the games. After opening the year with a 5-1 record, the Gamecocks (6-5 overall, 3-5 in the SEC) have lost 4 of the past 5 games, with the lone win coming in a low-scoring affair against Vanderbilt. At some points this season, USC has looked like a really good team. Other times, South Carolina has struggled against teams they probably should have beaten handily (Vandy, Arkansas, NCST, and Kentucky come to mind). SOS has openly stated that he has and will continue to have more influence on playcalling and game flow.

This year's team features a talented defense and improved offense. Eric Norwood, school leader in sacks, is the best player on the team. He is a great athlete who runs well and has a nose for the football. Clifton Geathers is a pretty good defensive end, and the secondary (lead by Chris Culliver) rotates in a lot of young but talented DB's. Offensively, this team is much improved from a year ago. Steven Garcia getting more reps and actually participating in spring practice this year has paid off, as Garcia looks night and day better than he did last year. South Carolina has also found a couple of good, tall freshman receivers in Tori Gurley and Alshon Jeffery to compliment senior Moe Brown. Spurrier has repeatedly thrown jump balls the Jeffery, who has 29 receptions and 6 TD's on the season (including 3 TDs in a dominant performance against Kentucky). I really like TE Weslye Saunders. He is freaking huge (6'5", 280 lbs) is a good blocker and catches the ball well. This is one guy who can do some damage if he gets a full head of steam. Up front, bringing in Eric Wolford as offensive line coach has helped tremendously, as South Carolina's OL has improved dramatically since a year ago. Ellis Johnson (former Clemson, Alabama, and Mississippi State DC and Citadel HC) has been successful everywhere he has coached, and was also a quality hire for the Old Ball Coach.

Most of South Carolina's woes arise from depth and experience issues. While South Carolina has improved up front, their rushing attack is still sub-par. Kenny Miles, Jarvis Giles, and Brian Maddox share the carries for this team. I continually question why Maddox gets as many touches as he does because the two freshmen (Miles and Giles) are unquestionably better ball carriers than Maddux. South Carolina's size at receiver and tight end scares me a bit. Clemson likes to play man/man-press coverage, so this size advantage could be a big deal this weekend. Defensively, South Carolina is quick, but thin. The way to attack this defense is head on, as the Gamecocks lack quality depth at linebacker and up front. If you can get the starters tired, there is a nice opportunity to pound this team to death. USC's secondary is good and can hold its own against most any squad. The Alabama game was an excellent illustration of this point, as the Tide and Greg McElroy could do nothing through the air while Mark Ingram averaged 10 ypc and picked up almost 250 yards on the ground.

We will have much more insight on this contest as the week progresses. We are also looking to work with the Gamecock SBNation blog, Garnet And Black Attack, to provide some extra coverage and segments for this week's contest.

Below are highlights from last season's contest.

In Their Own Words: Florida State Football Talks Win Over Wake

FSUncensored — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:30:24 -0000

by Chuck Burton - AP

27 days ago: Florida State's E.J. Manuel (3) scrambles for a long gain against Wake Forest during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Winston-Salem, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. Florida State won, 41-28. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

View full size photo »

TV Note: Florida State plays Maryland this weekend. It will be a Noon game and shown on Raycom.

After the big win and RsFr. QB E.J. Manuel got his first big win, Fisher was very pleased with the whole performance. He said it was about as good as he could have hoped for. Everyone did the job that they were asked. He reluctantly complimented TY Jones, but then managed to insinuate that he was still pissed at Jones for not running the 3rd and 1 play correctly. Honestly, any back could have made the two nice runs Jones made. The offensive line blew those holes wide open. Then it was back to his usual coach-speak, talking about how the team all played within themselves and only controlled what they can control. He pointed out that the 'Noles had only 3 upperclassmen on offense. 1 Senior, 2 Juniors, 7 Sophomores, and 1 Freshman. And that's encouraging. (This says a lot about his ability to evaluate and develop talent and coach). Says Manuel has great instincts. Seems to be more nervous in drills than he is in a game. Fisher says he can coach 80% but there's a 20% feel aspect that hes to come from somewhere else and EJ has it. Fisher said he got on him a few times to see how he responded and thought he responded well. Of the 20 balls he threw, 3 were dropped. He completed 15. On the play-action, he does it very well. He's a natural, he's a very long guy, long arms and big hands, like Manning, and he extends the ball and it's a great natural fake. He said some other stuff as well, but that's all my buddy could remember.

As for Manuel himself, Andrew Carter caught up with him:

How were you able to stay so calm in the game?

Our practices are so high wire and Coach Fisher puts so much pressure on us in practice to perform, the game is really easy. It becomes second nature. Today was really a glorified practice.

Were you nervous?

When you're warming up I think everybody's nervous. They'd be lying if they said they weren't. The o-line they took care of me, the running backs did a good job, and the receivers did their job and the tight ends, and the defense took a lot of pressure off us.

Was there anything different about the offense with you starting?

The nakeds (bootlegs). I'm pretty good with my feet. I felt that's what Christian would have done, too. We saw it was open so we had to execute. We're a machine. That one piece got hurt but we're going to try to mend that up and keep moving as an offense

The rest is at that link.

Carter also caught up with injured quarterback Christian Ponder:

How was he able to stay so poised?

He has such high expectations for himself. We go out in practice and he prepares himself really well. That's the biggest thing. He knew what he was going to do, the preparation helped with his confidence.

His first pass was dropped, too (by Beau Reliford).

I know. That would have been a big one. If I were him I'd go slap Beau right there.

And Corey Clark has a nice article about getting Wake off FSU's back.

"I knew I could do it," Manuel said. "It's not even about me, though. I feel like the offense really helped me out and took a lot of pressure off of me. I didn't feel any pressure. The O-line protected me very well today."

"I thought their (offensive) line played really, really well," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. "They just did a nice job. They had a good game plan and their kids executed it. I was very impressed."

Also, please keep Democrat writer Steve Ellis in your prayers. Steve suffered a heart attack and is still in the hospital. He's covered the 'Noles for years and I met him this year during media day. He's a nice guy and I certainly have him in my prayers.

Inside, check out the animated drive chart and some other articles!

Here's a nice writeup from member PBD:

Green. It was very interesting to watch our coaches, especially on defense. It seems pretty clear to me that CTC is in charge of the defense. Mickey spent a lot of time watching the offense play while CTC talked to the defense. Mickey also played a more hands off role when the defense was on the field. He got on them a couple of times, but overall didn't seem to be involved in the overall execution of the game. He seemed to be more like a position coach than DC. Offensively, it's the Trickett and Jimbo show. If any of the other coaches are doing any coaching during the game, I didn't see it.

Okay, I have to go back to the defense. I could make a list of the things that they don't do at all, or that they had a major fail at during the game, but the thing that comes to mind first and foremost is that they don't make good decisions. I honsetly don't know if this is on the coaches or the players, but we many mistakes on defense. We had guys over-running their zone when we were in zone coverage. For example, Skinner rolled out and we rolle the zone to the side of the field, and rolled right out of bounds rather than tracking with the receivers in the zones...it was sad. We had guys making terrible decisions on getting to the ball carrier, almost like to avoid them. Mangum was exceptional at this...did it multiple times, including on the 20-ish yard TD run (far endzone, couldn't see where the ball was very well). Looked like the LB was being blocked and couldn't shed the block, and Mangum cut inside when Adams cut it outside. Almost looked like a dodge to me.

FULL SCREEN VERSION

Florida St. Seminoles at Wake Forest Demon Deacons 4th Quarter Open Thread

FSUncensored — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:27:12 -0000

Follow the rules, no pictures in game thread.

College Football Week 11 Morning Open Thread

Avinash — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:00:27 -0000

Injury reports for Cal-Arizona: Cal--Jahvid Best and Anthony Miller (out), Derrick Hill (doubtful), Matt Summers-Gavin (probable); Arizona--Greg Nwoko, Conan Amituanal and Nic Grigsby (questionable)

7 AM PST/10 AM EST
College Gameday from Dallas at TCU!

9 AM PST/noon EST
Tennessee at Ole Miss, CBS--Might not be interesting for this season, but the winner of this game could be a team to watch out for going into next season to be an SEC upstart.

Michigan State at Purdue, ESPN--Ugh. No.

Georgia Tech at Duke, ESPN2--You know, I hate Duke basketball almost as much (if you had to put a gun to my head and ask, "Bin Laden or Coach K", I'd probably have to think about it for awhile). But Duke football behind David Cutcliffe, one win away from bowl eligibility? Oh, I can so get behind that. Go Devils!

Florida State at Wake Forest, ESPNU--you're running out of chances to see the ol'football coach.

Texas at Baylor, FSN/CSN Bay Area--if Robert Griffin had been present, this would've been a fun game. Baylor would take a 10-0 lead then blow it in the 4th quarter. As it is, another Longhorn blowout.

Houston at UCF, CBS College TV--I'm guessing if I had to rewatch one team's games this season, it's going to have to be Case Keenum and his Cougars.

Kentucky at Vanderbilt, SEC TV/CSN California--The SEC is on pace to have ten of twelve teams be bowl eligible. Gotta love how beating up on patsies is not only strategically encouraged, but economically encouraged too.

9:30 AM PST/12:30 PM EST
Missouri at Kansas State, Versus HD--A win by Kansas State and a loss by Nebraska punches their ticket to the Big 12 Championship game. Or they can just beat Nebraska next week in Lincoln. All hail Bill Snyder.

Poll

I'm _____________________ about today's games.

excited

7 votes

angry

3 votes

hopeful

26 votes

depressed

36 votes

drunk

11 votes

83 votes | Poll has closed