Welcome to another edition of What We Are Hearing!
It’s hard to believe it’s Military Appreciation Day already
and that there are only two home games left. ,The old adage is that they
remember November, and Cardiac Clemson began the month with yet another last-minute
thriller. The Tigers have played 8 games against FBS opponents, and all 8 were
still in question in the final 5 minutes. 7 of them were still in doubt in the
final minute! The Tigers trailed Louisville on the road for almost the entire
game before taking their first lead with 4:12 remaining. It looked like the
Cardinals were going to win their first-ever game against the Tigers when they
had first and goal from the 2-yard-line with a minute left, but the Clemson
defense proved once again that you should never bet against them getting a
stop, no matter how impossible it may seem. They came up with a 4-play
goal-line stand for the ages to secure the 30-24 win and keep the Tigers’ hopes
of a 7th straight ACC title alive. It was the first time against an FBS
opponent that the Tigers’ offense scored 30 points. They beat FSU 30-20 last
week, but the final score was by the defense as time ran out. So the offense is
slowly getting better, both in the run game and pass game, but the injuries
continue to plague the Tigers, as I’ll get into later.
The Tigers are facing UConn for the first time in football.
Of course, most of us recall the heartbreaking Sweet 16 loss to UConn in
basketball back in 1990. It looked like Dale Davis, Elden Campbell and the
Tigers were headed to their second-ever Elite 8, but Tate George ripped their
hearts out with a buzzer-beater after a full-court pass that was nearly identical
to the one by Christian Laettner and Duke against Kentucky a couple years later.
Most consider that Duke play the greatest in college basketball history, but
they forget that UConn pulled the exact same trick against Clemson a couple
years before in the Sweet 16. That win really catapulted Jim Calhoun to a Hall
of Fame career at UConn, as they went on to win 4 national titles after that
win, which was the biggest in Calhoun’s young career at the time. The Huskies
may have bragging rights over the Tigers on the hard wood, but the Tigers will
have their chance to flex their muscles on the grid iron this Saturday, as
UConn has been mired for years as one of the weakest college football programs
in the nation. In fact, they fired longtime coach Randy Edsall early this season
and have a 1-8 record. They broke their losing streak on Oct.16 with a 21-15
win over in-state rival Yale but followed that up with a 44-13 loss to Middle
Tennessee. The Huskies did not play in 2020 due to Covid, and they were 2-10 in
2019 after a 1-11 record in 2018. Due to a scheduling quirk, the Huskies have
been off for the last two weekends, so this will be their first game in 3
weeks.
It should be beautiful football weather for our noon kickoff,
with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50’s. And nobody does Military
Appreciation Day better than Clemson! On to the matchup…
MISCELLANEOUS
Both Tim Bourret and yours truly, Trevor Groves, were born
in New Haven, Connecticut…This is the first-ever meeting between Clemson and
UConn in football…Clemson is 31-7 in one-score games since 2011, the best win
percentage in the nation over that span…Clemson (84-10) is three wins behind
Alabama (87-6) for the most since 2015. The Tigers (127) trail only Alabama (136)
for the most wins since 2011. They have 6 more than Ohio State. Clemson leads
the nation in Power Five wins (90) since 2013. Alabama has 88 and Ohio State
has 84 over that span....Clemson has beaten at least 12 Power Five opponents in
4 of the last 6 seasons. In college football history, that feat has only been
achieved 4 other times. Alabama, LSU, Georgia and FSU each accomplished it
once….The Tigers have won 10 or more games for 10 straight seasons, the
third-longest streak in history behind FSU (14) and Alabama (13), which is also
an active streak…The Tigers’ streak of 6 straight outright conference titles is
tied with Oklahoma’s active streak for the third-longest in history. Oklahoma
won 12 in the 40’s and 50’s and BYU won the WAC 7 straight times in the 70’s
and 80’s. However, Clemson is the only program to have won 6 straight
conference championship games….Clemson has finished in the top-4 of the AP Poll
in 6 consecutive seasons, tied with Bud Wilkinson’s Oklahoma teams for the
fourth-longest streak in history. FSU did so 13 straight seasons under the late
great Bobby Bowden, while USC and Miami have each done so 7 straight
seasons….Dabo Swinney has the best active win percentage in the nation at .802.
Nick Saban is second at .799….Dabo’s 146 wins are one behind Nebraska legend
Tom Osborne for fourth-most by a coach in his first 15 seasons, but Dabo is
only in his 13th full season. He could quite conceivably top Urban Meyer’s
record of 165 wins in his first 15 seasons….Dabo is fourth on the list of most games
coached as an ACC head coach….Clemson has been ranked No.1 in the AP Poll in
each of the last 6 seasons, which is the third-longest streak of all time
behind Alabama (14) and Miami (7). Alabama’s streak is also active….Clemson had
by far the longest active streak ranked in the top 5 of the AP Poll at 57
straight weeks before dropping to No.6 because of a pick-six in the opener
against now No.2 Georgia. Alabama was second at 21, followed by Georgia and
Oklahoma with just 4 each. If Clemson had remained in the AP top 5 until the
end of the regular season, it would have surpassed Alabama’s all-time record of
68. Clemson’s streak of 97 straight weeks in the AP top 10, which ended this
season, is the 3rd-longest streak in history behind Miami (137) and Alabama’s
current streak of 103…Since 2011, Clemson has finished with an equal or higher
ranking than its preseason ranking every year except for 2019 and 2020, the
only two years the Tigers have been ranked No.1 preseason. The Tigers were
ranked No.2 and No.3 in the 2021 preseason polls…
UCONN SYNOPSIS
Defensive Coordinator Lou Spanos has been serving as Interim
Head Coach since Randy Edsall was fired in the first week of September, but on Thursday,
it was announced that former UCLA and NFL Head Coach Jim Mora has been named
the new head coach of UConn. Mora will not officially take over until the end
of the month, so Spanos will remain the Huskies’ head coach on the sideline this
Saturday in Death Valley.
As mentioned, UConn is just 1-8 this season. They even lost
to UMass, ending a 16-game losing streak for that team. They’ve really
struggled offensively all season, but they somehow managed to nearly beat Vandy
of the “mighty SEC,” losing 30-28 on the road to the Commodores about a month
ago, a week before they lost to UMass. The Huskies are ranked No.124 in scoring
offense at 16.2 points per game and No.126 in total offense at 279.7 yards per
game. Sophomore Steven Krajewski took over as starting quarterback in their third
game of the season, the week Randy Edsall was fired, and will be making his
sixth career start. He’s averaged less than 200 pass yards per game, completing
56% of his passes, with 7 interceptions and only 6 touchdown passes. The 6’4, 216-pounder
is not a great runner, but he does have a pair of rush TD’s this season.
Freshman Tyler Phommachanh, younger brother of Clemson backup quarterback and
Connecticut native Taisun Phommachanh, started the Wyoming and Army games but
injured his leg in their game at Vandy and will miss the rest of the season. He
had a touchdown pass and two rush TD’s before the injury. You may recall that
Taisun tore his Achilles last spring at the end of the Orange & White Game
but made a shockingly fast return from rehab. So both brothers have suffered
serious injuries in the past 6 months. It’s kind of a shame we didn’t get to
see the brothers go head-to-head against each other in the second half!
At running back, 5’9, 194-pound freshman Nathan Carter (#26)
leads the way with 469 yards and one touchdown. He averages 4.5 yards per
carry. Their next back, Kevin Mensah, averages just 3.4 yards per carry and has
yet to score this season.
At receiver, 6’0, 197-pound freshman Keelan Marion (#1) is
their biggest weapon. The Atlanta native 18.3 yards per catch and has 5
touchdowns this season with just 23 total catches. 6’3, 205-pound freshman
Kevens Clercius (#86) has 16 catches and 2 touchdowns this season, and 5’9, 180-pound
freshman Aaron Turner (#5) leads the team with 25 catches but has yet to score.
So their top 3 receivers are all freshmen.
Defensively, the Huskies aren’t much better. They are ranked
No.119 in scoring defense, allowing 36 points per game, and No.107 in total
defense, allowing 437.4 yards per game. They average just over one sack per
game, which is No.124 nationally, and they have forced just 10 turnovers, which
is tied for No.99 nationally. Their turnover margin per game is -0.67, which is
tied for 113th. The Huskies average one interception per game. Jeremy Lucien (#21)
and Tre Wortham (#7) have 2 apiece. 6’4, 333-pound junior DT Travis Jones (#57)
leads the group of front with 3.5 sacks this season. Like myself and Tim
Bourret, he was born in New Haven.
The Huskies’ kicker, Joe McFadden, is 10-14 on the season
with a long of 47 yards.
CLEMSON STATUS
The plague of injuries that has befallen the Tigers this
season just won’t let up. Every week, it’s at least one new starter out, and the
latest casualty is Joseph Ngata, who will miss the next two games with a foot
injury. Fellow starter Frank Ladson is already out for the season and EJ
Williams has been playing hurt, but fortunately, freshman Beaux Collins has
emerged as a weapon for the offense. He had some bad drops earlier in the
season but has shown the ability to get behind the defense in recent weeks. He
had 6 catches for 104 yards at Louisville last week, including a 46-yarder for
the Tigers’ first score of the game. He’s also drawn a couple big pass
interference calls of late. Beaux’s versatility and ability to play slot has
enabled the Tigers to move Justyn Ross back outside, which is more natural for
him. Davis Allen has also been a consistent weapon, especially in the red zone,
and has a touchdown catch in each of the last two games. With Galloway out for
the season, Allen has had to do most of the heavy lifting at tight end, and we’ve
seen freshman Jake Brinningstool get more playing time in the last few games.
The good news on the injury front is that Dabo told me on Wednesday that Kobe
Pace should be available to play after leaving with a concussion in the first
half last week. The running game has been getting better and better since
Shipley’s return from injury, and DJ has been playing better as well, with the
exception of a couple costly turnovers against Pitt and FSU. Dabo told me on
Wednesday that DJ was running fine in practice, despite spraining his knee at
Louisville last week. Safety Tyler Venables missed the Louisville game with the
flu, and Booth left the game with a stinger, but both should be back this week.
Finally, offensive guard Will Putnam will probably be a game-day decision.
Be sure to check HERE about two hours before kickoff for a final player availability list!
PREDICTION
This will be my easiest prediction since the SC State game
in week two. The Tigers may be decimated with injuries, but they are still far
and away more talented than the Huskies, which are simply outmatched. With 3
weeks off to prepare for this game, it will be interesting to see if the
Huskies have tried to reinvent themselves and throw the Tigers off guard, but
regardless, the Clemson staff should be able to adjust and un them off the field.
The Tigers are favored by 41 points, and as Dabo said, if he loses this one, he’ll
probably lose his job. This week is all about the Tigers continuing to improve
on offense. The only intriguing thing I’ll be looking for is when Dabo will
pull the starters on offense once the game gets out of hand. We’re used to
seeing the bench completely cleared and Dabo playing over 100 players in a game
like this, but something tells me he might want to give a few more possessions
to DJ and the other starters on offense to get ready for a mammoth game against
Wake next week. We shall see! But as for the Huskies, it will be a long trip
back to UConn with their tails between their legs. Decked out in their all-purple Military Appreciation Day uniforms, the Tigers will finally score
over 40 points again and extend the nation’s longest active home win streak to
33 games.
The Prowl toward a 7th consecutive ACC title and 11th
consecutive 10-win season continues….
CLEMSON 55 Connecticut 6
Never miss the latest news from CUTigers!
Join our free email list