Welcome to another edition of What We Are Hearing!
Well, it’s been another excruciatingly long week, just like
the one after the LSU loss. Whether you’ve been able to block out all the angst,
panic and noise like Dabo and (hopefully) the players or you’ve participated in
it, thank goodness it’s almost Saturday again with a chance to get back into
the win column!
For those of you who have been depressed or angry all week,
thinking that the season is already over after 3 weeks, let me give you a dose
of perspective and a reality check. Many Clemson fans and media across the
country are acting as if the Tigers lost twice to crappy teams by 30 points.
Nothing could be further from the truth. They just happened to play the No.3
team and the No.18 team on the road, and both games went down to the final
play! The latter took a miraculous 56-yard field goal as time was running out—something
you almost never see successfully done, especially from that distance. College
football is insane by nature, which is why most of us love it. Craziness
happens and upsets happen every week in the sport. Clemson could have scheduled
3 cupcakes to start the season, like Penn State playing Villanova, Nevada and
FIU all at home, and the Tigers would be 3-0 right now and ranked No.3. They
just happened to play their two toughest games in the first three weeks with no
preseason, didn’t play anywhere near their to their capability, and barely lost
both. It stinks and it’s not what anyone wanted or expected, but it does NOT
mean that the season is over and this team stinks. Let me remind you that Dabo
has won at least 10 games in 13 of the last 14 years, and the only exception
was a 9-4 season in which they started 4-4 and won the last 5! It never ceases
to amaze me how people can just have complete amnesia to that and proclaim with
absolute certainty that there is no way this team can win its next 9 games! I watched
the 2016 and 2018 national championship teams practice in person, and I’ve
watched this team practice in person. I can tell you without a doubt that this
roster has the talent to win the next 9 games and even to win it all. They just
have not played to that standard…YET. Speaking of 2016, let me remind you that
Deshaun Watson and that team only beat Troy by 8 points early in the season,
and everyone lost their minds after that game, just like they did last week after
a 27-16 win over Troy and again now. I absolutely believe that this team can
win its next 9 games, which would make it 10-2, and they would be in the
playoff as an at large team. Or Miami could lose a game, and Clemson could make
it into the ACC Championship again with a shot at revenge against Tech. We’re
only in September, folks, and there are a lot more games to be played! Nobody
expected Cam Ward and Miami to lose to Tech and Syracuse last season, but they
did. Incidentally, the Tigers will likely be favored in every game they play
for the rest of the season, so the odds-makers think they can go 10-2 as well.
Obviously, for the Tigers to win out, they need to start
playing for 4 quarters on both sides of the ball week in, week out, like we
expected them to out of the gate. They played a great first half against LSU, a
great second half against Troy and were inconsistent on both sides in Atlanta
last week. Don’t forget, too, that they have had 3 key starters out, including
their best offensive weapon, Antonio Williams, OT Tristan Leigh and safety
Khalil Barnes. Take away Antonio’s injury alone, and they probably would have
beaten both LSU and Tech, and nobody would be complaining right now. That’s not
an excuse. It’s just a fact. Injuries are part of the game, though, and the Tigers
have enough depth at receiver that they should have been able to win those
games without Antonio. It all starts with Cade, who has simply not looked like
the 2024 version of himself that created all of the Heisman hype in the
offseason. I don’t know if the hype got to him or that he’s just pressing too
hard, but I have to believe that sooner or later he will snap out of it and
remind us why he was the best returning quarterback in the country. He has not
forgotten how to play quarterback and has not lost his ability to throw or run
the football. If and when Cade starts to play like he did last season, the
Tigers will not lose again in my estimation. Let’s hope that begins this Saturday
at high noon in Death Valley!
On to the matchup…
SYRACUSE SYNOPSIS
Cuse is coming off wins over UConn and Colgate after losing
its opener to Tennessee 45-26. It’s hard not to like a guy like Head Coach Fran
Brown, and not just because of his shout-out to Dabo immediately after
upsetting Miami last November and putting Clemson into the ACC Championship and,
consequently, the playoff. He just seems like a genuine person who cares about
all of the right things, and he’s obviously a great football coach. In addition
to knocking off Miami last season, he led Cues to a rare 10-win season and a
blowout bowl win in his first year as head coach. Incidentally, he was the
Georgia DB coach when the Tigers lost to the Bulldogs 10-3 in Charlotte a few
years ago. He seems to be a great motivator, and he gets the most out of his
players. He is also a fierce competitor, so after the amiable pregame chat with
his friend Dabo, he will be giving his all to leave Death Valley with a signature
road win in his young career.
One of the biggest reasons for Cuse’s success last season
was QB Kyle McCord, who transferred from Ohio State. He’s in the NFL now, but
they have another transfer QB in Steve Angeli, who was Riley Leonard’s backup
at Notre Dame last season. He is 6’3, 212 pounds and will sling it all over the
yard. He actually played very well in relief of Lenoard during the playoff last
season. In his first season as a starter so far, he is completing 67 percent of
his passes for 1,072 yards with 8 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Angeli had 40
pass attempts against Tennessee and 54 in the overtime win over UConn, so this
will be a pass-heavy offense. He is not known as a dual-threat quarterback, and
he’s averaging -2 net yards per carry with his sacks, but he did have a rushing
touchdown last Friday against Colgate and can scramble when he needs to.
The passing attack is led by 6’3, 190-pound junior WR
Darrell Gill, Jr. (#15), who is also a track star. He has 12 catches and a pair
of touchdowns already, averaging a whopping 22.4 yards per catch. They have
another 6’3 receiver in 210-pound senior Justus Ross-Simmons (#12), who has 9
catches and 3 TD’s, averaging 17.7 yards per catch. 6’0, 198-pound junior
Johntay Cook (#2) is a transfer from Texas with 12 catches and a score this
season. He had just 8 catches for the Longhorns last year but a pair of
touchdowns. The team reception leader is senior tight end Dan Villari (#89),
who has 16 catches but has yet to score.
Cuse has a two-headed monster at running back in Yasin
Willis (#6) and Will Nixon (#24). Willis is a 6’1, 235-pound sophomore averaging
4.1 yards per carry with 4 TD’s. He missed the Colgate game last week with an
injury but will likely play on Saturday. Nixon is a 5’11, 205-pound senior transfer
from Texas, who played at both Washington and Nebraska before Syracuse. He is
averaging 4.3 yards per carry with one score. He has 9 catches out of the
backfield as well.
The leader of the defense is senior safety Duce Chestnut
(#2), who is very versatile and can play corner as well. He is listed as
questionable for Saturday, but I expect him to play. Through 3 games, Cuse only
has 3 sacks, 2 interceptions and hasn’t forced a fumble, although they’ve
recovered 2 fumbles. They had no sacks or interceptions against Tennessee, so
that bodes well for Cade and the Tigers’ offense.
Cuse’s kicker, Tripp Woody, is a redshirt freshman from Charlotte
who is 3-4 this season with a long of 38 yards. They have an excellent punter
in redshirt senior Jack Stonehouse, who is averaging 52.6 yards per punt.
CLEMSON STATUS
The Tigers should have Antonio Williams and safety Khalil
Barnes back on Saturday, as well as Tristan Leigh and Elijah Thurmon on the
offensive line. It’s too bad they didn’t have at least one or two of them back
last week, but it’s great to have them back! The only bad news is that safety
Tink Kelley, who started last week in Atlanta, will be out. I will find out his
status from Dabo on Saturday.
PREDICTION
For the first time since the first quarter of the opener,
the Tigers have all of their starters, and it’s time to hit the reset button on
the season. There is no more margin for error or excuses. It’s time to start
executing, doing the little things right and playing winning, complimentary
football for 4 quarters. Although there have been some weird games in the past
with Syracuse, I have to believe that the Tigers will finally show us what we’ve
all been waiting for all summer.
CLEMSON 41 Syracuse 20
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