WHAT WE ARE HEARING: PREVIEW & PREDICTION FOR NO.3 CLEMSON vs. WAKE FOREST
- 2019-11-18 11:30:55
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Welcome to another edition of What We Are Hearing!
Saturday is Senior Day, the final home game of the season
and final regular season ACC game for the Tigers. It was made less dramatic by
Wake’s loss at Virginia Tech last week because the Tigers clinched a spot in
the ACC Championship as a result, but they still have their ACC win streak and
a fifth consecutive playoff on the line. The CFP Selection Committee has made
it quite clear that it doesn’t respect the ACC schedule the Tigers have played
and will not consider them for the playoff with one loss, so they have no
margin for error. It’s repeat as undefeated ACC Champs or bust. The Tigers won
their fifth straight blowout last week, 55-10 at NC State, and I nailed my
score prediction perfectly for the first time this season. I had come close
several times, but this is the first time I was right on the money. When I saw
Skalski take the field for that PAT in the final minute, I was selfishly hoping
he’d miss, and he did! The Tigers are 10-0 again and have won at least 10 games
for 9 straight years, tying them with Texas for the third-longest streak in
college football history. It’s been a historic kind of season for the Tigers,
who seem to break new records every game. This week, the seniors have a chance
in their final game in Death Valley to set a new Clemson record for consecutive
home wins at 22. Travis Etienne, who broke the rushing touchdown record of
James Davis and all-purpose TD record of C.J. Spiller in the last two games,
needs 2 rush TD’s to tie James Conner for the ACC career record. He also needs
2 TD’s of any kind to tie Conner for the all-purpose record, so 3 rush TD’s on
Saturday would give him both records. He tied Lamar Jackson for second on the
rush TD list last week.
Before diving into Saturday’s game, it was an exciting week
for Clemson Soccer. The Tigers beat Notre Dame 3-0 in the ACC Quarterfinal on
Sunday and were elevated to No.1 in the rankings on Tuesday. It was their first
No.1 ranking since September of 2006! They beat No.25 Pitt 1-0 in the Semifinal
on Wednesday and will play No.2 UVA in the ACC Final at noon on Sunday in Cary,
NC. The game will be televised live on ESPNU. The Tigers and Hoos have not met
this season, but UVA lost last month at home to Pitt 2-0. The last time Clemson
and UVA met in the ACC Final was 2001, and the Tigers won. They are seeking
their fourth ACC Tourney Title (first since 2014) and 16th overall
title. They were runner-up in 2016. The Tigers had 7 players named All-ACC,
including the Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and
Freshman of the Year. The Tigers boast the nation’s best offense with 64 goals
this season, the most by any team in 20 years. For coverage from Wednesday
night’s win over Pitt and post-game interviews with ACC Coach of the Year Mike
Noonan and players, click HERE.
Now onto Saturday’s matchup with Wake…..
MISCELLANEOUS
Clemson leads the all-time series with Wake 66-17-1. Only
South Carolina has been beaten more times by the Tigers….With last week’s win
at NC State, Clemson has won 36 of its last 39 games away from home and 24 of
its last 25 true road games….Clemson and Alabama are tied for the most
consecutive weeks in the AP Top 10 at 71 straight weeks. Georgia is 3rd at
40 weeks…The Tigers have won 42 of their last 43 home games, losing only on a
last-second field goal to Pitt in 2016….Clemson has won its last 39 straight
Saturday games, the longest streak in the nation….Clemson has scored 45 points
or more for 5 straight games, a first in school history….
WAKE SYNOPSIS
Dave Clawson has done a tremendous job with this Wake Forest
program, and the Deacs were considered the second-best team in the ACC for most
of the season, reaching No.19 in the rankings before suffering their second
loss of the season at Virginia Tech last week, 36-17. Wake’s only other loss this
season was a late field goal in a shootout at home with Louisville.
6’4, 230-pound junior Jamie Newman is the straw that stirs
the drink for the Deacs, both as a player and as a leader. Newman has completed
65.8% of his passes this season for 2,297 yards and 22 touchdowns with 7
interceptions. He also has 301 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns, averaging 2.7
yards per carry. He missed the FSU game last month due to injury, but Wake was
able to get the win with sophomore Sam Hartman. Newman bounced back but had a
tough game last week in Blacksburg, going 16-35 with 2 TD’s and 2 INT’s. He has
a great arm, though. He can make all the throws and will likely play in the
NFL. On top of that, Wake probably had the second-best WR group behind Clemson,
but they took a huge hit when it was announced on Tuesday that WR Sage Surratt
will miss the rest of the season after suffering a shoulder injury in the 4th
quarter last week. Surratt was having a First-Team All-ACC season, already with
1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns, and was a potential NFL first-rounder. 6’5,
225-pound senior Scotty Washington (#7) is their next big-play WR. He 35
catches for 607 yards and 7 touchdowns, averaging 17.3 yards per catch. Former
quarterback Kendall Hinton (#2) is now their slot receiver at 6’0 and 195
pounds. The senior has 51 catches for 659 yards and one touchdown this season.
He has excellent speed and hands. Wake has a good tight end in 6’3, 235-pound
senior Jack Freudenthal (#86), who has 24 catches for 204 yards and 4
touchdowns. Look out for him in the red zone.
In the backfield, Cade Carney (#36) is back for his senior
year. The 5’11, 215-pound bruiser has 429 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging 3.9
yards per carry. Wake is more of a passing team but loves to use Carney in
short yardage situations. Wake has a very unusual style of handing the ball off
with a slow, delayed mesh point between the QB and back. It’s designed to force
the defense to declare before the ball is handed off in the hopes of mitigating
the opponent’s speed advantage. Wake has perfected the unique style, and it has
been effective for them all season. The slow-moving handoffs are a strange
juxtaposition with the fast tempo at which Wake plays. It is one of the fastest
offenses in the nation, so the Tigers will have to be ready to go fast and
maintain their eye discipline. 5’10, 200-pound Freshman Kenneth Walker (#25) is
their second-leading rusher with 394 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging an
impressive 6.9 yards per carry.
On the defensive side, look out for 6’5, 275-pound junior DE
Carlos Basham, Jr (#9). He leads the team with 7.5 sacks this season and has 2
forced fumbles. In the secondary, senior Amari Henderson (#4) leads the team
with 4 interceptions. The Deacs have 6 different players with an INT this
season and 9 total as a unit. Wake lost its leading tackler in senior LB Justin
Strnad, who was injured in the FSU game and is out for the season.
Sophomore kicker Nick Sciba is a Groza Award Semifinalist
and is a perfect 16-16 on field goals this season. His long, however, is only
40 yards.
CLEMSON STATUS
The Tigers are in great shape from a health standpoint, and
they will have a bye next week to rest up before the Palmetto Bowl and ACC
Championship. They continue to set team and individual records week by week and
have blown out all 5 opponents since the close call at UNC early in the season.
Trevor Lawrence is the first Clemson QB in history to throw 3 TD passes in 5
straight games, and he also rushed for his 7th TD of the season last
week. Etienne, as mentioned, has a chance to set a couple new ACC records this
week, and he has rushed for over 100 yards in 5 straight games. Incidentally,
the numbers for Trevor and Travis would be even more gaudy if they didn’t play
so little in so many second halves. Travis has just 4 carries in the 4th
quarter all season! The defense has been consistently outstanding all season
long, holding all 10 opponents to less than 300 total yards. The last team to
do that was Alabama in 2011, and it’s even more impressive in this era of
fast-tempo, high-powered offenses. It will be tough to hold this Wake offense,
which averages 487 yards per game, to less than 300, but if they do, it will be
the longest streak since LSU in 2006.
Clemson is No.5 in scoring offense (45.3 points/game), No.2
in total offense (545.8 yards/game), No.8 in rush offense (269.8 yards/game)
and No.32 in pass offense (276 yards/game). Note the incredible balance, with
about 6 yards separating passing yards and rushing yards per game!
Clemson is No.3 in scoring defense (11.5 points/game), No.4
in total defense (251.5 yards/game), No.23 in rush defense (114.3 yards/game)
and No.2 in pass defense (137.2 yards/game). Clemson is the only team ranked in
the top 4 for both total offense and total defense. Clemson and Ohio State are
the only teams ranked in the top 5 for both scoring offense and defense.
PREDICTION
Wake is one of the better teams in the ACC, but I would have
predicted a blowout even before Surratt was knocked out for the season. That is
how disparate the gap is between Clemson and the rest of the league right now. The
biggest question is whether the Clemson defense will hold its 11th
straight opponent to less than 300 yards. Otherwise, the Tigers will cruise to
their 6th straight blowout win and second straight perfect ACC
regular season slate. The nation’s longest active home win streak is extended
to 22 games, and it’s a new Clemson record!
The Prowl toward a 5th consecutive ACC Title, a 5th
consecutive College Football Playoff and 4th National Title
continues……
CLEMSON 62 Wake Forest 17
DABO PC AND COACH/PLAYER INTERVIEWS HERE
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