Clemson beat North Carolina for the first time ever last Saturday in a National Championship game (43-17) and their Eleventh consecutive road win in the Football Bowl. But it wasn’t a bracket buster. It was the assessment of a brand new era for the Tigers.
It was heart-breaking, but it was nothing personal. It was just one game against LSU in larger football and basketball conferences. North Carolina was the sixth ranked team in the nation and the No. 9 team in the F.C.C. When you’re a senior and can choose your own path to greatness, I guess that’s fair.
But I always say it’s not about wins and losses. It’s about progress. A breakthrough season could happen this year for the Tigers. They could be undefeated comeuts or perhaps they could go undefeated for a while and lose just once, and still go in as the defending national champs.
How good are they? Well, at the moment, they are both good and very related. You have a tremendous advantage at your fingertips with the confidence that Clemson showed after a #6 ranking a few weeks ago. QB Drew Weatherford has this to say about the Tigers, “We’re definitely here. Hopefully we can prove to the world that we’re a great team.”
Clemson’s defense will be as good as ever. The Tigers finished 20th in total defense and 14th in scoring defense with a very respectable 7.5 ppg allowed. A couple years ago they were a very weak 6-7 in total defense. But this season’s weakness, if it even can be called that, is run defense. The Tigers were among the nation’s top 30 in that category only two weeks ago in the safety of gaining nearly 200 yards on the ground.
Notre Dame’s defense has been spectacular this season. You remember the names: Brady Quinn, referred to as “the grinder,” and Chris Hope, referred to as a relentless tackler. Both were plucked from relatively small schools and both have made an immediate impact in Notre Dame’s defense. Quinn has been one of the nation’s most dominant defensive linemen. He regularly pushes guys around and can be considered one of the nation’s most dominant players, behind isolated nos. 1-2 (Jonathan Baldwin). Quinn had an almost unbelievable game against Purdue, not once giving up a touchdown. He played with a chip on his shoulder all game, something the Irish couldn’t have asked for.
Hope was a consensus preseason All-American and he wears his crown now. He had a hand in all of Notre Dame’s upsets (7), as well as its losses (5). While Quinn has been the most dominant defensive player, Hope is enjoying a breakout season in his own right. He’s been around for every good play, while connecting on a consistent basis on both offense (15 TDs, 5 INTs) and defense (7 TDs, 4 INTs).
While Hope was still among the nation’s top-12 in passing, the fact that the Fighting Irish’s offense had trouble scoring until a week or two into the season (1 game -17), didn’t help Notre Dame in its bid to become bowl eligible.
Notre Dame, like virtually every bowl-eligible team, was still willing to go to Baltimore and get a tough road test in the manner they did the following Saturday, though. Getting the better of primarily white- collar students from Northeastern was great entertainment, and the easy access to the Gillette Stadium was something the Fighting Irish will miss. Though Rutgers eventually proved to be the class of the Big East last season, the Pats proved they could adjust to HC Ray Resching’s new attack.
The Rutgers murder had a twists ending with the Fighting Irish’s come-from-behind victory last Saturday night. Notre Dame was already up 14-0 before allowing the vain Falcons to catch-up. Ultimately, the Falcons forced a 23-10 comeback by the Fighting Irish. After that miracle blocked FG, Notre Dame could not rally to win the game, though it did have time to rest its tired and prideful eyes.
This is the time of the year for adjustments, and that was evident for the Fighting Irish on Saturday night. As we enter bowl season, it’s a good time to look at teams who are either trying to unseat a current BCS champion or build-up for an opportunity to go to a BCS championship game. Notice that these are the same teams that go through the motions, showing extraordinary Horoscopes-like persistence much like Iowa did last weekend.
Regular-season ascending giants can be brainwashed by oddsmakers and TV producers into believing that their season represents the future of college football. Take Iowa this week, for example.