Another lofty ranking for Tigers
Posted 08:27 a.m., May 10, 2008
The Clemson bandwagon is getting full.
Earlier this week, Tom Dienhart of Rivals.com (formerly of The Sporting News) pegged the Tigers No. 8 in his preseason Top 10.
Now ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach joins the fun, putting Clemson at No. 7.
This is what Schlabach had to say about the Tigers:
"The Tigers appear to be the best team in the ACC, but how many times have we heard that during coach Tommy Bowden's tenure? The Tigers haven't won an ACC title since 1991, but this might be their best chance in a long, long time. Quarterback Cullen Harper, tailbacks James Davis and C.J. Spiller, and receiver Aaron Kelly lead what could be a very good offense -- if four new starters play well on the line. Replacing three starting linebackers also is a big concern. Clemson plays four of its first five games at home, but the opener against Alabama in the Georgia Dome will decide how the season goes."
Seems like a fair take. Though I'm not sure the opener will necessarily determine whether Clemson flourishes or fails this season. The Tigers could easily lose that game and still finish 10-2 and get to the ACC championship game.
Remember 2003? Clemson opened with Georgia at home, and everyone was saying Clemson's fortunes hinged on that game. The Bulldogs went in to Death Valley and eviscerated the Tigers 30-0. Clemson went on to finish 9-4, demolishing their last four opponents (FSU, Duke, South Carolina and Tennessee) by a combined score of 156-48.
I still haven't figured out what Schlabach, a good friend of mine who usually knows what he's talking about, was thinking a few months ago when he put Virginia in his preseason Top 25. He caught a lot of grief for that one, probably even from UVA fans.
Thankfully, he was more sane when he revised his Top 25. The Cavaliers are nowhere to be found.
I'd be willing to bet Schlabach a beer that UVA will be closer to the Bottom 25 than Top 25 this season.
For what it's worth, he has Ohio State ranked No. 1. Cue the snickers from folks in SEC country.
Georgia is No. 2. Cue the death threats from the folks in Athens, where Schlabach went to school.
Oklahoma is No. 3, followed by Southern Cal, Florida, Missouri, Clemson, Texas, West Virginia and Auburn.
As for the rest of the ACC: Schlabach has Virginia Tech at No. 20 and Wake Forest at No. 22.
I'd say that's about right. But the Deacons' offense really has some holes to fill. Kenneth Moore was a special player, and losing offensive lineman Chris DeGeare to academic ineligibility really hurt.
Dienhart, by the way, had Georgia No. 1 and Ohio State No. 2.
Dienhart has been a vociferous critic of Tommy Bowden in recent years. You probably remember what he wrote last summer, when he rated Bowden 47th among the 66 BCS coaches (and 9th out of 12 in the ACC).
“I like him and all. But let’s just say I wouldn’t wanna be this guy,” Dienhart wrote. “Bowden always seemingly does just enough to keep his job. But that’s no longer good enough in what looks like a make or break year. And, honestly, Bowden looks poised to be broken in 2007.”
Bowden didn't exactly make Dienhart look like an idiot last season, but he didn't make him look like a genius either. Clemson gagged away a spot in the ACC championship by losing at home against Boston College, but the Tigers did finish 9-4 with a first-year starter at quarterback.
This is what Dienhart has to say now:
"No program has a deadly backfield trio like the Tigers with QB Cullen Harper and RBs C.J. Spiller and James Davis. Yeah, Tommy Bowden finally may get his day in the sun."
Back to Schlabach: I guess since I needled him so much earlier in this post, I need to give him a little love. He's had two really good stories recently on ESPN.com. The first is on Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, who might be the most fascinating coach in college football history. The second is on Tim Tebow, who's pulled off some extraordinary off-the-field feats down in Gainesville.
Those two pieces help make up for that crappy UVA Top 25 pick a few months ago.
We forgive you, Mark. Forgetting might be another story.
LW
Comments
Posted by huj on May 12 at 1:32 p.m.
I've noticed that with everybody picking Clemson to be in the top-10, they also pick that with serious reservations (Schlabach's "how many times have we heard that during coach Tommy Bowden's tenure", etc). I like Schlabach's work and all, I think he's very fair. But if there are big underlying concerns (chronic underachievement, OL), then don't rate Clemson that high. They send mixed signals when they do this.
I wouldn't put Ohio State as #1; I'd probably have to give that crown to Georgia, followed by USC, Oklahoma, Florida THEN OSU. What I don't understand is why Arizona State isn't right at No. 10 or 11. They wildly overachieved last year in spite of missing RB Ryan Torain the bulk of the season and an offensive line that was more porous than Clemson's. Erickson has ASU on the right track, and I don't see how that team can backslide.
Posted by lwilliams ( Larry Williams ) on May 12 at 3:40 p.m.
huj:
Agree about Ohio State. They're gonna have to actually beat an SEC team -- when was the last time that happened? -- before I'm going to take them seriously as a No. 1 team.
Full disclosure: I thought they'd beat LSU in the BCS title game. But after a certain point -- and getting hammered by Florida and LSU in title games would seem to qualify as that point -- you've got to demonstrate that you can stay on the same field with teams from the SEC before you have the credibility a No. 1 team should.
LW
Posted by huj on May 12 at 7:28 p.m.
It seems the Bucknuts are given the top spot based on potential, not production. If they would've landed Terrell Pryor, that may have been different. That all said, if OSU beats USC in LA, then they do deserve the top spot. But I don't see that happening.
If they did beat USC, can you imagine the outpour from SEC fans? They'd come out blasting, both barrels, at USC for losing to a team in their own backyard that SEC teams have trounced in the past two BCS title games. Wow.
Posted by lwilliams ( Larry Williams ) on May 13 at 10:55 a.m.
The SEC can't talk much junk to Southern Cal. The Trojans went to Auburn and thrashed the Tigers a few years back with some newbie QB named Matt Leinart.
USC also outscored Arkansas 120-31 in a home-and-home series in 2005 and 2006.
Not bad, huh?
The SEC is darn strong. But I don't have much patience for fans of that conference complaining about the Trojans' strength of schedule until the SEC better acquits itself against USC.
LW
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