Predictions: Clemson 12-0, USC mediocreBy Gene Sapakoff (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Monday, August 18, 2008
 
File/AP With talented players such as Cullen Harper (right) and James Davis and a weak ACC schedule, a BCS bowl is there for the taking for the Tigers. The 2008 disconnect between popular prognostication and fan expectation would make for a fascinating Clemson sociology class: SOC 474, Post-modern Pickens County Pigskin Pessimism. Unfortunately, the faculty is too busy scrambling for Alabama tickets to add three more credits to the curriculum. Even the Chinese media seems to agree the Tigers will combine talent with a weak Atlantic Coast Conference schedule to roll into a BCS bowl game. Relax, you orange and purple people. Forget those losses to Boston College. Have confidence. As long as the Tigers don't blow it in two weeks against Nick Saban, Inc. South Carolina, the second toughest opponent on Clemson's schedule, must replace its leading rusher (Cory Boyd) and passer (Blake Mitchell). But skill-position chatter always masks the usual problems in Columbia: blocking and tackling. Do you realize the Gamecocks finished 12th in the SEC last season in both rushing offense and rushing defense? Bad luck down the stretch? Are you nuts? Steve Spurrier and staff deserve awards for getting 6-6 out of a team so inferior within the SEC. The Gamecocks cannot get worse. If they are at least mediocre running the ball and stopping the run, the team will bounce back to bowl fun. Around the Palmetto State: Clemson Sure wins: The Citadel, N.C. State, S.C. State, Georgia Tech, Duke, at Virginia. Sure losses: None. Probable wins: Maryland, at Wake Forest, Boston College. Probable losses: None. Helmet scratchers: Alabama at Atlanta, at Florida State, South Carolina. Barometer game: Crimson Tide or orange tidal wave? Record: 12-0 going into the ACC Championship Game in Tampa against North Carolina or Virginia Tech. South Carolina Sure wins: Wofford, Alabama-Birmingham. Sure losses: Georgia, at Florida. Probable wins: N.C. State, at Vanderbilt, Arkansas. Probable losses: LSU. Helmet scratchers: at Mississippi, at Kentucky, Tennessee, at Clemson. Barometer game: At Mississippi on Oct. 5. Trouble in Oxford won't bode well for the gauntlet that is the second half of the schedule. Record: 7-5 going into preparations for a bowl victory. The Citadel This looks like Kevin Higgins' best Citadel team, but improvement in the rough-and-tumble Southern Conference doesn't always show up in the won-loss record. Biggest shoes to fill? Radio voice Robbie Robinson's. Record: 6-6. Charleston Southern No quibble with Tribble Reese, the former Clemson quarterback. But the schedule, starting at Miami on Aug. 28, is tougher than ever. Record: 4-8. S.C. State The Bulldogs, featuring star running back Will Ford and former Burke High School wide receiver Tre Young, open at Central Florida and play at Clemson but should win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title. Record: 9-3 on the way to the FCS playoffs. Furman New starting quarterback Jordan Sorrells, a junior lefty, is the son of offensive coordinator Tim Sorrells. Record: 7-5. Wofford The Terriers, not three-time defending national champ Appalachian State, won the 2007 Southern Conference title. Now comes rebuilding. Record: 6-5. Coastal Carolina Back in the Big South Conference title hunt. That first step, at Penn State, is a doozy. Record: 10-2 and maybe an FCS playoff spot.
Reach Gene Sapakoff at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com. |
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Comments
This article has 44 comment(s)
Posted by bigriver1 on August 18, 2008 at 7:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Stagnant, mediocre, inferior sc football at it's best. LOL.
Posted by UberBlitzkrieg on August 18, 2008 at 7:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Big River, how about you Go back to Ohio!
Posted by theronce on August 18, 2008 at 7:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I love SC football, even at the high school level. I pull for all of the teams in SC except when they play Clemson.
Posted by coachken on August 18, 2008 at 7:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gene has stirrrrrred the pot. Lets see how many bow down and contribute to this dribbleing hack writer. Go ahead make his day.
Posted by clemson96jdh on August 18, 2008 at 7:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
USC is Clemson's second toughest opponent??? That is laughable....
Bama, FSU, Wake, BC are better....GT, Maryland, and UVA are just a good (or mediocre)...
The inflated image of the vaunted SEC is a joke.....
Posted by NativeSC on August 18, 2008 at 7:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Clemson96, go put on your name tag and paper hat and get to work. I want my sausage biscuit ready when I get there.
Posted by clemson96jdh on August 18, 2008 at 8:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So there is a Bojangles on the way to Gaston sock factory....congrats....I don't work there but I'm sure Jasper can point you to the biscuits....If he has't eaten them all.....
Posted by MarkCCU on August 18, 2008 at 8:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
12-0? What've you been smoking?
Posted by MSC on August 18, 2008 at 9:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Leave BR1 alone, he learned a new word yesterday and put it in a sentence today.
Posted by SangareeCrew on August 18, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Clemson will NOT finish the regular season 12-0........even my Clemson friends admit that. There will be at least one "WTF" loss for Clemson this year, there always is.
And VT will win the ACC, beating Clemson in the title game.
Posted by mauiturtle on August 18, 2008 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Now, I'm generally unbiased when it comes to Carolina/Clemson and don't really care how one team compares to the other, but this article is idiotic at best. No other way to say it. He's either playing to the Clemson crowd or is confusing football with some other sport.
While Clemson has plenty of talent at the skill positions, the O-line is young and inexperienced (I don't care how talented you are, the best O-lines have experienced players). Depth at LB and other positions on defense is also an issue, and injuries at any of those or the OL could mean the end for Clemson's hopes of a BCS berth. The top-80 schedule will play to their advantage, but they are by no means unbeatable in the ACC.
Carolina undeniably has a much tougher road, and must get through TN, UGA, and FL to get to the top in their division. Not easy. However, they've been better the last few years, and have a shot at being a pretty good team this year. However, how that translates into wins and losses in the SEC is anyone's guess.
To 96... if you don't understand that the SEC is the best conference in college football then you need to pick another sport to cheer for. Pulling for your team is completely understandable, but your statement was like saying Muhammad Ali was a terrible boxer. And considering Clemson has only won approximately 27% of its games against teams currently in the SEC - and this number includes the lopsided series against Carolina - I would say that its your "inflated image" of the vaunted Tigers that is laughable.
Posted by Rebel_Yell on August 18, 2008 at 9:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Pure dribble. That permanent smirk on Sapakoff's face is a symbol of all clemson fans to me. What a jackass and pitiful sportswriter. Congrats tigger fans on your paper championship and now a make believe undefeated season for the same team that needed a last minute field goal to beat lowly SCar and couldn't beat mediocre SEC teams in bowl games the last two years (but they are so much better now). To be the best, you can't play the worst. Just ask Hawaii. Can't wait till the wheels come off and this crappy writer from Bob Jones U is proven to be a goofball half-wit, again. Smirk on gene, smirk on -- you never made it big, and never will. Typical clemson alumn.
Posted by tigerfan07 on August 18, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div...
Maui,
At least do some homework before you try and state stuff you don't know anything about. I know that it's not the best winning %, but it's not nearly as bas as you made it out to be.
Posted by JF on August 18, 2008 at 10:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What a "WEAK" schedule.
Remember how great Hawaii was last year 12-0 and got killed by Georgia? USC plays three teams in the top 10. Clemson fans seem happy to play weak schedules. Last year just three wins over DIV 1 teams with winning records zero wins over top 20 teams. Play somebody Tommy!
Posted by sbs920 on August 18, 2008 at 10:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
JF
Its Tammy. . .
"Play somebody Tammy"
Posted by mauiturtle on August 18, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tigergan07...
Correction... I should have stated that the .275 winning percentage was against current SEC foes NOT including SC. Add in SC and it jumps to .415.
So, while it is not as bad as I originally stated it was (error on my part - I looked at it a long time ago and apparently did not remember it correctly), it essentially still proves the point I made in response to 96. Historically, Clemson has not done well against the SEC (minus Carolina).
Posted by tigerfan07 on August 18, 2008 at 10:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maui,
Still not right...look at the website. If you take out the wins and losses to SCAR, we have won 38% of the games played.
Posted by tigerfan07 on August 18, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Not including ties, which IDK if they include those as wins as well.
Posted by Rggr on August 18, 2008 at 10:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This does seem optimistic. Clemson has the ability to win every game on the schedule. That has never meant that much though under Tommy.
USC fans love to put Clemson down for not being in the SEC. I'll grant you that the SEC is a tougher league. However, that does not mean anything about the quality of USC. You lose to them too. You lose to Clemson in head to head competition, so I'm not sure of the point of your arguement is a discussion of the two state schools. It's irrelevant. USC has a very poor record against Clemson.
Posted by tigerfan07 on August 18, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maui,
MY FAULT. I messed up. 27.5% is right. Not pretty a number as I would like to see. Anywho, I hope to better those numbers this year. Thanks and sorry again!
Posted by mauiturtle on August 18, 2008 at 10:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tiger,
Mine was not including ties as well. There have been too many games against SC for it to only make that small of a difference. Removing SC from it, Clemson has 46 wins and 121 losses in 167 games (not including ties), which comes to a .2754 winning percentage.
Posted by tigerfan07 on August 18, 2008 at 11:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yup. That's right. I thought to myself after I posted it that it didn't look right.
Posted by lou9 on August 18, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I wonder if Sappykoff will be willing to eat some crow when Clemson loses in Atlanta. He just threw the proverbial black cat across their path with his prediction. He and Burger are washed up hacks.
Posted by mauiturtle on August 18, 2008 at 11:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tiger... just posted and then saw your post. I'd delete mine, but not sure about suggesting removal of my own post. Anyway, thanks for the info and chat this morning.
Rggr, assuming you're responding to me, I'm not putting Clemson down for not being in the SEC and I'm really not biased here. I'm also not saying SC is better b/c they are in the SEC or that Clemson is worse b/c they are not. Any question re: which team is better at the time is settled during the game. The numbers (which also indirectly show Clemson's wins in the series against SC) were specifically in response to another post claiming the "inflated image of the vaunted SEC is a joke."
Posted by Chanticleer on August 18, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Predictions:
Clemson will be 14-0, Coastal will beat Penn St. and Garcia will get arrested for fornicating with a chicken.
Posted by poli1471 on August 18, 2008 at 11:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Clemson will lose their first game............Mark my words.
Posted by HighDef on August 18, 2008 at 12:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
has clemson ever beaten Boston College ?
Posted by Rggr on August 18, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maui - I wasn't responding to your post. I think your post made sense. I agree that the SEC is not a joke. There is no question in my mind that the SEC is the toughest conference in the country.
Posted by huj on August 18, 2008 at 12:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
12-0? Please....
The last time Clemson beat BC was in 1958. Clemson is 7-8-2 against the Eagles.
Clemson will lose to Bama, FSU, BC and either Wake or SC. This will be another in a long line of underachieving Bowden teams.
Posted by Chanticleer on August 18, 2008 at 12:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
has South carolina ever won a major bowl?
has south carolina ever finished a season ranked in the top 10 of a major poll?
has south carolina ever scored 63 points in death valley?
Posted by theballsiam on August 18, 2008 at 1:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why does it look like Sapakoff is taking it in the pooper from Tammy Bowden in his picture?
Posted by fantasy5 on August 18, 2008 at 1:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There is no doubt that the SEC is better than the ACC at the current time and no one should/would/could argue that, and I readily accept that as a Clemson fan. However, ALL these bogus predictions by the writer and a few of the above posts are pointless. Then you have sbs throwing in his lame attempt to be funny, but fortunately everyone else here is a grown-up. To the point at hand, can Clemson go 12-0, absolutely. Will they? History would say likely not, but fortunately we're not playing in the past, and I think this team is on the brink of something special, whether it happens this year or not. SC fans, don't shoot us down, you're likely right around the corner from turning into something special too (assuming OLD SOS doesn't kick the bucket), and at that point I think our rivalry will move to the next step. However, you're not there yet, but until then and until you beat somebody worth a damn on a CONSISTENT basis, don't throw out "oh, well we beat UGA LAST YEAR!" That doesn't matter! Neither does our record against you, especially if you batted .1000 against us for the next century.
Guys, we can’t pick the cards we’re dealt, so we can’t pick who we play, but we can make sure we beat everyone in our way including Bama and USC, and that’s what Clemson aims to do. Not saying they will, but they have the ability to do it, especially this year. Long story short, lets wait it out before we all start trying to play GOD and telling everyone how Clemson will end-up. Mark those words poli
Posted by SarcasticOB on August 18, 2008 at 1:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If Clemson has proven one thing under Tommy Bowden, it's that they will lay 1 or 2 eggs a year, usually against somebody they should beat. Clemson should be good, but you just know they'll find a new and creative way to blow it again.
http://goallineblitz.com/game/signup.pl?...
Posted by TAR1 on August 18, 2008 at 2:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Chanticleer, to answer your ?'s:
Yes, Back to back Outback Bowl Games which are January bowls.
Yes they have finished in the top 10.
No, they did however score 50-something on tigers in Willie Brice.
Posted by Chanticleer on August 18, 2008 at 2:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by TAR1 on August 18, 2008 at 2:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Chanticleer, to answer your ?'s:
Yes, Back to back Outback Bowl Games which are January bowls.
Outback bowl is not a Major bowl, it is a 2nd tier bowl. (Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange are Major Bowls)
Yes they have finished in the top 10.
Not in a major poll (e.i. AP or Coaches). Maybe in the Cootssare#1.com poll.
No, they did however score 50-something on tigers in Willie Brice.
Good shot though!
Posted by SarcasticOB on August 18, 2008 at 2:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"No, they did however score 50-something on tigers in Willie Brice."
And immediately after that game is when the Clemson boosters got together and swore that they would never let that happen again, no matter how many players they had to buy. We all know what came next: A bought "national title" followed IMMEDIATELY by probation for the longest list of violations found at any school up to that point in time.
Cheating.........it's Clemson Tradition.
Posted by fantasy5 on August 18, 2008 at 3:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I like that he used The Outback Bowl as Carolina's big bowl win. Gamecock fans, you might want to shut this kid up. If thats big, and I know it was the first in a long time (or was it ever, I really can't remember, the Carquest Bowl victory may have been your FIRST), then you have some low aspirations. Going 8-4, 9-3 and a trip to the outback bowl? Woo-hoo! Beating a mediocre Ohio State team at the time. Thats icing on the CAKE. C'mon man! Is that all you have?? Clemson hasn't done anything lately either, but we're not talking about our Champs Sports Bowl win over Colorado or our Peach Bowl win over Tennessee either, b/c they're not BIG bowls!
Posted by fantasy5 on August 18, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No, beating the coots &$$ is tradition, and it's one the they have gotten used too...
Posted by coastal1 on August 18, 2008 at 4:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
In 105 meetings, the scoring averages for both teams are:
Clemson 19.5
SC 13.3
Posted by BlackMagic84 on August 18, 2008 at 6:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The Chicken Curse still lives.
No matter how much The Old Ball Sack tries, South Carolina
is a low level team in the SEC praising big brothers for
winning all the games.
Long Live The Chicken Curse !!!
Posted by youmanyo on August 18, 2008 at 6:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gotta love it , the chickens are talking about us more than they talk about there own school. I believe we will lose a few it is tough to win them all even when you play cupcakes like duke and usc , either way we will have a great team . As far as the chickens 6-6 at best . I dont think the old ball coach will be able totake being a loser much longer What will be the chickens excuse this year ?
1 beat up by real sec teams
2 sec refs
3 acc refs
4 lous fault
5 brads fault
just because you live in a bad neighborhood(SEC), it doens't
make you a tough guy. it just means you get your arse stomped a lot if you are one of the weaklings.
Posted by youmanyo on August 18, 2008 at 6:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just remember the man you call Tammy is your DADDY and his boys are going to put a big time arse whipping on you come November.
Posted by pygmon on August 18, 2008 at 7:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Two things to NEVER argue with a Clemson fan over....Clemson football 'stats' and banging a goat in the rear.
Posted by UrGatorbait on August 18, 2008 at 11:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Almost competitive conference...hehehe...I hope USCe sinks him and Tommy boy.