After the first quarter this game was tied 3-3, and it was seemingly a matter of time before one defense caved. Neither offense was able to generate sustained drives as both defenses did a great job of getting pressure on quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Ian Book as well as stopping each teams explosive running game. However, once the second quarter rolled around the Notre Dame defense began to crumble as Clemson reeled off 20 unanswered points to take a 20-3 lead going into halftime. At that point the game was essentially over because it was clear Notre Dame couldn’t match the physicality of Clemson. Also, Notre Dame offensively was unable to create big plays down the field in order to open up their run game. So throughout the second half, Clemson continued to dominate as the Tigers went on to win big 30-3.
Throughout this game the size and strength of Clemson really stood out to me. Both teams had great athletes and solid quarterbacks, but at the line of scrimmage Clemson was absolutely dominant. The Tigers defensive line, without Dexter Lawrence, had their way with the Notre Dame offensive line as time and time again they were hitting Ian Book, rattling him, and never allowing him to settle in to make good passes. Also, they shut down home run hitter Dexter Williams and the Notre Dame running game. On the other side of the ball, the Tigers offensive line, after the first quarter, really settled in and gave Trevor Lawrence great protection allowing him to make some big time throws.
The Tigers defense, even without future first round pick Dexter Lawrence, dominated this game. Notre Dame had zero answers for the size, speed, and strength of the Clemson defense. Entering this game Notre Dame was averaging 33.8 points per game and were a well-balanced offense in terms of run vs. pass production (265.6 passing yards and 190.5 rushing yards). Saturday night Clemson wasn’t having any of it as their defense combined for 6 sacks, 8 total tackles for loss, and forced 2 turnovers. The Irish were held to just 248-yards of total offense, 5-17 on third down, and only 88-yards rushing. Also, without the big guy in the middle, Dexter Lawrence, defensive ends Austin Bryant and Clelin Ferrell were dominate coming off the edge. From the start, both defense’s set the tone of the game, but ultimately Clemson’s defense was able to sustain a higher level of play throughout.
Offensively, I had my concerns about quarterback Trevor Lawrence, a true freshman, in whether or not the moment would be too big for him, but I’m glad I can sit here and say I was wrong. Lawrence played exceptionally well finishing the game 27-39 for 327-yards and 3 touchdowns. He did most of his damage without a run game, which is even more impressive. Now, for much of the season Clemson had a balanced offensive attack with running back Travis Etienne, who lead the ACC in rushing yards (1,463), average yards per carry (8.3), and rushing touchdowns (21), but Notre Dame for the majority of the game kept him bottled up. That was until mid-way through the third quarter when he broke off a big time game-clinching touchdown run that would put him over the 100-yard mark.
Final Thoughts
Overall as I’ve said throughout this piece this was an
absolute dominating performance by the Clemson Tigers. Defense was great and
offensively Trevor Lawrence lived up to the hype and was exceptional as he got
everyone of his weapons involved. The Tigers elevated their play to another
level and showed why they are one of the two best teams in college football.
Who’s leading the Pack will be a weekly article I write giving my opinion on which teams I thought had a good weekend. This isn’t a top ten or power ranking this is simply my opinion on the weekend that was and whom I thought played good. The criteria are they can have either pulled a major upset, got a big win against a conference or non-conference opponent, or just clicked on all cylinders and played an excellent all around game.
1. Purdue Boilermakers: In what was the biggest shocker of the weekend the Purdue Boilermakers at home flat-out dominated the second ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, beating them 49-20. Throughout the game the Buckeyes never were able to establish an offensive rhythm and defensively unable to consistently get stops. At the half the game was still well in reach as Purdue led 14-3, but in the second half the Boilermakers and wide receiver Rondale Moore absolutely went off. In the fourth quarter alone Purdue scored 28 of their 49 points. After a shaky 0-3 start the Boilermakers have really turned things around.
Why the Boilermakers are Leading the Pack: They simply out played Ohio State and head coach Jeff Brohm got himself and the Purdue program a signature win. Also, Saturday morning on ESPN’s College Gameday they played a Tom Rinaldi special on a Purdue student, Tyler Trent, who has been battling cancer. Trent was at the game Saturday night and the team dedicated the game to him.
2. Florida State Seminoles: Willie Taggart and the Seminoles have had a very up and down season thus far, from blow out losses, to comeback wins, and even blowing a twenty point lead, it’s been a building of character type season for the Seminoles. However Saturday afternoon against Wake Forrest, Florida State finally played like the Florida State team I thought they could be all season. The offense was clicking and the defense looked about as good as it had looked in sometime. After falling behind 10-0 early, the Seminoles went on to reel off 38 unanswered points on their way to a 38-17 win. This was the first game the Florida State offense really seemed to be in sync. Quarterback Deondre Francois played a hell of a game as he threw for over 350 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Why the Seminoles are Leading the Pack: After struggling all season, trying to find their offense, a performance like Saturday’s might just be what this team needed going into the second half of their schedule.
3. Washington State Cougars: The pirate Mike Leach and his always interesting game plans did it again as the Cougars for the forth year in a row beat the Oregon Ducks, winning 34-20. This year however the Ducks were ranked 12th in the country and in contention for a Pac 12 championship bid, but Saturday night the Cougars put an end to those dreams as the Ducks now have two losses (both of which are from Pac 12 north teams). The Cougars and Leach haven’t always been known for their defense, but against the Ducks they only gave up 58 rushing yards and totaled 3 sacks. Offensively the Cougars jumped out to a huge 27-0 lead in the first half and essentially coasted the rest of the game. Now the Ducks made a run in the third quarter, but ultimately the Cougars were too much for the Ducks.
Why the Cougars are Leading the Pack: In a huge prime-time match-up on national television they didn’t disappoint. There was a lot on the line in terms of Pac 12 status goes, and the Cougars didn’t let the moment get the best of them and in a total team effort got a huge win.
Well people game week is finally here! After a long and grueling off-season college football finally starts back up this weekend. Along with the other weekly articles I’m going to be putting out I’ve decided to add a new one called “This Week in the ACC”. Since I’m a Florida State fan and pay close attention to the ACC I figured why not do a weekly article sharing thoughts and reaction to the week in and week out action within the ACC.
Now, the ACC over the past couple of years has really emerged and became more than just a two team conference with the rise of Virginia Tech, Louisville, NC State, and the reemergence of Miami. The coaching hires that several schools made over the past couple of years are really being to pay off. Coming into the 2018 season the ACC has four top 25 teams: (2) Clemson Tigers, (8) Miami Hurricanes, (19) Florida State Seminoles, and (20) Virginia Tech. Once again this looks to be a great year of football in the ACC.
Top Games of Week One
1. (20) Virginia Tech vs. (19) Florida State
In what will be a huge conference game to kick off the season, both the Seminoles and the Hookies want to get their seasons started the right way. This will be the first time these two teams have met since 2012 when Florida State won 28-22.
The Seminoles are coming off a rough 7-5 season in 2017, and getting a win to start off the 2018 season would be huge, especially against a quality opponent in Virginia Tech. The Seminoles lost quite a bit of talent on both sides of the ball to the NFL, but luckily are getting back their starting quarterback Deondre Francois. Francois suffered a season ending knee injury last season and it pretty much derailed the Seminoles season. Getting Francois back will be big, but the Seminoles are also loaded at the running back position with Cam Akers, Jacques Patrick, and Khalan Laborn. All three I believe can be very impactful Monday night. The weak links however are their offensive line and some inexperience at the receiver position. Defensively the Seminoles lost safety Derwin James and a couple others to the NFL, but for the most part the guys that saw minimal action last season are stepping up and filling those spots. Brain Burns and Demarcus Christmas will be the two guys leading the charge up front on defense, and guys like Standford Samuels III (if able to play) and Levonta Taylor will be holding it down in the secondary.
For the Hokies, they lost a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball especially in their secondary. The Edmunds brothers last season were a big part in their success. With the departure of them it’ll be interesting how this Bud Foster Virginia Tech defense looks. On a positive note though the Hokies are returning their quarterback, Josh Jackson. Jackson, last season as a redshirt freshman was very impressive and helped lead Virginia Tech to a 9-4 season. In year one at the helm Jackson threw for 2991, 20 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, and rushed for 6 touchdowns. He was and exciting player who as a red-shirt freshman showed great potential.
Game Prediction
With this being the first game of the season for both teams I think things will probably get off to a slow start. Florida State is integrating a new offense and Virginia Tech is very young. But I do believe Florida State as a whole is the better team and will win this game simply because it’s at home and they’re more talented than this Virginia Tech team. The Seminoles running game I believe is what will be the x-factor for them. They have three potentially four running backs that they can use at anytime.
Florida State wins 31-23
2. (8) Miami vs. (25) LSU
This is a huge out of conference game for both of these teams. The Hurricanes are coming into this season with high expectations and the Tigers are just looking to get back on track and play at the level everyone expects them to play.
The Miami Hurricanes in year three with Mark Richt as head coach are entering this season with a lot of hype, and some even saying national championship. Now I don’t think they’re in the national championship conversation yet, but I do believe they’ll be really good and very fun to watch. They lost some key guys on their defensive line from last year as well as two of their dynamic offensive weapons in running back Mark Walton and wide receiver Braxton Berrios. But starting quarterback Malik Rosier and running back Travis Homer will be back. After Walton went down for the season Homer stepped in and carried the load quite well for the Hurricanes to end last season. The depth across the board for the Hurricanes is the biggest question.
In Coach O’s first year, LSU was up and down, not all that consistent, but still managed to finish the season with a 9-4 record. We all know the struggles they’ve had for years with quarterbacks, but this year things look to be different as Ohio State transfer Joe Burrow has been announced as the starter. This guy has the potential to be the best quarterback LSU has had in sometime. While at Ohio State, Burrow didn’t play too much because J.T. Barrett was the man running the show and Dwayne Haskins was second string behind him after Burrows suffered a hand injury last season. For Burrows Sunday night’s game will be a great opportunity to prove himself.
Game Prediction
This game I believe can go one of two ways either very sloppy and ugly or very high scoring. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a turnover filled game or both Burrows and Rozier pass for multiple touchdowns and a couple hundred yards apiece. My gut though tells me Marc Richt and the Hurricanes will find a way to get the job done and win this game with their defense. It’ll be a close one throughout, but the Hurricanes will make one more play than the Tigers.
Miami Wins 23-17
3. Louisville vs. (1) Alabama
If this game would’ve been played last year or the year before I believe it would be much more interesting, but with Louisville losing Lamar Jackson and a handful of other players to the NFL I’m just not sure how competitive of a game this one will be.
For Bobby Petrino this is going to be by far his most challenging year in sometime. With the Cardinals losing two electric play-makers on both sides of the ball in quarterback Lamar Jackson and defensive back Jaire Alexander this Cardinals team is going to be in need of some new guys to step up. On offense Louisville is going with Jawon Pass as their starting quarterback. Now we don’t know too much about Pass since we haven’t seen him in action all that often. Luckily for him he will have several good receivers to get the ball to in Jaylen Smith, Seth Dawkins, and Dez Fitzpatrick. All three of these receivers have great size and given Alabama’s lack of experience in the secondary these guys could have big games, if the Cardinals offensive line can hold up.
As for Alabama, this team has the potential I believe to be the most explosive and exciting offensive team we’ve ever seen Nick Saban have. As of right now both Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts are listed as the starter. I do believe both quarterbacks will see action in game one just because I believe Alabama will impose their will on Louisville. If Tua gets the majority of the snaps this offense could fly up and down the field scoring almost at will. If Hurts gets most of the snaps the defense will be the dominating force of this game as well as the running game. Both Damien Harris and Najee Harris can carry the load and make big time plays. Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is a guy I’m definitely going to be keeping my eye on for the Tide.
Game Prediction
Giving Nick Saban multiple months to prepare for a big time game isn’t something any team wants to do. Since Saban has had all off-season to game plan I really believe they are going to get off to a fast start. Now, Louisville will hold their own for the first half or so, but ultimately Alabama will be too much for them to handle. Alabama is more talented and have depth for days. The Cardinals will have an exciting play or two, but this thing I believe will be all Alabama.
– Cam Akers (Running Back Florida State): As a freshman in 2017, Akers set a new Florida State freshman rushing yards record, finishing the season with 1025 yards. He also rushed for 7 touchdowns and had 1 receiving touchdown. This kid has all the potential and he showed it last season, but how will he build off that success from last year?
– Entire Clemson Defensive Line (Clelin Farrell), (Christian Wilkinson), (Dexter Lawrence), (Austin Bryant): Last season Clemson’s defense dominated everyone. They combined for a total of 46 sacks in 2017. This line should be even better this season.
– Jaylen Smith (Wide Receiver Louisville): After a big season in 2017, Smith is likely to be the star of the Cardinals offense in 2018.
– Eric Dungey (Quarterback Syracuse): Last season Dungey was up and down and missed a couple of games, but when healthy and on the field Dungey gives the Orange a better chance of winning. We saw that last season when he played the game of his life when they beat Clemson.
– A.J. Dillon (Running Back Boston College): As a freshman last season, Dillon was very impressive as he racked up 1589 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. As a sophomore I’m looking for him to be even better.
– Taquon Marshall (Quarterback Georgia Tech): Last season was Marshall’s first season taking the majority of the snaps. Now he isn’t much of a passer, but the guy is deadly with his legs in that iconic Paul Johnson Georgia Tech triple option offense.
It’s being called the “goat” game, greatest opener [of] all-time, it will be the first time in quite a while that two top five teams will meet on opening weekend. Both teams are coming into the 2017 season with championship aspirations. Alabama is looking to return to the National Championship game after losing to Clemson last season. And Florida State looks to finally have the pieces in place to make a run at getting back to the college football playoff, after falling short these past two seasons. Now, aside from everything we can talk about on the field, lets first take a closer look at both programs. Since 2010, both Alabama and Florida State are among the winningest college football programs in the country. From 2010 to now Alabama has a record of 86-11 and Florida State has a record of 78-17. Over that time Alabama has won 3 national championships (2011, 2012, 2015) and Florida State has won 1 (2013).
– History Between Coaches
Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher know each other pretty well dating back to their time together at LSU. From 2000 to 2004 Jimbo Fisher was Nick Sabans offensive coordinator, over the course of those five years Saban and Fisher had the LSU Tigers rollin, even winning a national championship in 2003. Saban would however leave for the NFL after the 2004 season. Jimbo, stayed on at LSU continuing his role as offensive coordinator under new head coach Les Miles. That would only last for two seasons because Jimbo left for the same position at Florida State.
– Jimbo
Jimbo started his career at Florida State as Bobby Bowden’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Then in 2010 Jimbo Fisher took over as the Florida State head coach, taking over what at the time was a sub par Seminoles program. From 2000 to 2009 year in and year out you never knew which Florida State would show up. After a couple of years of going 7-6 to then having a lone 9-4 finish, it was a very inconsistent time. The years of the great Bobby Bowden had pasted. Since Jimbo has taken over, Florida State has won 10 or more games 6 of the 7 years he’s been there. The recruiting and development of talent is off the charts as well. With tonight’s game being a huge ACC vs. SEC showdown it’s fair to say Jimbo has fared pretty well against SEC opponents, 8-1 so far. But this Alabama team will be a different kind of juggernaut.
– Saban
Since returning to college football in 2007, Nick Saban has flat-out dominated! His record and championships speak for themself. He’s elevated college football to another level, it’s not just a fall sport, it’s an all year thing now. With all the success Saban has had over the years he’s found himself having to face off against several of his former coordinators; Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, Derek Dooley, and Mark Dantonio. So far he’s 10-0 and has won all ten quite handedly, 403 to 104 are the combined scores of all ten games. Tonight he’ll be facing by far his most successful former assistant.
– What To Watch For From Florida State
Coming into tonight’s game, the Seminoles match up fairly well with the Crimson Tide at every position except for offensive line. Last season the Seminoles had a tough time protecting Deondre Francois, giving up 36 sacks and numerous other quarterback hits. As much as the offensive line is to blame, Francois didn’t help himself much by holding onto the ball longer than he should have. Let’s also keep in mind Francois was a red shirt freshman last season; with a year of experience under his belt he should be more aware in those kinds of situations. But the biggest thing Florida State has to do is make sure they keep Francois upright, if they can do that they’ll have a great chance of winning this game.
Next, who on offense besides Deondre Francois will become the big time playmaker? Florida State is loaded with talent at every position, but there’s not a ton of experience at those positions. Francois lost his top three receiving targets in Rudolph, Wilson, and Whitfield. And oh, lets not forget about Dalvin Cook. So the door is wide open for guys like wide receivers Nyquan Murray, Auden Tate, and Keith Gavin as well as running backs Jacques Patrick, and highly touted freshman Cam Akers. Murray and Tate both came up big at the end of last season and Patrick over the years has been a solid back up to Cook. I’m looking for one of these guys to step up in a big way.
Third, Florida States might have the best player in college football on their side tonight. Despite missing all but a game in a half of last season, defensive back Derwin James is expected to have a big time season this year. But it’s not just a one-man show for this Seminoles defense; unlike on offense this defensive unit has quite a bit of experience as well as the talent. The Seminoles defensive line led by Derrick Nnadi and Josh Sweat will look to be aggressive early. Getting pressure on Hurts and rattling him is a must for the Seminoles. The more they can force Hurts into passing situations will give guys like Tarvarus McFadden and Trey Marshall opportunities to make a game changing play.
– What To Watch For From Alabama
Alabama is unlike any other team in college football, each year they lose a ton of talent to the NFL and somehow come back better and stronger the next year. It’s incredible to watch how Saban and his staff develop each and every one of their players. Coming into tonight’s game my only question is; has their passing attack improved? Down the stretch last season Jalen Hurts and the Alabama offense struggled when it came to their down field passing attack. If so, this Alabama team will have no problem getting back to the National Championship game.
– Final Thoughts/Prediction
Tonight’s game has all the ingredients to be one of the best college football games ever; two championship caliber teams, star power, and two very recognizable coaches; it’s going to be very entertaining. But in years past we’ve seen what Alabama can do to opponents in week one-match ups… it can get out of hand real quick. However, I don’t believe that will be the case in tonight’s game. My prediction is Florida State surprises everyone and wins 24-20. I believe the Florida State offensive line steps up and shows they are up for the challenge.
Leader of the Pack Sports 