Close games a rarity lately for sizzling Tigers
By Larry Williams
CLEMSON — When Clemson squandered almost all of a three-touchdown halftime lead and barely held on for a 24-18 win over Florida State in the opener, it looked like it was going to be another one of those seasons for the Tigers.
The seasons where every other game comes down to the last possession and the last tick of the clock. The seasons that cause coaches to age three years in a span of three months.
Since that night at Memorial Stadium, however, all nine of Clemson's games have been decided by double digits — the longest such streak for the Tigers in 12 years.
Late-game execution could be critical Saturday, when No. 15 Clemson and No. 18 Boston College battle to determine the Atlantic Division champion. The past two meetings have gone into overtime, with the Eagles winning both times.
Those defeats ultimately denied Clemson trips to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game in Jacksonville, Fla.
"We've got to start the game off hard, and we've got to finish the game hard," said senior linebacker Tramaine Billie. "If we're on top of them with two minutes left in the game, we've still got to push hard."
The Tigers need only go back three weeks to understand the importance of late-game focus when facing Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan.
Down 10-0 at Virginia Tech, Ryan guided the Eagles to two touchdowns in the final 2:11. Boston College walked away with a 14-10 triumph, leaving Hokies fans numb in Blacksburg, Va.
Billie remembers watching the Thursday night game with a few teammates. It became mere background noise in the fourth quarter, with Virginia Tech seemingly in control. But not for long.
"Virginia Tech had that game, and BC just came back and stole it away from them," Billie said. "It really shocked us that they were able to do that in Blacksburg."
The Eagles (8-2, 4-2), who have lost back-to-back games to Florida State and Maryland after rising to No. 2 in the rankings, face daunting odds Saturday night in Clemson (7:45 p.m., ESPN2). The Tigers (8-2, 5-2) have outscored their past four opponents by an aggregate 191-51, including a 44-10 demolition of Wake Forest last week.
"They're probably the hottest team in the country," said first-year Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski. "We've got our work cut out for us."
Clemson's opening victory over the Seminoles marked the extension of a remarkable trend. It was the 13th time in the Tigers' previous 26 games that the outcome was decided by a touchdown or less.
In 2006, Clemson had five games decided by seven points or fewer. The year before, seven games fell into that category.
This year, Clemson has gone 7-2 in its games decided by 10 points or more. The Tigers and Duke are the only ACC teams that have had just one conference game decided by a touchdown or less. Virginia leads with six, followed by Maryland and North Carolina with five apiece.
Clemson offensive coordinator Rob Spence said this year's dearth of close games could be a concern if and when the Tigers are confronted with that situation. But he said enough of his players have been through it before.
"It does present a challenge," he said. "But it's something that, with the experienced players we have on offense, they'll remember when. And they're used to that feeling here. In this league, in this conference, you play a lot of those nail-biters. You play a lot of games that go down to the last possession. I think we're used to that."
Ninth-year Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, who's trying to give Clemson its first ACC title since 1991, said the presence of Ryan makes him somewhat apprehensive. Yet he believes the electric atmosphere that's sure to envelop Memorial Stadium will keep minds from wandering.
Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning said the coaching staff must avoid freezing up near the end if this game is indeed close and Ryan has the football in his hands with a chance to win.
"You've got to be guarded against coaching tight at the end," he said. "You can't be afraid of pressure. You can't be afraid to call your game and do the best you can."
Reach Larry Williams at lwilliams@postandcourier.com.
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nivag1 (anonymous) says...
GO TIGERS!!!!
November 16, 2007 at 6:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nomoregoodolboy (anonymous) says...
GO TIGERS, keep beating those medicore schools with your creampuff schedule. How many bowl teams does Clemson play?
November 16, 2007 at 10:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
coachken (anonymous) says...
Bowl teams? There is a very good chance that there will be at least six, seven teams in the conference already have six wins. Four of the six only have two losses. Clemson has beaten four with BC this week that could be five and VA or VA Tech in the ACC Championship would make six.
A creampuff is sure sweeter than humble pie.
Being in line for a BCS Bowl is where all teams want to be at this point in the season. WAITE TILL NEXT YEAR, AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 16, 2007 at 1:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nomoregoodolboy (anonymous) says...
If Clemson plays so many "bowl" teams why are they not ranked in the top ten?
Wow Clemson beat two bowl Wake Forest, and FSU and these teams teams are barely bowl eligible. And is Wake ranked? FSU is 19. BC is 14? Once again tough schedule. The fact that the ACC even has a BCS tie in is laughable. I kind of hope that Clemson will lose this one so the fair weather Clemson fans can start calling for Bowden's head, again.
And if we are all lucky Clemson will pull out those cute purple uniforms.
November 16, 2007 at 2:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tigerama (anonymous) says...
what really kills you chicken fans is that there is no good press for you. Nothing to help pull recruits at this critical point. You can even loose recruits which have verbally only committed. That is the key to finishing strong. Only press I see is folks done for the year due to injuries. Serious injuries which should not have happened if they were properly detected when they were minor. A star cornerback and linebacker both played hurt and then got worse-done for the year. Warning recruits - bring your doctor with you. Georgia will win your division and just take a peak at recruiting for next year. Georgia is in the top 5. WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR. -with a rookie back-field. Georgia can't wait and will be stacked.
November 16, 2007 at 2:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
coachken (anonymous) says...
nomoregoodolboy
If you always do what you always did you will always get what you always got.
Same old Carolina, get your tails kick every year, cry in your beer, keep comming back. You may not want to be a goodd old boy but you are. Some things just can not be changed.
November 16, 2007 at 3:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SNA79 (anonymous) says...
The chickens keep forgetting this article:
http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/n...
Apparently playing in the SEC guarantees you will have a cream puff schedule. Of course, you could also look to conference bowl records for confirmation. Over the past 5 years (and not counting the new league members until they were actually in the conference), the ACC's bowl winning percentage is .600 while the SEC's is .571. I understand that Carolina fans don't like facts, but the ACC has won more bowl games in the past five years. The percentage would be even higher if the new members were included.
It is a little weak, however, to rely on your conference (or has-been coach) in attempting to justify why your program is relevent in football. Good teams that consistently perform well get recognized as being good. Teams that rely on the former glory of their conference or current coach (take your pick - Spurrier, Holtz, Carlen, Dietzel) are just sad. USC-Columbia should hope that someday they are recognized as being as good of a program as Wake Forest is now, and not just be recognized because of who they have at coach or in what conference they play.
November 16, 2007 at 3:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rebel1 (anonymous) says...
USC plays the second toughest sch in the nation. clem som has beaten 3 teams with 6 wins. one of those is central mich, lol. another is wake who beat army, navy,duke, for 3 of there 6 wins. you clem som fans need to wake up to the fact that clem som or the acc will never get any respect until they play a college and not highschool sch. By the way if vandy wins this week the sec will have 11 bowl teams.
November 16, 2007 at 3:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charleston_grown (anonymous) says...
i believe alabama is a scheduled game for the tigers in the next few years, as well as a renewed rivalry with UGA. anyway, what is with all the hate? if you are going to hate on strength of schedule, complain about OSU, SoCal, Michigan, Kansas, and WV to name a few. and if you hate the fact that you play in the SEC write your AD and get him to drop you down to DI-AA or the FCS as it is called, you could even join the Big Least.
November 16, 2007 at 4:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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