Looking ahead

Clemson's coaches probably wouldn't like it if I looked completely past Saturday's game against Presbyterian.

It'd violate the one-game-at-a-time message, and it'd be an insult to Presbyterian.

But let's be honest here: For my purposes, purposes that are much different from those of coaches, taking this week's game seriously would be a greater insult to you fans than not taking it seriously would be an insult to the ... oh yeah ... Blue Hose.

Hey, good for Presbyterian for getting its shot on the big stage. They faced Wake Forest last week, and the money they're getting from these two games is going to fund a new locker room.

So they're getting paid handsomely to be a tomato can. And it's a nice gesture for the in-state power to help out the little guy.

But with a huge game at Auburn merely 10 days away, don't expect me to hold off on analyzing that one. Don't expect me to sit here and pretend we're actually going to learn something in the three-hour scrimmage that will take place Saturday at Death Valley.

(Interesting find in the Presbyterian media guide, though. Before this season, the most recent instance of the Blue Hose facing programs that now belong to major conferences was in 1957, when they played ... Clemson. Their schedule from then to now is littered with obscure opponents like "Frederick," "Quantico Marines," "Newport News App.," and even ... get this ... "Guadalajara." The Blue Hose did make it to a bowl in 1959, losing to Middle Tennessee State in the Tangerine Bowl. So anyway, that might be the extent of TI's Presbyterian homework for the week.)

You never want to read too much into opening games against overmatched opponents, but there's reason for Clemson fans to feel good and bad when they look to next week.

Auburn allowed Arkansas State to throw for 323 yards on a 33-of-49 clip, and that's a positive. Arkansas State had the ball for 84 plays and didn't totally dominate time of possession, so it would appear the passing came on dink-and-dunk stuff.

Now for the bad: QB Cam Newton rushed for 171 yards in his Auburn debut, averaging 11.4 yards a carry with a long of 71 yards.

Those Tigers rushed for 367 yards, and that's absolutely a concern for these Tigers.

Take away Clemson's six sacks against North Texas, and the Mean Green rushed for 216 yards. That's ominous not only given Auburn's potent misdirection running game, but also given Clemson's struggles stopping the run dating to last season.

Here's what Clemson's rush defense looks like over the last four games (and we're excluding the sack yardage, because that's what Kevin Steele does):

North Texas: 216
Kentucky: 178
Georgia Tech: 333
South Carolina: 233

That's 960 rushing yards on 205 carries for an average of 4.68 yards per rush.

Last week, Steele said with great conviction that last year's late-season struggles against the run had been addressed because the player who wasn't getting the defense aligned correctly was no longer responsible for getting the defense aligned correctly.

"There was a reason for all the discombobulation at the time," he said. "We'll leave it at that."

The showing against North Texas didn't offer abundant hope of the major improvements Steele alluded to last week, but yesterday Steele said with conviction that the problems will be addressed and fixed.

The game that's three days away won't tell us much. The game that's 10 days away will tell us a lot.

Gene Chizik talks about his defense in this article.

"It was fairly base in a lot of ways, and that's good for the first game,'' Chizik said during his weekly Tiger Talk radio call-in show Tuesday night. "You want to see if they can block. Can they tackle? Are they doing the little things that need to be done?

"There were a lot of positives to build on, but, Thursday night, we'll have to be a completely different team to win that game."

One reason for the simplicity may have been the depth chart. Auburn played 14 freshmen -- mostly on defense -- and 19 newcomers overall on opening night. The 14 freshmen were the second highest total in the nation.

More on that from Charlie Bennett in the Anniston Star.

“As a defense, we’ve got to pick it up,” said Auburn linebacker Eltoro Freeman. “The way we performed Saturday night, we can’t perform that way against Mississippi State and win. We need to get to work.”

Sounds a lot like the tune coming from Clemson's defense, no?

Glad I'm not afflicted with newspaper deadlines anymore. The game on Sept. 18 could be high-scoring and looooooong.

Some insightful and articulate analysis of Auburn from this blogger.

I'm watching the game again on television after spending a night in the stadium. This will change, but you saw the body language of the DBs wasn't exactly aggressive when it came to attacking Newton in the open field. I'm guessing there are a handful of defensive coordinators that will spend a few long nights searching for difficult answers.

Will one spy be enough? And where does that weaken your defensive armor? The only problem with spying on Newton is where that might leave you exposed. Thus, Newton is at his most dangerous not because he is an elusive 6-6, 240 monster, but because there are so many other options around him. Take Newton away in the middle of the field and Mario Fannin goes wide. Put eight or nine in the box and you will receive a re-education from Darvin Adams. (And the knock on Newton, about his touch, doesn't seem to be a problem so far.) It must be perplexing problem for defenses.

Perhaps a total defense could do it. Some of those incredible Florida defenses from a few years back or the 2009 Alabama defense would be the best equipped to rise to the challenge. A pedestrian 11 will get exposed with so many of Malzahn's moving pieces. Newton will be an important component in that bulldozer of inevitability.

Florida State beat writer Andrew Carter wonders if the Seminoles' game at Oklahoma is one of the most important non-conference, non-Florida games in school history.

Included on his list is ...

No. 10 Florida State 24, No. 3 Clemson 21
Date: Sept. 17, 1988
Location: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, S.C.
What happened: Florida State and Clemson were tied at 21 with about a minute and a half to play. The Seminoles lined up in punt formation and then it came – one of the most famous plays in college football history.
Play of the game: It’s known in just a word: puntrooskie. The Seminoles’ daring deceiving fake punt led to LeRoy Butler sprinting up the left sideline. He was tackled just before the goal line but the Seminoles kicked the game-winning field goal.
The impact: Not only was this a significant victory against a top-five team on the road, but the puntrooskie became a part of college football lore. It remains one of Bobby Bowden’s signature play calls. Florida State won the rest of its games and finished 11-1.

My take on this is that there's no way to know how important this game is until after the game, and maybe even well after the game.

First off, the Seminoles have to win. And then they have to rise to the prominence from which they slipped late in Bobby Bowden's tenure.

I would submit that, no matter the result Saturday, there's no way this game will ever occupy the same stature as the others Carter mentions.

Those games were true landmarks in one of the most remarkable rags-to-riches evolutions in college football history. Bowden's philosophy of "anytime, anywhere" road scheduling -- and the assortment of impressive road victories bagged during that time -- was the foundation for his program's rise to dominance, and it's a major reason Bowden should be considered among the best coaches in college football history.

The philosophy was unheard of at the time, and it was awesome to behold the Seminoles going to places like Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan ... and winning.

Jimbo is saying and doing all the right things, and a win at Oklahoma would be huge. But let's wait and see.

Even after losing 6-3 ... at home ... to North Dakota State, Turner Gill is Mr. Positive.

“I was very surprised when I walked in the locker room after the game, and Coach Gill didn’t even show any phase of being angry or anything,” KU linebacker Steven Johnson said. “He just stayed positive.”

In the Independent-Mail, a story on the, uh, eccentric Dawson Zimmerman.

Becoming consistent is easier when you focus solely on the task at hand, but that isn’t always easy for someone as thoughtful as Zimmerman. The English major writes short stories; his current work is about a pogonophile (someone who loves or studies beards).

He resembles “Friday Night Lights” kicker/punter Landry Clarke, and like Landry, he’s in a garage band, The Rainbow Bandits, which Zimmerman says plays folk-parody music a la HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords.”

“Sometimes,” he said, “I have some really weird thoughts.”

Well, well, well. Looks like John Blake had agent Gary Wichard on speed dial.

Tom Sorensen of The Charlotte Observer said the Tar Heels have squandered the right to condescend.



LW