Trap games

Matt Hayes of The Sporting News has presented his 2011 "trap games" facing Top 10 teams, and Florida State's trap game is its trip to Clemson on Sept. 24.

Before we go any further, maybe there's a better term than "trap." I mean, it's not as though the Seminoles will lazily stroll into Death Valley before realizing: "Oh my gosh! We have a game today, and it's against ... Clemson! In front of 80,000 fans! This place might be really loud! We've been trapped!" Maybe something like "slip game" would be more precise.

Anyway, hard not to agree with Hayes' selection of Clemson. Oklahoma visits Tallahassee seven days earlier, and that game is being handled with Game of the Century treatment. Win or lose, and it will be tremendously difficult to summon the necessary emotion and spirit for the trip up here.

Clemson will have some of its own emotions to deal with after playing Auburn, but the Tigers still figure to have the emotional edge based on playing at home -- and also based on the fact that the Tigers are still rankled from outplaying the Seminoles last year in Tallahassee but losing on a 55-yard field goal.

Speaking of Clemson, what's the Tigers' biggest trap game this season?

Some folks might say Troy, and in some recent years I might agree. But the Trojans have suffered some serious personnel losses from last year, and you'd think Clemson would have an easier time stopping Troy's offense than Troy would have stopping the Tigers' offense.

Another good nominee would be Georgia Tech, where Clemson has to travel a week after playing host to a talented North Carolina team that won't be an easy out. But I'd argue that the Yellow Jackets will have the Tigers' full attention because of that funky offense, and because memories are still fresh from those three excruciating losses in 2008 and 2009. Some might also vote for the Nov. 19 trip to N.C. State that comes a week before the trip to South Carolina, and that's certainly a good one.

My vote: at Maryland, Oct. 15.

Ralph Friedgen beat Clemson six times from 2001 to 2009, and the hope is the hex he employed is gone now that he's no longer the coach.

But strange things seem to happen a lot in College Park. And though Randy Edsall hasn't injected the fan base with a bunch of excitement and catchy one-liners, there's some evidence he might be a darn good coach.

Darn good coaches always seem to have at least one head-turning win their first year. And the Terps' conventional, physical approach on offense might not be a good matchup against a defense that might have some issues with getting pushed around on the interior defensive line.

On to some quick links...

-- Speaking of the Terps, here's a look at which freshmen could play in College Park.

-- Hayes thinks Miami will go 8-4, and he thinks Al Golden is the right guy down there. I agree; this man is going to get it done.

-- Well lookie here: Some tour pros were nauseated by Steve Williams devouring the spotlight after his guy won a golf tournament.

-- Here's an update from Georgia Tech's quarterback battle. Interested to see what this Vad Lee kid has to offer, but it sounds like Tevin Washington has a pretty strong grip on the job.

-- Virginia Tech is quickly moving forward on plans for a $25 million practice facility.

“It’s all about raising the money. As soon as we get $25 million, we’ll build it,” He added that $5 million in private donations have already been pledged, and an additional $2-3 million is “in the bank.”

Even without full funding, though, the project will continue to move forward. Gabbard said the school will settle on a design consultant in September. From there, several teams of architects and builders will be enlisted to come up with proposals and they would have 90 days to present their plans to a committee of school officials.

Construction, however, will not begin until the $25 million is raised.

-- And finally, former Clemson beat writer Ken Tysiac provides the laundry list of face-palm mistakes by North Carolina's compliance department.

Paging Holden Thorp...



LW