The Blacksburg mystique

If you've been around for a while, you remember the days that Lane Stadium was one of the most bland, ordinary and nondescript settings around.

Stats and stuff

Combing through the ACC numbers to find some stats that matter...

Ten thoughts from the weekend

1. Recruiting hasn't been a problem for Clemson over the last five or six years. All you have to do is look at the NFL Draft numbers to see that there's been plenty of talent here. And all you have to do is take a look at the current roster to see a bunch more guys who are going to hear their names called on future draft days.

Trickett or Manuel?

Michael Langston, our pal who works for Warchant.com, suggested to his subscribers this week that Clint Trickett is the better option for Saturday's game than E.J. Manuel.

ACC stats ... and losers

They say statistics are for losers, so it's fitting that this blog is about statistics.

The ACC and its roots

You can't help but wonder how much a scandal-ridden year influenced the ACC's move to go after Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

Ten thoughts from the weekend

1. Watching a replay of Saturday's win over Auburn reinforced just how well Death Valley goes over on TV when it's rocking for a big game.

Assorted Friday thoughts

A few scattered thoughts on a Friday morning:

-- You might say it's time for the ACC to step up. Since Florida State beat Virginia Tech for the BCS title at the end of the 1999 season, ACC teams are 1-32 against Top 5 teams.

I'm sure most other conferences don't have glistening records against Top 5 opposition. But without looking it up -- yeah, I'm lazy like that -- the assumption here is that the ACC's margin of defeat in those games is significantly greater than in some other conferences.

-- I've been down on Florida State's chances of beating Oklahoma for a while now. But when you hear that Oklahoma has lost five of its last nine road games, you start to reconsider just a tad.

-- Some people think tomorrow's game against Auburn doesn't mean much to Clemson because it will have no impact on Clemson's pursuit of an Atlantic Division title. Maybe no direct impact, but don't tell me it can't inflict an indirect impact.

Remember when Clemson beat Texas A&M to open the 2005 season? I believe that win helped that team psychologically over the rest of the season. It got their minds right after they entered a season with new coordinators on both sides of the ball, and coming off a miserable season in 2004.

Remember the 2008 opener against Alabama? That beatdown in Atlanta inflicted a hangover that lasted weeks.

Clemson won't win the ACC championship tomorrow, and the Tigers won't lose it. But it's a huge game for this program's psyche.

-- There is no team that has looked more physically imposing over the last six or seven seasons than LSU. Goodness gracious, they look like an NFL team.

I remember Billy Napier telling me he went to the Chick-fil-A Bowl a few years back to watch LSU strafe Miami 40-3. He watched LSU in warm-ups and said it was the best looking team he'd ever seen.

Amazing what can happen when you own an entire state in recruiting and are able to venture over to Texas and do some cherry-picking.

-- Was on a radio show yesterday morning in Alabama talking Auburn-Clemson, and I made the observation that Mississippi State has a high-precision offense that's enormously difficult to stop

The radio host had this response: "Well that's going to change tonight, because their inability to throw downfield is going to get exposed."

Smart man, that radio guy.

-- So Mississippi State's offense ran 57 plays last night, and nine of those plays were on the final drive.

Three-and-outs aren't good for any offense, but they're kryptonite for an up-tempo offense. Mississippi State had 57 yards on its second possession and 54 yards on its third possession, but after that the Bulldogs were shut down.

LSU had the ball for 37 minutes. That's the kind of stuff these up-tempo gurus have nightmares about.

-- Clemson's interior offensive line really needs to develop a little depth, and that's probably why you're hearing about Brandon Thomas getting looks at left guard lately.

Florida State rotates six experienced guys on its interior defensive line.

-- Craig James said this last night: "You have to play four quarters in the SEC."

Thanks for that, Mr. Phony Express. I'm still waiting to hear him say: "Man, that was just an SEC extra point right there."

-- Les Miles is clownish. But he's good for college football. We need people who like to mix it up and make things interesting. If the game were coached by nothing but a bunch of Gene Chiziks, it wouldn't be fun.

-- If any of you like good impersonations, you need to listen to WCCP-FM's William Qualkinbush on Mickey Plyler's show from 6-9 a.m. The dude does some dead-solid-perfect renditions.

On today's show, he regaled us with the soothing strains of Mike Hogewood and Ron Jaworski. Superb.

-- That's it for now. Gotta hit the road here in a few minutes if I want to get to Death Valley in time for kickoff.



LW

To pick or not to pick

GEORGE: Was there any nostril penetration?

Ten thoughts from the weekend

1. File Saturday away for the time in November and December when the anti-playoff folks start to tell us about the "sanctity" of the regular season.

Some brush-up on Wofford

Some folks have been asking about Wofford and what exactly the Terriers do on offense, so now's a good time to rehash some of the interview we had with coach Mike Ayers earlier this summer.

Semi-pro

We haven't heard haughty administrators extol the virtues of amateurism much these days.

Lawyers, guns and money

This thought occurred to me in the process of writing yesterday's blog:

Speed demons

When Dabo Swinney hired Chad Morris away from Tulsa to run Clemson's offense, one of the big positives was that no one else in the ACC was going up-tempo the way Morris was going to do it.

Ten thoughts from the weekend

All feels right with the world after (or during) the first weekend of college football.

Updating the list of TI weekly radio spots

Can't get enough of us on the web site? Here's a friendly reminder of when we'll be on the airwaves spilling our righteous knowledge this fall. Glad to be back on the radio in Charleston. Thanks to Foster's Pub in Mount Pleasant for making it happen!

LARRY

-- The Mickey Plyler Show
7-9 on Mondays and Fridays
104.9-FM in the Upstate
wccpfm.com

-- Fan Talk with Bobby Hartin
4:30 on Thursdays (with the exception of today, when I'll be on at 3:25)
Sponsored by Foster's Pub in Mount Pleasant
ESPN Radio, 910 The Team in Charleston
charlestonsportsradio.com

-- Open Mic Daily
3:40 on Thursdays
ESPN-1400 in Spartanburg (97.1-FM)
espnspartanburg.com

-- Also on 107.5-FM in Columbia at various points during the season.

CRIS

-- Open Mic Daily
4:10 on Tuesdays
ESPN-1400 in Spartanburg (97.1-FM)
espnspartanburg.com

RYAN

-- The Zone
4:10 on Tuesdays
ESPN 93.1-FM in Columbia
espncolumbia.com

LW