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.

So much of offensive football is presenting stuff that's different and thus difficult to prepare for on short notice. We've seen it with Paul Johnson and his flexbone. We saw it two years ago in the SEC with Gus Malzahn and all his window dressing at Auburn.

Introducing the Hurry-Up, No-Huddle approach to the ACC was a smart move. No. 1, the ACC hasn't exactly been known for its creative offensive ways in recent years. No. 2, the breakneck tempo is something ACC defenses don't often see.

Well, add Maryland to the list of teams that are dialing up the tempo. The Terps were an intriguing offseason study because their plans were guarded so closely. You heard rumblings that Randy Edsall's offensive coordinator, Gary Crowton (pictured above), was going to speed up the pace. But you didn't know how much and how often.

The most notable thing about last night's game -- other than the hideous Electric Kool-Aid Acid Terps uniforms, of course -- was the Terps' fast pace. They did everything they could to lose the game by failing to cash in with touchdowns, but it certainly appears that the up-tempo thing is a way of life in College Park the same way it's a way of life here in Clemson.

Seeing more and more teams adopting the hurry-hurry pace is something we should get used to. When an idea works, it's copied relentlessly. So no surprise that, the season after Auburn and Oregon advanced to the title game on the strength of up-tempo offenses, you're seeing similar stuff sprouting up all over the place.

Morris acknowledged last week that concepts don't stay cutting-edge for long.

On to some Tuesday links...

Heather Dinich writes about the Terps' fast pace in this piece. The ironic thing about Edsall's hire is that it was criticized for failing to excite the fan base. Guessing fans have a different take after last night.

“It was like the blink of an eye before we scored,” said quarterback Danny O'Brien. “We ran 49 plays in the first half, which is like three whole quarters from last year of our offense.”

But still not fast enough for Edsall.

“I thought sometimes the officials were taking too long to put the ball down,” he said, “standing over the ball and slowing us down just a little bit.”

In Spartanburg, here's a piece on Wofford and the Terriers' lack of fear when going up against the big boys.

Wofford came close in games at South Carolina in 2008 (23-13) and 2006 (27-20), and you can bet those scores will be drilled into the heads of Clemson's players this week.

“Any time you go into a place like Carolina or West Virginia or Clemson and you've got a chance at the end to win it, that's all you can ask for,” Ayers said. “We have enough guys who played in that last game against Carolina who are still on the team. They'll handle it the right way.”

Back to Miami-Maryland for a moment: I really like Stephen Morris. That late pick-6 certainly wasn't good, but he made some great throws last night.

Fascinating game Saturday in Athens. Gonna tell us a lot about both programs. Mark Bradley correctly notes that the Doggies could have a good season even with a loss to the Gamecocks -- Georgia doesn't have to play Alabama, LSU or Arkansas this year -- but he also notes that the "Richt is a goner" perception will be pervasive if he starts 0-2.

I know Bob Stoops is saying superconferences seem inevitable. I know T. Boone Pickens is predicting the fall of the Big 12. I know that Chip Brown is suggesting impending armegeddon and looting in the streets.

But here's a crazy thought: What are the chances that nothing happens?



LW