Ten thoughts from the weekend

1. Well so much for that rare Top 15 rivalry matchup we talked about last week.

With Clemson ranked No. 7 and South Carolina ranked No. 14, seemed the only thing that would preclude just the second Top 15 matchup in the rivalry's history was a Gamecocks meltdown against The Citadel.

And then the Tigers melted down in Raleigh. They sank like a rock, all the way to No. 18, after that disasterpiece against the Wolfpack. Get blown out of Columbia, and the chances are good they'll fall all the way out.

2. This isn't the first time over the years that Clemson has taken a dramatic drop in the polls.

The 11-spot drop wasn't as big as the 13-spot drop after the Alabama beatdown in 2008, from ninth to 22nd.

In 2009, Clemson went to South Carolina ranked No. 15 but fell 10 spots after a 34-17 whipping.

In 2007, the Tigers were ranked 15th after a 4-0 start but fell to 22nd after a 13-3 loss at Georgia Tech, then they fell out altogether after a 41-23 home loss to Virginia Tech.

The 2006 team fell from 10th to 19th after a 24-7 loss at Virginia Tech, then dropped out after a home defeat to Maryland.

3. When N.C. State was up 37-6 late in the game, I was rummaging through the media guide trying to figure out the last time Clemson suffered a loss that bad.

The answer: 55-15 against Texas Tech in the 2002 Tangerine Bowl.

The late score by Mike Bellamy made it a 24-point deficit, matching the 34-10 defeat to Alabama in 2008. You have to go back to a 45-17 shellacking at the hands of Wake Forest in 2003 to find a worse defeat.

4. Saturday evening in Raleigh felt like some of the darker days under Tommy Bowden. You can knock Dabo Swinney for whatever, but the bottom doesn't fall out as often under him as often as it did at times under Bowden.

Some of the ugly ones under Bowden, in addition to the aforementioned doozies: 54-7 at Florida State in 2000; 38-3 at home against North Carolina in 2001; 37-20 at Maryland in 2001; 38-6 at home against N.C. State in 2002; 30-12 at home against Maryland in 2002; 30-0 at home against Georgia in 2003; 27-6 at Texas A&M in 2004; 30-10 at Virginia in 2004.

Swinney's worst losses before Saturday night:

29-7 to South Carolina last season (22 points)
34-17 to South Carolina in 2009 (17 points)
31-17 to Georgia Tech this year, and 41-27 to Florida State in 2008 (14 points)

5. If Saturday night felt like the Bowden days, maybe the Tigers can prolong the Bowden trend and go down to Columbia and beat the Gamecocks.

If Bowden composed a resume for his career at Clemson, the top line would read:

Went 7-2 against Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier

Bowden just owned the Gamecocks, for whatever reason. His only two losses were 20-15 in 2001 and 31-28 in 2006, and he smoked his counterparts in 2003 and 2004.

His most impressive wins, though, might've been in 2005 and 2007. The Gamecocks were on a big roll in 2005 in Spurrier's first year, and the Tigers went to Columbia and made clutch plays to win 13-9. In 2007, the Tigers were seven days removed from a devastating home loss to Boston College. Somehow they pulled together to win 23-21 on a last-second field goal.

6. Here's a weird stat:

Clemson's last four games at N.C. State have been decided by an average of 21.7 points.

This just happened to be the first time the Tigers were on the wrong end of a blowout.

Clemson won 43-23 there in 2009, 42-20 in 2007 and 31-10 in 2005.

7. Experiencing N.C. State's game-day atmosphere certainly makes you appreciate Clemson's setup.

The barren landscape, the lack of shade and the wasteland-type feel makes you wonder how brutal it is to attend games there in early September when it's 100 degrees.

The two positives about Saturday's tour around the stadium: 1) The weather was nice, and 2) Thank God the fair wasn't in town.

8. Before embarking for Raleigh early Saturday morning, took a look at the college football lineup and decided to give the DVR a rest. Just not many compelling matchups.

By late Saturday night, was wondering why I didn't stay parked on the couch instead of going to watch the Carter-Finley carnage. So many great games, so much compelling drama.

9. To all these people saying LSU and Alabama are clearly the best two teams in the land:

Maybe.

But maybe not.

Did you know Alabama has three wins over winning teams? And two of those teams are Penn State and Florida.

10a. It's one thing for SEC apologists to point to the rest of college football and say just about everyone else is mediocre too. That's fair.

But what's completely outrageous is saying this is merely business as usual for the SEC.

Maybe inside the upper crust, but nowhere below it.

10b. So sorry to hear the great Larry Munson has passed away.

What an icon. When a broadcaster is as much of a part of the fabric of a college football program as Herschel Walker, a Bulldog mascots and silver britches, you know he's a darn good broadcaster.

When he's beloved not only by his own team's fans, but fans of his team's most bitter rivals, you know he's one of the greatest that ever lived.

Rest in peace, Larry. Never knew ya. Wish I did.



LW