(Dear Boston College administration: Please don't fire Frank Spaziani. He might not be a very good coach, but that's beside the point. If you get rid of this dead ringer for Magnum PI, that effectively eliminates about 20 percent of my yearly blog fodder. So give the man a raise.)
Just yesterday, as he was doing the standard preamble for Dabo Swinney's weekly press conference, Clemson SID Tim Bourret said the Tigers are playing Georgia Tech this week.
It was an honest mistake, because Bourret was getting to the news that next week's game with the Bees will start at 3:30 p.m.
But it pretty well symbolized the dangers of this game for Clemson. The Tigers are coming off an emotional, draining defeat. They have the monstrous task of facing Georgia Tech next week, and Georgia Tech sliced holes through their defense last year. Boston College is coming off an open date, and the Tigers typically don't play all that well up there.
In 2006, I'm not sure we could say Clemson "overlooked" Boston College even though the Tigers were playing at Florida State the next week. That was C.J. Spiller's coming-out party, and the Tigers couldn't hold on to an early lead and couldn't cash in on touchdown opportunities in a 34-33 double-overtime loss. It should also be noted that the 2006 Boston College team was pretty darn good.
In 2007 the Tigers went up there and won, and that might've been the most important game of Dabo Swinney's tryout for the head-coaching job.
Two years ago Clemson was dead as a doornail. They'd just had an exhilarating 27-13 win over Georgia Tech a week earlier, but they couldn't prolong the momentum because they clearly didn't want to be there. It was ugly.
That's the challenge this week. Somehow summon intensity, spark and energy in a place that tends to sap those qualities.
Here's a transcript of Magnum's Tuesday press conference, and if this is the full transcript it might be the shortest press conference in history.
What is the status of (injured wide receiver) Bobby Swigert?
"Bobby has been cleared to practice. In terms of where he is at and the rust he may have is something we will have to deal with this week."
Is there a way to prepare for Clemson’s speed?
"The pace of the game that Clemson brings is something we practiced for going into Northwestern. As far as their physical speed goes, it’s just a matter of emphasizing certain things we need to do and reacting to it fast enough out on the field."
Have you found any solutions to the running game?
"There is no question we have an issue there; we are looking to resolve it. That’s the most I can say about it right now, we are doing everything physically to improve on that situation. A couple of the backs have responded so far and we need that to continue."
After taking a look back at the first three games, what can you do as a coaching staff to improve on things?
"As a coaching staff we can always tweak our X’s and O’s and try to put ourselves in the best position to succeed. Personnel groupings and how we scout ourselves are some of the things we can tweak. Fundamentally we can be sounder, making sure we are optimizing formations, personnel, and play calling. After that you just assess everything. We are a 1-2 football team and are close, but close isn’t good enough."
How do you assess the offensive line?
"The pass blocking has been good but the run blocking looks like it needs improvement. When you rush the ball for whatever we rushed for, it’s a fact of the matter. It’s a combination of things, the run blocking and the backs seeing the holes. We need to run the ball better and we are working on it."
Are there any freshman you see who are ready to step up?
"Those guys are our waiver wire, we are always looking for guys we can count on to be put into a situation and help us make plays. There are some younger guys we are going to ask to do more out there, which we believe they can."
Press conference ends when reporters (both of them) leave to pursue stories on the Patriots, Celtics, Bruins and Harvard crew.
LW
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