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The future is now
By: Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
The fans did their part during and after the thundering Joey Batson serenade that precedes the fourth quarter.
Even when plenty of doubt had seeped into the stadium, the place had the look and feel of a stadium ready to help lift its team to yet another victory.
But it looked and felt a bit different on the sidelines.
On one side you saw all of Clemson's players and coaches dutifully raising four fingers as they looked up at a scoreboard that read Clemson 30, South Carolina 28.
On the other side you saw a Gamecocks' assistant coach looking directly toward Clemson's sideline, screaming and gyrating as if to say: "Bring it on."
Clemson had no answers in a passing game Saturday that mustered just 99 yards. And 59 of those yards came on one play. (Getty)
These games can be decided by a play here, a play there. But even as this one stood in doubt with 15 minutes left, it felt like the Gamecocks had the emotional and physical edge.
It felt like the Gamecocks, through their body language and resistance at the point of attack, had a bit of swagger that Clemson was lacking.
Of course this has to be extremely tough to take for everyone in the program and fan base. Through the seven-game winning streak you were so used to outclassing and outmuscling the rivals from Columbia that it almost doesn't compute to see the Gamecocks come into Death Valley and do what they did, how they did it.
Brandon Streeter was very quick and forceful in pointing out after the game that the offensive funk and 8-of-29 passing day wasn't all on DJ Uiagalelei.
But in the moment, my view was that they needed to try Cade Klubnik after Uiagelelei was dinged on his hip in the third quarter. Uiagalelei's throwing motion and overall execution looked off after that point, even more tentative than usual.
Of course there's concern in throwing Klubnik out there into that situation, based on the body of work he's put forth thus far. But the belief here is he'd have been a better option than Uiagalelei at that point.
Wow, what a buzzkill ACC championship game now that North Carolina comes in with back-to-back home losses and Clemson comes in having to pick itself up from one of the most painful and resounding defeats of the Dabo Swinney era.
Eleven years ago, Swinney pulled off a masterful job of deflecting criticism on his players in advance of the ACC championship after his team got stomped by Steve Spurrier's team in Columbia.
So it's been a while since Clemson went to the conference championship game not feeling good about itself.
Whatever happens from here on out, this season is assured to have dealt Clemson fans two of the most numbing defeats in memory.
Beaten up and down the field in South Bend, and then watching the Shane Train parade out of Death Valley with a victory.
No, this season did not provide the resounding answer that many wanted and dreamed of after last year's slip to 10-3.
They don't put state-championship rings on slippery hands. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
It's never good for Clemson to be knocked out of the College Football Playoff race.
It's never good for them to lose to South Carolina.
Both in one action presumably compounds the pain exponentially.
But for the seven-game rivalry win streak to go down as it did feels like it's going to have consequences in the near future.
That wasn't a quality South Carolina team flashing potential, as the story will go, although the hat warrants tipping to its players and coaches for being the better team on the day.
Clemson true freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik has just 22 pass attempts all season, despite the struggles of D.J. Uiagalelei. (Tigerillustrated.com)
That outcome -- at least in this observer's eyes -- was the amalgamation of all that has been wrong with Clemson reinforcing that this team just isn't that hot either.
One man's opinion is that focusing the anger and criticism foremost to Uiagalelei would be misguided.
He bears a share of the burden, no doubt. But he wasn't late on the defensive assignments yielding splash play after play. He didn't fumble the special teams returns. He didn't design the offense or drop the catchable passes -- a 3-for-16 passing performance in the second half, for 13 yards, goes well beyond one player.
Every game has a collection of what-ifs, and here's being stuck on E.J. Williams' drop with 3 minutes left that stunted momentum and changed the complexion of their final drive.
That said, while Uiagalelei isn't close to the whole problem, I get where turning to Klubnik this week might be the only logical, immediate effort at solution.
Something has to change, that much is evident.
The play-caller did last offseason, and the Tigers have rolled out just about every receiver on the roster.
We might still argue Uiagalelei gives Clemson the best odds of beating UNC to score the ACC crown.
Yet our instinct is to still feel this season marks the end of the Uiagalelei era one way or another. This team needs spark, hope, anything and everything to breathe life back into this week -- and going with Klubnik strikes us as the only major reset button available. And might seem more reasonable after N.C. State's fourth-stringer beat the Tar Heels over the weekend.
Klubnik doesn't resolve the shortcomings at receiver, change the routes they run, fix pass-protection issues or offer some of the tough running Uiagalelei executed Saturday.
But our purely speculative hunch is Swinney will conclude the future to be now. -- PAUL STRELOW
BLACK FRIDAY Weekend DEALS on a TON of officially-licensed CLEMSON apparel and gear at The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
The future is now
By: Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
The fans did their part during and after the thundering Joey Batson serenade that precedes the fourth quarter.
Even when plenty of doubt had seeped into the stadium, the place had the look and feel of a stadium ready to help lift its team to yet another victory.
But it looked and felt a bit different on the sidelines.
On one side you saw all of Clemson's players and coaches dutifully raising four fingers as they looked up at a scoreboard that read Clemson 30, South Carolina 28.
On the other side you saw a Gamecocks' assistant coach looking directly toward Clemson's sideline, screaming and gyrating as if to say: "Bring it on."
Clemson had no answers in a passing game Saturday that mustered just 99 yards. And 59 of those yards came on one play. (Getty)
These games can be decided by a play here, a play there. But even as this one stood in doubt with 15 minutes left, it felt like the Gamecocks had the emotional and physical edge.
It felt like the Gamecocks, through their body language and resistance at the point of attack, had a bit of swagger that Clemson was lacking.
Of course this has to be extremely tough to take for everyone in the program and fan base. Through the seven-game winning streak you were so used to outclassing and outmuscling the rivals from Columbia that it almost doesn't compute to see the Gamecocks come into Death Valley and do what they did, how they did it.
Brandon Streeter was very quick and forceful in pointing out after the game that the offensive funk and 8-of-29 passing day wasn't all on DJ Uiagalelei.
But in the moment, my view was that they needed to try Cade Klubnik after Uiagelelei was dinged on his hip in the third quarter. Uiagalelei's throwing motion and overall execution looked off after that point, even more tentative than usual.
Of course there's concern in throwing Klubnik out there into that situation, based on the body of work he's put forth thus far. But the belief here is he'd have been a better option than Uiagalelei at that point.
Wow, what a buzzkill ACC championship game now that North Carolina comes in with back-to-back home losses and Clemson comes in having to pick itself up from one of the most painful and resounding defeats of the Dabo Swinney era.
Eleven years ago, Swinney pulled off a masterful job of deflecting criticism on his players in advance of the ACC championship after his team got stomped by Steve Spurrier's team in Columbia.
So it's been a while since Clemson went to the conference championship game not feeling good about itself.
Whatever happens from here on out, this season is assured to have dealt Clemson fans two of the most numbing defeats in memory.
Beaten up and down the field in South Bend, and then watching the Shane Train parade out of Death Valley with a victory.
No, this season did not provide the resounding answer that many wanted and dreamed of after last year's slip to 10-3.
They don't put state-championship rings on slippery hands. -- LARRY WILLIAMS
It's never good for Clemson to be knocked out of the College Football Playoff race.
It's never good for them to lose to South Carolina.
Both in one action presumably compounds the pain exponentially.
But for the seven-game rivalry win streak to go down as it did feels like it's going to have consequences in the near future.
That wasn't a quality South Carolina team flashing potential, as the story will go, although the hat warrants tipping to its players and coaches for being the better team on the day.
Clemson true freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik has just 22 pass attempts all season, despite the struggles of D.J. Uiagalelei. (Tigerillustrated.com)
That outcome -- at least in this observer's eyes -- was the amalgamation of all that has been wrong with Clemson reinforcing that this team just isn't that hot either.
One man's opinion is that focusing the anger and criticism foremost to Uiagalelei would be misguided.
He bears a share of the burden, no doubt. But he wasn't late on the defensive assignments yielding splash play after play. He didn't fumble the special teams returns. He didn't design the offense or drop the catchable passes -- a 3-for-16 passing performance in the second half, for 13 yards, goes well beyond one player.
Every game has a collection of what-ifs, and here's being stuck on E.J. Williams' drop with 3 minutes left that stunted momentum and changed the complexion of their final drive.
That said, while Uiagalelei isn't close to the whole problem, I get where turning to Klubnik this week might be the only logical, immediate effort at solution.
Something has to change, that much is evident.
The play-caller did last offseason, and the Tigers have rolled out just about every receiver on the roster.
We might still argue Uiagalelei gives Clemson the best odds of beating UNC to score the ACC crown.
Yet our instinct is to still feel this season marks the end of the Uiagalelei era one way or another. This team needs spark, hope, anything and everything to breathe life back into this week -- and going with Klubnik strikes us as the only major reset button available. And might seem more reasonable after N.C. State's fourth-stringer beat the Tar Heels over the weekend.
Klubnik doesn't resolve the shortcomings at receiver, change the routes they run, fix pass-protection issues or offer some of the tough running Uiagalelei executed Saturday.
But our purely speculative hunch is Swinney will conclude the future to be now. -- PAUL STRELOW
BLACK FRIDAY Weekend DEALS on a TON of officially-licensed CLEMSON apparel and gear at The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
