haven't read much about the game and wanted to post some thoughts while they were fresh...
- first off, great win. notre dame is a good team, very grateful to get the W
- we pounced early and got the crowd into the game before the weather got worse. felt like we dominated the first 3 quarters but then really let off the gas offensively and tried to let Notre Dame beat us through the air with the heavy down pour... and they almost did
- 4 Notre Dame turnovers was obviously a huge part of the game, but give credit to our guys (Kearse and Lakip) for great hits/strips to get the ball out. if Notre Dame fans are thinking that the turnovers were the only (or primary) thing that lost them this game, just remember Artavis Scott dropped a ball in the end zone, Charone Peake didn't really fight for another TD pass from Watson, Ben Boulware dropped an interception that hit him in the hands, and we missed a field goal in the 4th quarter. Yes the Irish deserve credit for their comeback attempt, but make no mistake, Clemson won this game by dominating early -- it wasn't the Irish that lost it.
- we've got to clean up the play where Gallman leaves the backfield right before the snap, Deshaun is in the backfield alone, and then runs behind the pulling guard. Notre Dame knew it was coming the last few times we tried it and stuffed it pretty good. I know very little about play calling, but think we need to start disguising Watson's runs better ... especially as teams get more tape on us. Side note: Perhaps Watson has the option to throw on that play and just decided to keep it each time because of the bad weather ...?
- How about Andy Teasdall, Hunter Renfrow, and Greg Huegel (all walkons)? Andy had some really solid punts for us in really crappy weather. And he deserves credit for not shanking any punts (like the ND punter did). Hunter Renfrow coming up with the big catch early in the game and almost making that amazing catch off a tipped ball from our own receiver -- two games in a row making game changing, clutch receiving plays. And Greg Huegel making the 35 yard kick in terrible weather and leaving none of our extra points in question. Yes, I realize he shanked the kick in the 4th quarter (which would have been a huge make), but the rain and wind was probably at it's worse at that point, plus it was a 45 yarder. Either way, calling him out here is more so for being solid through the first four games in the season, not just tonight.
- How is it possible that our defense is still this good after losing so many guys? All the credit in the world goes to our entire defensive staff (Venables, Hobby, Brooks, and Reed) AND our players for buying in and putting in the work. On a related note, it seemed like we weren't substituting all that much on the defensive side of the ball, which could be a problem in the future if teams start to figure out their best chance against our D is to play hurry up and gas our starters. Hopefully we can get younger guys more and more playing time through the year to continue to build depth.
- I legitimately thought we were going to lose the game in the 4th quarter. Our offensive was churning out 3 and outs, our defensive had to be getting tired, and Notre Dame was working the middle of the field pretty easily. How monsterous of a play was it by Kevin Dodd, who looked like he was taking on and pushing 2 or 3 Irish offensive linemen, to stop their 2 point conversion? Incredible, incredible play. Unbelievably clutch.
- There were so many times that Notre Dame's offensive line completely handled our front four. I realize we had some great plays by our defensive line (shout out to Shaq Lawson, Carlos Watkins, and Big Juicy), but there we just too many times that we got absolutely zero pass rush with just four guys and Kizer had all the time in the world to throw. Thank goodness he's still a freshman and the weather was terrible because he still made some horrible throws and locked on to receivers even with 4-6 seconds in the pocket unpressured.
- How about our fans? Wow. Just seeing people in the stands with life preservers, snorkels, arm swimmies, etc. was hilarious. So awesome to see everyone embrace the bad weather and make Death Valley a hostile environment, especially with ESPN GameDay there to take it all in.
- Will Fuller: 2 catches for 37 yards. Yes, it was a heavy downpour most of the night, but give Mac Alexander credit.
- You can't always win AND get style points (we lost a lot of style points in the 4th quarter)... Very happy to get the win in terrible weather conditions against a good Notre Dame team. Glad to be 4-0 and for our next game against GT to be at HOME.
Ok, that's all I got. Obviously I didn't touch on everything, these were just the things that stuck out to me the most on this Sunday morning. Go Tigers.
- first off, great win. notre dame is a good team, very grateful to get the W
- we pounced early and got the crowd into the game before the weather got worse. felt like we dominated the first 3 quarters but then really let off the gas offensively and tried to let Notre Dame beat us through the air with the heavy down pour... and they almost did
- 4 Notre Dame turnovers was obviously a huge part of the game, but give credit to our guys (Kearse and Lakip) for great hits/strips to get the ball out. if Notre Dame fans are thinking that the turnovers were the only (or primary) thing that lost them this game, just remember Artavis Scott dropped a ball in the end zone, Charone Peake didn't really fight for another TD pass from Watson, Ben Boulware dropped an interception that hit him in the hands, and we missed a field goal in the 4th quarter. Yes the Irish deserve credit for their comeback attempt, but make no mistake, Clemson won this game by dominating early -- it wasn't the Irish that lost it.
- we've got to clean up the play where Gallman leaves the backfield right before the snap, Deshaun is in the backfield alone, and then runs behind the pulling guard. Notre Dame knew it was coming the last few times we tried it and stuffed it pretty good. I know very little about play calling, but think we need to start disguising Watson's runs better ... especially as teams get more tape on us. Side note: Perhaps Watson has the option to throw on that play and just decided to keep it each time because of the bad weather ...?
- How about Andy Teasdall, Hunter Renfrow, and Greg Huegel (all walkons)? Andy had some really solid punts for us in really crappy weather. And he deserves credit for not shanking any punts (like the ND punter did). Hunter Renfrow coming up with the big catch early in the game and almost making that amazing catch off a tipped ball from our own receiver -- two games in a row making game changing, clutch receiving plays. And Greg Huegel making the 35 yard kick in terrible weather and leaving none of our extra points in question. Yes, I realize he shanked the kick in the 4th quarter (which would have been a huge make), but the rain and wind was probably at it's worse at that point, plus it was a 45 yarder. Either way, calling him out here is more so for being solid through the first four games in the season, not just tonight.
- How is it possible that our defense is still this good after losing so many guys? All the credit in the world goes to our entire defensive staff (Venables, Hobby, Brooks, and Reed) AND our players for buying in and putting in the work. On a related note, it seemed like we weren't substituting all that much on the defensive side of the ball, which could be a problem in the future if teams start to figure out their best chance against our D is to play hurry up and gas our starters. Hopefully we can get younger guys more and more playing time through the year to continue to build depth.
- I legitimately thought we were going to lose the game in the 4th quarter. Our offensive was churning out 3 and outs, our defensive had to be getting tired, and Notre Dame was working the middle of the field pretty easily. How monsterous of a play was it by Kevin Dodd, who looked like he was taking on and pushing 2 or 3 Irish offensive linemen, to stop their 2 point conversion? Incredible, incredible play. Unbelievably clutch.
- There were so many times that Notre Dame's offensive line completely handled our front four. I realize we had some great plays by our defensive line (shout out to Shaq Lawson, Carlos Watkins, and Big Juicy), but there we just too many times that we got absolutely zero pass rush with just four guys and Kizer had all the time in the world to throw. Thank goodness he's still a freshman and the weather was terrible because he still made some horrible throws and locked on to receivers even with 4-6 seconds in the pocket unpressured.
- How about our fans? Wow. Just seeing people in the stands with life preservers, snorkels, arm swimmies, etc. was hilarious. So awesome to see everyone embrace the bad weather and make Death Valley a hostile environment, especially with ESPN GameDay there to take it all in.
- Will Fuller: 2 catches for 37 yards. Yes, it was a heavy downpour most of the night, but give Mac Alexander credit.
- You can't always win AND get style points (we lost a lot of style points in the 4th quarter)... Very happy to get the win in terrible weather conditions against a good Notre Dame team. Glad to be 4-0 and for our next game against GT to be at HOME.
Ok, that's all I got. Obviously I didn't touch on everything, these were just the things that stuck out to me the most on this Sunday morning. Go Tigers.
