A part of me feels a little bad to write this. The Clemson Tigers laid it on the line Saturday night against Auburn. The first half was as good as I've them play in many years. The defense was aggressive, the play calling was fantastic, and Clemson led 17-3 at the half.
The 2nd half was a brutal war with Auburn. To those Tigers credit they fought back to take a 24-17 lead. When quarterback Kyle Parker took a shot in the back, it looked like Clemson might just go away. They didn't. In an impressive display of fortitude and guts Clemson tied the game.
On their final 4th quarter possession Clemson misfired on a pass that would have put them in FG range. It is overtime now. The Clemson defense holds Auburn to a FG. Clemson with ball gets inside the 10, and maybe the upset will happen. Of course not, another missed pass, a made FG, a penalty then a miss. Game over.
A hard fought physical tough game, but you know what it was in the end? It was just another ACC non-conference loss to a quality team.
Should I be so harsh on Clemson? They played their hearts out, but so did Virginia Tech against Boise St, as they promptly lost the next week to James Madison. North Carolina dropped the game winning TD against LSU, now they’re 0-2. Close losses to good teams might make you feel good, but as evidenced by Virginia Tech and UNC they don't mean squat the next time you play.
The ACC has done a great job this year almost winning big games, and they've done a great job in years past almost winning big games.
I want to see the ACC's national perception change, but it won't as long as the ACC keeps coming short in these type games. It doesn't matter how well or hard the effort was, the bottom line is the score. We'll Wake Forest it's up to you against Stanford... nevermind it is 41-10 Stanford at the Half. * sigh *
The 2nd half was a brutal war with Auburn. To those Tigers credit they fought back to take a 24-17 lead. When quarterback Kyle Parker took a shot in the back, it looked like Clemson might just go away. They didn't. In an impressive display of fortitude and guts Clemson tied the game.
On their final 4th quarter possession Clemson misfired on a pass that would have put them in FG range. It is overtime now. The Clemson defense holds Auburn to a FG. Clemson with ball gets inside the 10, and maybe the upset will happen. Of course not, another missed pass, a made FG, a penalty then a miss. Game over.
A hard fought physical tough game, but you know what it was in the end? It was just another ACC non-conference loss to a quality team.
Should I be so harsh on Clemson? They played their hearts out, but so did Virginia Tech against Boise St, as they promptly lost the next week to James Madison. North Carolina dropped the game winning TD against LSU, now they’re 0-2. Close losses to good teams might make you feel good, but as evidenced by Virginia Tech and UNC they don't mean squat the next time you play.
The ACC has done a great job this year almost winning big games, and they've done a great job in years past almost winning big games.
I want to see the ACC's national perception change, but it won't as long as the ACC keeps coming short in these type games. It doesn't matter how well or hard the effort was, the bottom line is the score. We'll Wake Forest it's up to you against Stanford... nevermind it is 41-10 Stanford at the Half. * sigh *
