What must we do to beat Clemson?...

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bugboy

Damn Good Rat
Joined
Dec 2, 2001
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Offensively, I think a good running game between the tackles can go a long way. Musa Smith had some success against them, and I thing Hollings is much better than Musa. Also, I think our OL is better than Georgia's OL.
I don't want to put too much pressure on AJ. If we can run, I think that really opens things up for our receivers.

Defensively, let's put pressure on Willie. He got rattled pretty easily in Athens. He tends to just throw it up for grabs (at least, from my memory) when he gets in a jam. Their receivers are tall, but they've dropped a lot of passes.

I think we've got the talent to win this game...and the coaching.

I can't wait.
 
IMHO,

The most important battle is our O-line vs. their D-line. They seem to be playing better there, but I think they are a little light on the ends especially with Vaughn out. We need to really knock 'em in the mouth and control the tempo of the game. If you do this, it is much easier to keep the crowd from getting control of the game.

This will be a well-fought game and there will come a time when Clemson just scored and the Tigers and their fans will really start to feel momentum shifting. That is when our O-line must take control and bloody 'em up a little.

Football games are won upfront.
 
Other than the smartask answer 'score more points than them' I agree with Axe that if our OL plays well against their athletic DL we will win. IMHO, if you rank our players vs their players we tie or win in all categories except perhaps WR.

Of course turnovers will be key as well.
 
ABSOLUTELY. Games are won at the line. Our O-line HAS to control the tempo of the game. If our O-line does well, Hollings, Ford, etc can run and run and that of course will free up A.J and the receivers to do THEIR thing. A.J. is gonna have his first BIG test this weekend against a GOOD "D" and a hostile crowd calling plays and reading the "D". A "D" that does a fair amount of stunting and confusing.

DE-fensively, it is CRUCIAL for us to get pressure on Simmons. Gathers has to step up BIG-time. I'm sure they've studied film and seen that Gathers hasn't been much to deal with so far, so they probably aren't that worried about containing our D-line. It's gonna take our BEST game so far defensively to win this one.

OH YEAH, NO BIG MISTAKES!
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I listened to T. Bowden's press conference and you can tell that they are focusing on Hargrove. He was basically the only GT defensive player he menitioned in the press conference.

The problem for Clemson is most of the time they are in 4 wide sets, so there is a lot of pressure on the O-line and RB to correctly pickup the blitz. I only saw Clemson's o-line in the second half of the georgia came and they were really struggling with the blitz. The loss of the OT really hurts them. Plus, their most experienced and best blocking RBs are also out. We are going to bring guys from all over the place when they are in the 4 wide sets. I wouldn't be surprised to see us bring as many as 6 guys a quarter to half the time they are in the 4 wide set with no TE. Means our DBs are going to have to tackle well.
 
When UGA turned up the blitz on them, Willie was running for his life. I'm sure Tenuta took note of that.

With Woody, their offense was predicated on quick decisions and getting the ball out of the QB's hands quickly or the QB taking off on a run. With Willie, I think the strategy is similar, but I don't think he executes as well.

Also of note: Their special teams, which lost the UGA game, played very well against La Tech. If this is a close game, it could come down to special teams. If that's the case, I like our chances.
 
Axe, I suspect you're right about Hargrove. He's the only guy on our D-L who's distinguished himself thus far. We REALLY need to have at least ONE other guy on the D-L step it up big time to keep pressure on Simmons. They've GOT to beat our blitzes a least a couple of times. We've got to get some interior push or one from Gathers, Holiday, etc.
 
We need to keep constant pressure on Climpsun's QB and make him hurry his decisions. Our secondary must step it up and cover their receivers like a blanket.

No turnovers. No penalties. No mistakes.
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