Five questions with Aaron Ransdell, sports editor, The Tiger News
1. After the game against The Citadel, Dabo Swinney said no one wanted to beat South Carolina more than him. How ready are the coaching staff and the players to put an end to the four-game losing streak?
At the weekly conference for Chad Morris, he said that everyone on the team should take last year’s loss personally. I think those first few losses didn’t mean as much seeing that South Carolina has had a really talented football team, but last year and this year especially, they feel like they are the better team on the field. I’ve noticed that this year’s Clemson team has been focused all season on finishing strong at the end of the season.
2. What do you think the Tigers bring this year that is different from the last four years? What’s the most important thing they can do this year that they didn’t do the previous four losses?
This year’s Clemson team brings in a lot more experience than the past. Boyd has learned to play without his safety blanket, which for the past few years have been “Nuke” Hopkins and his tight ends. I think that he realizes that he can’t focus in on one receiver the whole game and needs to let the others make plays with him. To win, they need to have their offensive line play well. They don’t need to be perfect by any means, but they do need to allow Boyd some time to throw and make smarter decisions.
3. With both teams in the top 10 going into the game, how does this matchup measure up to ones from the past? What is the atmosphere around campus like so far?
This is the first time in rivalry history that they’ve both been in the top 10, which obviously says a lot about how far both of these teams have come. I think Clemson fans have gotten a little tired of hearing about the streak, but it means the players are, too. I can tell you most conversations on campus eventually result in a chat about how much the Tigers need a win this year to regain some of the bragging rights.
4. The Gamecock defense hasn’t been as dominant as it has been the last couple of years and there is a lot of youth, particularly with the linebacker core. Despite that, is there still a lot of focus on doing something against a defense that has stymied Clemson’s offense over the past few years? With that said, how can the Tigers take advantage of the youth on defense?
Morris and his offense are a run-first spread formation, meaning they are going to try to establish the ground game early. If Clemson can’t get the run game going in the first quarter, I think you might see a lot more pressure on Boyd to make plays, but it probably won’t alter their game plan that much. If Clemson wants to take advantage of the youth at linebacker, they need to run as many misdirection plays as possible in order to keep the defense honest. Running the ball early will open up the pass, which is where you’ll start to see Watkins or Bryant start to make some plays.
5. Finally, Jadeveon Clowney terrorized the Clemson defense with 4.5 sacks last year. Is that something that has been mentioned, and how much focus will be on the junior and the rest of the defensive line?
Every press conference that Clemson will hold this week will include a Clowney question from the Clemson beat. That being said, every player and coach is going to deny any inkling of focusing on a single player. I’d like to see Clemson attack Clowney with the read option to take him out of the game, similar to what Missouri was able to do to the Gamecock defense.
Prediction:
Clemson wins by 10, 38-28. If you remember Spurrier’s comments after last year’s game against Clemson, he admitted to being lucky that when the Gamecocks face the Tigers, they usually play one of their worst games. Clemson should finally put together a competitive game against South Carolina, and with the huge improvement the Tigers have seen on defense, they have a good shot at it.