Alabama LB suspended for first 3 games of 2008

Prince Hall will serve a three game suspension to start the season. This was expected, but still a blow to an already thin LB corps at Alabama.

In addition, 3 players from the Alabama number 1 ranked recruiting class (two 4 star players and a 3 star) did not qualify and will not enroll, further proving that it's not always who you sign in February, but it's who enrolls in August (borrowed that from Mack Brown).

Top 40 players from 2003 (Part II)

In our first installment we looked at players 31-40. In this installment we look at players ranked 21-30. The same caveats apply, namely:

1) Obviously the grades are subjective.

2) The grades are split into 5 categories:
a. Bust
b. Marginal Contribution
c. Solid Contribution
d. All-Star
e. All-American

3) In one case, a player’s career was permanently ended early by an injury. This player was given an incomplete.

With those things in mind...

30. Robert Lane – QB – Mississippi (Monroe, LA) – Spent majority of first three years as a backup before moving to TE. 30 receptions for 204 yards in two years at TE. Final Grade: Bust.

29. Xavier Lawson-Kennedy – DL – Oklahoma State (Duncanville, TX) – Started six games in four injury plagued years. Did not stick in NFL as undrafted free agent. Final Grade: Bust.

28. Jordy Lipsey – OL – Virginia (Longwood, FL) – Started 25 games with UVA in ’06 and ’07. Never made All-Conference. Final Grade: Marginal Contribution.

27. Demetrice Webb – DB – Florida (Jacksonville, FL) – Two year starter, AP All-SEC in 2005. Left school with one year of eligibility left and was a 7th round pick of Jacksonville. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

26. Brandon Owens – DB – Minnesota (Delray Beach, FL) - Broke into starting lineup as a junior in 2005 before suffering a career ending neck and shoulder injury in game 5 against Penn State. Final Grade: Incomplete.

25. Michael Bush – QB – Louisville (Louisville, KY) – 1,143 yards and 23 touchdowns, All-Big East in 2005. Injured in first game of 2006. Opted to enter the NFL Draft instead of returning for his senior year. 4th round pick of the Raiders. Final Grade: All-Star.

24. Kregg Lumpkin – RB – Georgia (Lithonia, GA) – Battled injuries throughout his 5 years in Athens. Finished with 1,700 career rushing yards. Final Grade: Marginal Contribution.

23. Chad Jackson – WR – Florida (Hoover, AL) – Caught 88 passes for 900 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2005 when he was named first team All-SEC (AP). Career numbers: 120 catches, 1,586 yards and 16 TDs. Left school a year early and was a second round pick of the Patriots. Final Grade: All-Star.

22. Wesley Jefferson – LB – Maryland (Clinton, MD) – After two years as a reserve he recorded 100 tackles (10 for loss) in 2006 as a fourth year junior. Gave up football prior to 2007 season for a career in law enforcement. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

21. Tarrel Brown – DB – Texas (Mesquite, TX) – Started 3 seasons in Austin without making any Big 12 All-Conference teams (not even honorable mention). Highlight game was 2005 national championship against USC in which he recorded a career high 10 tackles and had two passes broken up. Selected in the 5th round of the 2007 draft by Buffalo. Final Grade: Marginal Contribution.

Multisport athletes

Clemson Freshman Kyle Parker is the main focus of this story on ESPN.com about multisport athletes.

Desperate man, desperate measures

Almost four years after declaring that South Carolina fans should quit talking so much about beating Clemson and focus on the SEC Steve Spurrier has apparently given up on winning the SEC and focused on Clemson. Spurrier claims that the owner of an unnamed Clemson web site has been sending copies of newspaper articles to recruits detailing the arrests of Gamecock players.

Besides obviously not understanding the legal system in the United States (people are arrested on probable cause and a trial determines their guilt or innocence), the hypocrisy flows from Spurrier's mouth ad nauseum. He's bothered by a rush to judgement when one of his players is arrested, yet he goes public with accusations against a web site based on this evidence: "That’s just the word we got. We thought that’s who it was,” Spurrier said. No evidence of guilt needed when Spurrier is leveling accusations.

But we're just getting started. Spurrier also ruffled feathers when he suggested that sportswriters should consider what would happen if Clemson played South Carolina's schedule and South Carolina played Clemson's schedule when making predictions. Besides being ludicrous, one would think the argument would hold more water if South Carolina actually beaten Clemson more than once in the last 6 years.

Alas, there seems to be at least one writer who has tired of the Spurrier shtick and understands Spurrier's actions for what they are: The desperate moves of a desperate man trying to deflect attention from an average football team that can't beat it's rival and that seems to be losing terribly at the recruiting game.

Spurrier keeps telling us how young he feels and what great shape he is in. Physically, perhaps. But, it's becoming more and more obvious that three plus seasons in Columbia have taken their toll on his psyche.

Like father, like son

This one is a few days old, but the interesting thing to me is that Tommy Bowden doesn't plan on coaching forever like his old man. He enjoys the beach, waves and spending time his wife. He doesn't even plan to coach until he is 68, much less 78 like his father.

Whenever he decides to leave Clemson he will leave the football team in better shape than it was when he arrived.

Georgia Tech kicks off the Paul Johnson era

Pretty good read from SI.com on the transition at Tech from Chan Gailey to Paul Johnson. I, for one, am of the mind that it will take some time, but Johnson will eventually succeed at Tech. The problem is defining "succeed". A win against Georgia would be a great start.

As for this year, look for flashes of brilliance mixed with frustrating losses and lots of turnovers. Johnson is a good coach, but it is going to take some time.

Whatever happened to the top 40 players from 2003

We all get excited when our team signs a 5 star prospect. The possibilities seem endless. Visions of conference championships and even national titles dance in our head as we take for granted that "5 stars" guarantees us a great player.

How often does reality meet fantasy? Not as often as you'd like to think. Athlon Sports revisited the top 40 recruits of 2003 in their annual college football magazine in a piece entitled “Whatever happened to Athlon Sports’ Top 40 Recruits of 2003".

Over the next few days I'll count down this list and include a summary of Athlon's summary of each player’s career with a final “grade”. The grade was assigned by me, not Athlon.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

1) Obviously the grades are subjective.

2) The grades are split into 5 categories:
a. Bust
b. Marginal Contribution
c. Solid Contribution
d. All-Star
e. All-American

3) In one case, a player’s career was permanently ended early by an injury. This player was given an incomplete.

Without further ado, here are the first ten in reverse order:

40. Tony Cade – DB – Oklahoma (Lewisville, TX) – Played in 11 games in ’04 mostly on special teams. Transferred to the City College of San Francisco and then to UNLV where he started 4 games in ’06 and 8 in ’07. Final Grade: Bust.

39. Tyrone Moss – RB – Miami (FL) (Pompano Beach, FL) – Often injured and sometimes suspended. Earned All-Conference honors in 2005 despite only playing in 8 games. Undrafted free agent cut by Browns in May 2007. Final Grade: Marginal Contribution.

38. Turk McBride – DL – Tennessee (Camden, NJ) – First team All-SEC (AP) in 2006. Selected in 2nd round of 2006 NFL Draft by Kansas City. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

37. Mario Williams – DL – North Carolina State (Richlands, NC) – Starter from game one of true freshman season. 14.5 sacks in 2005. Number 1 overall pick of NFL Draft in ’06. Final Grade: All-Star.

36. Sean Bailey – WR – Georgia (Alpharetta, GA) – 39 receptions for 615 yards and 5 touchdowns as a senior in ’07. Career: 75 catches, 1269 yards, 12 touchdowns. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

35. Paul Oliver – DB – Georgia (Kennesaw, GA) – Became a full-time starter as a fourth year junior in ’06 and totaled 57 tackles and 3 interceptions. Declared academically ineligible for the ’07 season and entered the NFL Supplemental Draft where he was taken in the 4th round by the Chargers. Final Grade: Marginal Contribution.

34. Jarvis Moss – DL – Florida (Denton, TX) – 5th in sacks in the SEC in ’05 (7.5) despite not starting a game. Also had 7.5 sacks as a starter on the ’06 UF National Championship team. Left school with one year of eligibility remaining and was drafted in the 1st round of the ’07 draft by Denver. Final Grade: Solid Contribution.

33. Lawrence Jackson – DL – USC (Inglewood, CA) – 4 year starter, 2 time all PAC- 10, 2nd team AP All-American (2007). 52 tackles for loss and 30.5 sacks in career, 4 PAC – 10 titles, one national championship. 1st round selection of the Seahawks in 2008. Final Grade: All-American.

32. Robert Meacham – WR – Tennessee (Tulsa, OK) – Had a breakout year as 4th year junior in ’06 with 71 catches for 1,298 yards. Ended career with 125 catches for 2,140 yards and a 17.1 yard average. Left school with one year of eligibility left and was a 1st round draft choice of the Saints. Final Grade: All-Star.

31. Steve Smith – WR – USC (Canoga Park, CA) – 190 receptions, 3019 yards, 22 touchdowns. 48-4, two national titles, 2nd round pick of Giants. Final Grade: All-Star.

Alabama relying heavily on freshmen

In the coming days I plan to post my thoughts on Alabama's talent level, but this story from SI.com pretty much hits the nail on the head - Alabama is talented, but young. How quickly the young Alabama players adapt to the college game will determine how their season goes, but I have no doubt that in another year or two Bama will be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC and on the national scene.

2008 Rule Changes

Interesting story from Rivals.com on the rule changes for the 2008 season. The biggest change is the 40 second play clock that will begin when the ball is ruled dead from the previous play. Great, all for it.

But, then of course the NCAA adjusts the rules for the last two minutes of play to where the clock starts on the snap of the ball in most circumstances (for example, if a ball carrier goes out of bounds).

So you spend 28 minutes trying to "speed the game up" and the last two minutes (which already drag as it is) slowing the game down. Wouldn't want those TV viewers to miss out on those last second drives. ESPN must be really really happy with this one. Is this the NCAA or the Arena Football League? How far away are we from holding being allowed during the last two minutes of each half so the TV viewers get to see more offense? You get my point.

Here's a thought: Have the same rules for all 30 minutes of each half.

Speaking of Paul Strelow...

he's followed in my footsteps and started a Clemson blog.

10 story lines for the Clemson Tigers

Paul Strelow of The State takes a look at 10 story lines to watch for with the 2008 Clemson Tigers, all of which we have heard before, with the exception of #10, more man to man pass coverage. Whether that turns out to be a positive (more turnovers) or a negative (giving up more big plays) remains to be seen. In fact, it remains to be seen if this was just an "experiment" or something that will be used on Saturdays in the fall.

If you're happy and you know it...

Clemson ranked #1 in the Princeton Review's survey of college students in the "Happiest Students" category. Our little gem has been discovered.

Jack Leggett's House Burns

Clemson baseball coach Jack Leggett's house burned Sunday afternoon. The fire is being investigated by SLED and Oconee County fire investigators.

12 steps to perfection

I'll continue to beat this drum, even if no one is listening. Mark my words: sometime later this year the media will say Tommy Bowden didn't meet "expectations" again. The question is whose expectations did he not meet? The fans? I haven't heard one Clemson fan say the Tigers are going to go undefeated. I've heard many say they could, but most likely won't. But yet, here is another member of the media giving us the road map to a 12-0 season for Clemson.

It seems to me that the media is the one setting the expectations for Bowden to live up to, not the Clemson fans or athletic department. Most Clemson fans I know set their expectations at an ACC championship. Anything else is gravy.

The wild ride of the Tommy Bowden era at Clemson

Larry Williams of the Charleston Post and Courier chronicles the highs and lows of Tommy Bowden's 9 years at Clemson.

What's interesting to me is that the media often blames the fans for continually putting Bowden on the "hot seat", but here once again, is a member of the media not only chronicling each years highs and lows, but also including a "Bowden seat temperature" with each year.

You could argue that Williams is just relaying the "mood" of Clemson fans after each year, but is he really "reporting" the feelings of the fans from, say, 6 years ago (hot) or is he perpetuating the "Bowden always on the hot seat" mentality?

Three myths about Clemson football

Semi-interesting read from Ed McGranahan of the Greenville News. To me the most interesting myth is number two - that Jim Grobe and Wake Forest own Tommy Bowden and Clemson. This perception is fed by Tiger fans who think Clemson should never lose to Wake and were embarrassed by the 45-17 shellacking in 2003. But the fact is that Bowden is 7-2 against Wake and 5-2 against Grobe. That's not to say that there haven't been close games that Clemson has pulled out when the Tigers used to regularly pound Wake. There was an OT win at Clemson in 2004 and a game changing blocked FG returned for a TD by Gaines Adams in 2006.

Wake is better than they used to be, that's a fact. But, Wake Forest doesn't own Clemson or Bowden. Odds are the 2008 game on a Thursday night in Winston-Salem won't be an easy one for the Tigers. Historically, the home team wins the majority of Thursday night games. However, there is one difference this year - the Tigers have the Saturday prior off so they won't be facing a short week on the road as they did in 2006 vs. Virginia Tech.

IPTAY membership and giving increases over 2007

A slight increase in membership and a $5.6 million increase in giving thanks to the new seating equity plan.

ACC title game on the move

Why? You have to ask that question when discussing the reasons for the ACC moving the conference championship game from Jacksonville to Tampa. Why not Atlanta? Why not Charlotte?

The embarrassing spectacles in Jacksonville the last two years where small crowds, empty seats and the feel of a high school game are the first things that came to mind are done. For the next two years the ACC will be embarrassed by games in Tampa, and unless Clemson or Florida State wins the Atlantic Division expect more empty seats.

Maybe it’s not so much about the location of the game, but the quality of the teams. Maybe it’s a combination of the two. After all, Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech would be a hard sell no matter what the records are or where the game is played.

The ACC will have better crowds and more success when the game moves to Charlotte for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, but if Boston College is playing Georgia Tech look for empty seats just the same.

Clemson-Bama to each earn almost $2 million

Why play a dangerous game away from your home stadium to open the season? Here's almost $2 million reasons.

Cullen Harper named ACC preseason player of the year

For what it's worth (not much) Cullen Harper was named ACC preseason player of the year. Interestingly, the Tigers had three selected on offense and only one on the defense.

Stewart Mandel on Clemson's lofty expectations

I have to admit that I share some of the same concerns that Mandel has, namely the offensive line and the linebackers. It wasn't easy to read, but he has a point.

C.J. Spiller Highlights

I've seen a lot of good backs at Clemson over the years. Kevin Mack, Kenny Flowers, Terrance Flagler, Raymond Priester, Terry Allen, James Davis. The list goes on and on. But never have I seen one with the moves and speed that C.J. Spiller displays in this YouTube highlight reel.

While he is far from a complete back, he is undoubtedly a home run threat every time he touches the ball.

The two that standout to me are the run against Georgia Tech in 2006 when he stopped in his tracks to elude a Tech defender on his way to a long score and the run against Auburn in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl where seemingly the defensive back has the angle on Spiller and then ends up left in the dust.

Enjoy!

More Tiger Links

Clemson-Alabama Toughest Ticket In Georgia Dome History

Tigers Turn

In Theory, Clemson A National Championship Contender (Matt Hayes, Sporting News)

Tigers Talent Is Relative

It was a throw away line. A few words at the end of a reply to a question about the level of talent on Clemson's 2008 football team. Tommy Bowden said he is blessed with more talent than he's ever had in his time at Clemson. Then he said, "How that relates to LSU or Texas or Oklahoma, I don't know".

To many Clemson fans and other doubters across the nation it was a typical Bowden. Excuses. Explanations. Rationalizations. Bowden again setting the tone for a let down. Poor mouthing his team so the expectations won't be so high and the seat so warm when the Tigers inevitably fall short.

Or was it? Bowden specifically mentioned three other teams, LSU, Texas and Oklahoma. I decided to take a look and see how Clemson's talent compares to those three other teams to try and determine the truthfulness of Bowden's statement.

First the caveats:

1. I looked at the two-deep lineups for each team as it was written in Lindy's 2008 College Football Preview magazine.
2. I used the Scout.com star ratings for recruits.
3. Not all players are playing the same position they were recruited at.
4. Some players were counted twice, because they are 1st team at one position and second team at another.
5. There are some inherent problems with this approach. I understand that some players ranked low have obviously exceeded their rankings. Aaron Kelley as a two star is an obvious example. However, there are 5 star rated player who are not performing at that level either, so the theory is that these will even out over the course of 44 players.
6. It's also obvious that a 5 star Freshman and a 5 star Senior are probably not performing at the same level. Again, this is about relative strength of talent on a team and is ONE way of measuring the talent on a team.

With those things in mind here are the average "star" rankings for these teams:

Offense

1. LSU 3.82
2. Texas 3.68
3. Oklahoma 3.45
4. Clemson 2.95

Defense

1. Texas 3.95
2. LSU 3.55
3. Oklahoma 3.50
4. Clemson 3.14

Overall Team Average

1. Texas 3.82
2. LSU 3.68
3. Oklahoma 3.48
4. Clemson 3.05

The Tigers ranked last in offense, defense and overall compared to the other three teams. It appears from this unscientific bit of research that Tommy Bowden has a valid point. Clemson doesn't stack up well against any of these teams in terms of raw talent.

Interestingly, Texas is lower ranked than the other teams across the board in the preseason rankings and predictions. So, in theory if Texas wins the Big 12 it will be a coup, even though the numbers show they have roughly a 7% higher talent level across the board than OU. Texas will be celebrated in the media as overachievers and a team that "gets the most of their talent", when in reality we should expect them to win the Big 12. And we wonder how some teams get the reputations of being either underachievers and others overachievers.

I am curious how the Tigers talent stacks up against the ACC, specifically Miami, FSU, Wake and Virginia Tech. I'll do some work and let you know what I find.

Tiger Links

Here's a smattering of the latest news on the Tigers from various sources covering the ACC Kickoff in Greensboro, GA.

ACC Still About The Bowdens

Clemson Ends Florida State's Run As ACC Favorite

Tigers Picked To Win ACC

Tigers Picked To Win ACC (SI.com version)

Tigers May Be The Face of the ACC in 2008

For Harper, It's A Whole New World View in 2008

There Are No Questions How Harper Stands

Hamlin: McDaniel Will Play This Season

Clemson Defense Loaded

An article from GreenvilleOnline.com about the Tigers defense, which finished 9th in the nation last year and returns 8 starters.

Two keys to the Clemson defense this year? The play of the linebackers and generating more sacks.

It's no secret that the majority of your tackles come from the LB position and the Tigers are looking at an entirely new corp of starting linebackers in 2008. There's talent, but little game day experience. If the LB's step up this has the potential to be a dominating defense.

The difference between 2nd and 10 and 2nd and 17 or so is enormous. Sacks lead to long yardage downs which lead to more time in the pocket which leads to pressure on the QB and OL which leads to punts. To many times last year the opposing QB escaped the Tigers pressure to either complete the pass or throw the ball away and save valuable yardage. It's a critical part of the defensive equation, not to mention often being a momentum changer.

How well the Tigers fare in these two areas will go a long way to determining whether this is a good defense or a great defense.

Spurrier Plans To Stick Around

Steve Spurrier says he feels like he is in his 40's and plans to stay at South Carolina for a while. Personally, I like Spurrier being at South Carolina. I think Bowden vs. Spurrier has added something to the Clemson-Carolina rivalry that has been missing - a ton of national exposure. It also creates an urgency within Tommy Bowden and Clemson that they better keep their foot on the gas or else risk falling behind.

With a victory in Death Valley this year Tommy Bowden would move to 3-1 against Spurrier while at Clemson. A loss would obviously make that record 2-2. Ironically, neither team has won this game at home since Spurrier's arrival at South Carolina. It's time to end that short streak in 2008.

Bobby Murcer Part II

My friend Big D, read my entry on Bobby Murcer the other day and passed along some interesting tidbits he found on Murcer's Wikipedia entry. It mentions several interesting facts about Murcer's career, including a "feud" with Gaylord Perry, Murcer eulogizing Thurman Munson and then going out and driving in all 5 runs in a 5-4 victory, and the story I mentioned - Murcer promising a dying child (who wasn't aware he was dying) a home run in that nights game (though Murcer denied an outright promise of a home run).

The next college football super power will be...

Interesting read from the same guys who "weren't buying" Clemson in one of my previous posts. At least one of them thinks Clemson may be the next college football super power.

Harper's Injury Would Have Prevented Playing in Bowl

I had wondered why Harper had the surgery prior to the bowl game instead of waiting until afterwards. Turns out it's pretty simple - according to this story on SI.com Harper wouldn't have been able to play against Auburn without the surgery.

Of course, that begs the question, why risk a hurried recovery and further injury by playing him in the bowl game?

The best coach in college football is...

Pete Carroll according to this story by Dennis Dodd of Sportsline.com. Hard to argue his point based on results.

A couple years back I had a discussion with some buddies about who they would want as coach of their team if they could have anyone. I chose Urban Meyer. Despite some doubts about his ethics when it comes to recruiting (including the C.J. Spiller incident) Meyer has won a national championship at Florida and many predict him to win another in 2008.

One interesting aside is there is no Mack Brown on Dodd's list of 8 (Carroll plus 7 others) which has some Texas fans upset judging by the comments after the article. Mack has a great record and a national championship in his 10 years at Texas. He also has a grand total of 1 conference championship and has lost at least 4 games he should have easily won in the last two years.

That said, Nick Saban? Sure he won a national championship at LSU few years back, but what about a 7-6 record and a loss at home to UL-Monroe puts you in such elite company?

Bowden: Most talent than he's ever had at Clemson

Not really surprising considering what the Tigers have coming back. What's interesting to me is the take from two different writers who listened to the same press conference. One headline says, "Tigers hold pieces to deliver success". The other says, "Bowden downplays expectations".

I realize that the author probably didn't write the headlines, but the difference in the tone of the stories amazes me. But, as Bowden says, "They're underachievers, can't win the big one, can't win the championship," he said Tuesday, parroting the most common criticism. "But we haven't done it. It's my fault...I think until you win a championship, that's always going to be the analogy, and accurately so".

Well said, Tommy.

Here's something you don't hear every day...

Former Clemson soccer player Chase Hilgenbrinck is giving up his professional soccer career and joining the priesthood.

Expectations

Expectations. I've been bantering back and forth with a couple of friends over expectations for the Tigers this year. Despite my post last night on what the experts at College Football News think about the Tigers chances, it looks like Bart Wright of the Greenville News has set the bar higher than anyone I've heard. Wright thinks the Tigers will go 12-0 and then lose in the ACC Championship Game. Wow.

Except for a few jokers online I hadn't heard anyone predict 12-0 and some Clemson fans even think Wright doesn't much care for the Tigers. So, if a guy who supposedly doesn't like the Tigers predicts 12-0, what does that say about the expectations for the Tigers?

Wright's article comes out the same day we learned the Tigers are a 5 point favorite in the early line against Alabama. Seems like a lot of points to give for a team that perpetually plays close games, win or lose. This is definitely one of those games that I discussed in an earlier post where the Tigers need to simply win the game. Cover or not, if Clemson wins the Tigers set themselves up for potentially a 5-0 start and top 5 ranking.

Expectations are sky high.

They're not buying what I'm selling

Wow...the "experts" at College Football News are hatin' on my Tigers. Do I blame them? Not really. It's a popular stance these days. Some are lovin', some are hatin'. I understand both sides of the discussion.

Given the Tigers recent history, you can't really blame these guys, but there is one simple solution. Win the games you are favored in and you win the ACC. Simple to say, not so simple to do.

I.M. Ibrahim Passes Away

The only time I've ever enjoyed watching soccer was during my time at Clemson. I didn't understand the game well enough to comprehend the strategy, but I could tell they were good, very good. Two time national champions coached by a man who was a true American success story, I.M Ibrahim.

Friday nights at Riggs Field were always a good time as we trudged our way towards Tiger Town Tavern and beyond.

My All Time Favorite New York Yankee Has Died

Bobby Murcer formerly of the New York Yankees died today at the age of 62. I idolized Bobby when I was a little leaguer. While most kids idolized the super stars of the day, I idolized a gritty outfielder for the Yankees who seemed to always come through in the clutch.

I kept the Sports Illustrated with the big story on him for years. I treasured his baseball cards. When the Yankees were on TV I watched his every at bat with rapt attention.

He never became the "next Mickey Mantle" as predicted, but he was my favorite. A lifetime .277 hitter with 252 home runs he'll always be more than numbers to me.

Legend has it a sick kid asked him to hit a home run for him. He hit two that day.

Thanks for the memories, Mr. Murcer.

Early 2009 College Baseball Rankings

After not making the post season for the first time in 22 years, there is hope for the Tigers as Rivals has the Tigers at #16 in their early 2009 rankings. That's the good news. The bad news is there are 4 ACC schools ahead of the Tigers in those same rankings.

Texas and Texas A&M are among 8 teams Rivals has chosen to make it to Omaha in 2009, while the Tigers were not in that group.

Baseball America also picked 8 (or 12) teams to make it to Omaha in 2009 and the Tigers were not on this list either.

Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook Clemson Preview

Pretty nice, in depth writeup about the Tigers. These things are usually brief, general and sometimes flat out wrong (as in Alabama being a home game for Clemson), but it appears some homework was done on this one. It even lists the assistant coaches, where they went to college (and year graduated) and what positions they are responsible for currently.

What to do about DeAndre McDaniel

Ever since the story broke on DeAndre McDaniel's arrest on charges of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature I've heard many and varied opinions on what should be done, if anything, with his status on the football team. It's a fair, but tough question.

My first instinct was that because of the nature of the charges he should be suspended, if not permanently removed from the team. There's one problem with that: McDaniel hasn't been convicted (or admitted to) of anything. So to suspend or remove him from the team would be tantamount to finding him guilty without a trial. There's no doubt others know more about the situation than I. What's the likelihood he committed the offenses he was charged with or at least at least some offense that would warrant his suspension? Who knows? I don't. I have to trust that the university in letting him stay in school and Tommy Bowden in letting him remain on the football team (for now) know more than I do.

Would I feel the same way if, say, the charges were murder? The answer is no. So, it's not even as simple as saying "Let's wait for the courts to settle this". For me, part of the answer lies in the very emotional nature of the crime. It's one of those crimes that makes headlines and is very often tried in the court of public opinion before the facts come out.

However, having served on a grand jury I do know that just because you are arrested and charged with a crime doesn't automatically mean you are guilty.

This is a no-win situation for Tommy Bowden. Sit him because of "allegations" and you risk the chance of punishing an "innocent" person. Play him while the case winds its way through the courts and you risk setting a precedent of seemingly not caring about what your players do off the field in order to win on the field and Clemson's reputation for fielding a team with great character and few off field problems could be harmed for a long long time, especially if McDaniel is eventually found guilty.

I would like to think that Bowden looked at the evidence he had in front of him (which is not necessarily the same that will be used in court) and made a judgment call. I would like to think that McDaniel's side of the story was compelling enough for Bowden to keep him on the team (for now). I would like to think that Bowden had not only McDaniel's version of the events, but also the complainant's version to compare to McDaniel's version.

I would like to think the nagging doubts I have about Bowden's decision to keep McDaniel on the team for now will go away soon.

Early Predicitons

As we mentioned in our first post, one of the things we want to do is to keep up with predictions from various sources and see how they do over the course of the season.

Here’s a look at a few of these. Where possible I include a link to the article containing the predictions. I'll add others as I become aware of them, so pass them along if you find them. I'm almost tempted to include Charlie Weis' prediction of double digit wins for the Fighting Irish here, but thought better of it.

Some of these are straight out predictions and some are extrapolated. For instance, Roy Philpott has Clemson beating Miami for the ACC title, so ergo Clemson wins the Atlantic and Miami the Coastal, though he doesn't come out and say that explicitly.

Colin Cowherd -ESPN

1. Colorado will beat West Virginia.
2. Michigan State will beat Notre Dame soundly.
3. Alabama will beat Clemson.
4. Missouri will beat Texas handily in Austin.
5. SC will beat LSU.
6. The end of year rankings will look like this: 1. Florida, 2. USC, 3. Ohio State, 4. Oklahoma, 5. Wisconsin.
   

Mark Bradley – Atlanta Journal-Constitution

1. Alabama will beat Clemson.
2. Auburn will win the SEC West.
3. USC – Ohio State winner will play in the BCS Championship Game.
4. USC will beat Ohio State.
5. Tim Tebow will win another Heisman.
6. Wake Forest will win the ACC Atlantic.
7. Virginia Tech will win the ACC Coastal.
8. Wake will win the ACC Championship Game.
9. West Virginia will beat Auburn on October 23.
10. Texas will win the Big 12.
11. Georgia will go 11-1, win the SEC East (losing to Auburn in regular season), beat Auburn in SEC Championship Game and defeat USC for the National Championship.

Phil Steele - Phil Steele's 2008 College Football Preview

1. Clemson will win the ACC (has the Tigers playing in the Orange Bowl vs. Missouri).
2. Oklahoma will win the Big 12.
3. Florida will win the SEC.
4. Ohio State and Florida will play for the National Championship.
5. Florida will win the National Championship.
6. Final top 5: 1. Florida, 2. Ohio State, 3. Oklahoma, 4. USC, 5. Clemson.

Roy Philpott - CUTigers.com

1. Clemson will beat Alabama.
2. Clemson will lose to Florida State
3. Miami will win the ACC Coastal Division.
4. Clemson will win the ACC Atlantic Division.
5. Clemson will go 12-1, win the ACC title and play Texas in the Orange Bowl.

Kirk Bohls - Austin American-Statesman

1. Sporting News says West Virginia rookie Bill Stewart will better the 11-2 mark of Rich Rodriguez last year. Not a chance. He's overmatched.
2. Nebraska ranks as one of Steele's surprise teams. Agreed.
3. South Florida will beat Kansas.
4. Kansas will not be in a second BCS bowl in a row.
5. Missouri will win the Big 12 North.

Recruiting younger and younger athletes

OK, so it's a stretch, but with the revelation a while back that Billy Gillispie offered an 8th grader a scholarship to Kentucky we thought we'd have some fun with it.

Thanks to my favorite Clemson Web site, CUTigers.com and Jim B. for helping Little Parker Coleman's dream of being a Tiger come true!. Well, sort of.....

Lies, damned lies, and statistics

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." The semi-ironic statement refers to the persuasive power of numbers, and succinctly describes how even accurate statistics can be used to bolster inaccurate arguments. (from Wikipedia).

I love statistics. Statistics can tell you a lot about teams and individuals in sports, but especially in baseball. Baseball is driven by statistics.

If you follow college baseball closely you've probably heard of Boyd Nation. Boyd is cited frequently around NCAA tournament time as he has developed a model that very closely resembles the RPI used to select teams for the NCAA tournament. His Web site also has various other rankings and ratings that are supposedly statistically sound.

I'll be the first to admit that I am not smart enough to understand all of the complex factors and equations that go into Boyd's determining his various rankings, ratings, and odds. I've argued more than once that some of these didn't make sense, only to be told I was too stupid to comprehend his complex models.

Perhaps my stupidity is the reason why I found it interesting that as the 2008 NCAA Division I playoffs began Boyd graced us with his probabilities of each team winning their regional, super regional, and the CWS, writing that Fresno State had a 6% chance of winning their regional, a 1% chance of winning their super regional and a 0% chance of winning the CWS.

Fair enough, except for the 0% chance of winning the CWS - they were playing - they had a chance no matter how small it was. But Fresno won their regional. And there was Boyd writing that despite the fact that Fresno was now one of 16 teams left in the tourney they had a 0% chance of winning the CWS.

Finally, when Fresno reached the CWS (after winning a super regional they were given literally a ZERO percent chance of winning) Boyd graced the Dogs with a 3% chance of winning it all.

We all know what happened. Fresno defied the odds and won it all in Omaha.

Were the odds very long? Absolutely. Were the odds 0% in the regional and super regional? That's ridiculous. Hocus pocus.

Sometimes statistics lie.

Help! My team is choking!

Every Clemson fan has heard it. "Clemson chokes". "Clemson gags three or four times a year". As hard as it is to hear those words as a Clemson fan, you really have to listen if you care about winning championships. Beyond the obvious problem of defining a "choke" or "gag" (they have different meanings to different people), there is some truth in those statements.

I took a look at 5 teams straight up records when favored over the last five years. Why these teams you ask? USC and Texas are known powerhouses that have pulled a number of games out in the clutch and won recent national championships. Virginia Tech is an acknowledged ACC power and Auburn is a solid SEC team. So, I compared where Clemson wants to go (Virginia Tech/ACC Championship), a similar team in a tough conference (Auburn) and two teams with recent championships to Clemson. Ouch. The results are below and include each team’s straight up record when favored and corresponding winning percentage. Ouch again.

1. USC 58-5, 92.06%
2. Texas 50-7, 87.72%
3. Auburn 40-9, 81.63%
4. Virginia Tech 40-12, 76.92%
5. Clemson 25-13, 65.79%

Are there teams out there with worse records when favored than Clemson? Sure. But that's not the point. The point is that to get to the "next level" Clemson needs to win games they are favored in more than 66% of the time. Did you hear that? Clemson loses 1 of every 3 games in which they are favored, while the elite teams of college football lose about 1 of 11 (USC) or 1 of 8 (Texas).

If Clemson wins the games they are favored in 2007 they go 12-1. The same thing goes for 2006. Obviously, those seasons would have played out differently had Clemson won the games in which they were favored, but my point remains valid. Win the games you are favored in and success and the recognition that Clemson craves will come.

Welcome to CU Orange

Welcome to everyone who has found this blog. I hope you stop by often and contribute to what we are building.

First, I should answer why a blog and what's this blog about. Pretty simple. This is an outlet for me, a hobby if you will. Why the blog format? A blog is easier to maintain and keep up with than a typical web site. Time is of the essence when you have a 22 month old son. This format allows me flexibility in when to post and what to include in the blog. The additional feature of having a "history" of posts in one place is also nice. Next, what are we about? Mainly college sports, but I'm sure we'll find our way to other subjects along the way, so I can't promise you this will be an all sports blog, but it certainly will be dominated by that theme.

As you can assume by the name we will spend a lot of time focusing on Clemson Tiger sports. Why the name CU Orange? What do you think about when you think of Clemson? Orange. Not the ugly burnt orange of Texas, or the ridiculous orange of Syracuse. Not even the orange of Tennessee. But you think of "Clemson Orange".

However, this will hardly be an all Clemson blog. Living near Austin, Texas gives me a unique perspective on things outside of the "Clemson realm" and will provide me with material and contacts from other programs in this part of the country that I would not otherwise be privy to. So while some may think it's a detriment being this far away from Clemson, the reality is that I see just as many games as anyone else while not being surrounded by the "bandwagoners" and "orange kool-aid drinkers. While most Clemson fans are watching Duke and UNC when the Tigers aren't on, I most likely am seeing a game that involves Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Texas or Oklahoma. Like I said a unique perspective.

Beyond Clemson sports we plan to have our own college football power ranking system. Not a "popularity" type contest, but rather a "power ranking" based on a teams wins and losses and strength of schedule. We will rank the conferences from best to worst using a similar ranking strategy. To that end we have dozens of staffers working on this in the lab at our sprawling worldwide headquarters and are spending hundreds of hours developing this state of the art system - so stay tuned!

We are planning a feature on keeping the "Mouths" honest. You know the mouths that predict one thing or another about football and claim how much they know in June or July. Rarely are they kept honest with a season long tally of their prognostications. Guys like Colin Cowherd of ESPN and Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. If you find others you think we should include in our list please feel free to let us know! We want this to be an interactive blog, not just my ramblings and pontifications.

Colin even has that includes a pick that is sure to irritate Clemson fans, not to mention a prediction on Texas vs. Missouri. Incredibly, he also picks South Carolina to at least cover against LSU.

We have other features in the works and there will be plenty of opinions shared here, too. Please feel free to join our mailing list by sending us an email and letting us know you wish to be notified of updates to the blog.

About now you are probably asking yourself what qualifies me for this endeavor. Let me be clear: I hit six home runs (over the fence) and pitched two no-hitters in one 20 game Little League season. I once intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in Pee Wee football. I nailed 1 of 8 free throws as a high school senior for a 6-17 team. Enough said.

Thanks, I hope you visit often and share your thoughts frequently!