Tigers Roll over Ball St.
Clemson welcomed back Ball St to Death Valley for the first time since 2007 Saturday. It was scorcher but great day in Tigertown. Clemson scored early and often en route to a 52-27 victory that saw the back-ups enter the game as the first half came to a close. It was just about what most people expected for this game. A big highlight game came from the special teams department. Before Saturday, the last play in Death Valley was Chandler Catanzaro's Game Winning FG against Wake Forest as time expired that punched the Tiger's ticket to the ACC Championship game in Charlotte. Though the situation was a lot less tense this go around, Clemson also made a huge kick as the first half expired this weekend. Spencer Benton proved true on an ACC record 61-yard field goal. It led to an eruption in Death Valley. It was not much of a surprise for his teammates and coaches. Dabo reported after the game that he knocks down 70 yards on a regular basis in practice so they were more than confident he would get the job done to close out the first half Saturday. The Tigers, now ranked #11 in the AP poll, still have some problems on the defensive side of the ball and rush defense is looking very suspect right now. Getting that fixed is a must if the Tigers want to successfully defend their ACC title.
No Shaw? No Problem.
South Carolina had no problem handing ECU Saturday knocking off the Pirates 48-10. On the surface this may seem like no big deal. However, after the lack of a passing game in week 1 and the injury of Conner Shaw forcing back-up Dylan Thompson onto the field, it made this match-up a little more interesting...or so I thought. But I was wrong...Thompson threw for 330 yards and 3 TD's with no interceptions and lead his squad to a solid home opener victory. Another surprise in this game was Lattimore. He only had 40 yards on 13 carries and 1 TD. A relatively quiet performance from the Byrnes High School standout. Luckily for the Gamecocks, it didn't matter because Thompson brought his A game Saturday. Steve Spurrier's crew, now ranked #8 in the nation, prepares for UAB at home this weekend. 7pm kick.
Welcome to the SEC!
SEC Newcomers Texas A&M and Missouri both had their first conference game this past weekend and both found out that, even at home...its hard to win in the SEC. Texas A&M, who I actually had winning in my upset pick of the week seemed to be in good shape early in the game from the part that I watched. However, the Aggies were kept scoreless in the 2nd half and that allowed UF to rally and pull off the 20-17 victory in a sell out crowd in College Station. The 12th man definitely made its presence felt and from an atmosphere standpoint, looks like they (A&M) will be a nice addition to the SEC. Mike Gillislee was the difference for the Gators. He rushed for 2 TD's on 14 carries for a total of 83 yards. Georgia struggled early as well and went into intermission down 10-9. However, the second half would belong to the Dawgs as they would put up 15 points in the 3rd quarter followed by 17 in the 4th to ruin Missouri's coming out party beating the Tigers 41-20. With the win, UGA is now 2-0 and is one step closer to an epic showdown against South Carolina in Columbia October 6.
And our first big upset victim of the year is.......
Apparently, LA-Monroe has "SEC Speed" because they gave Arkansas the business Saturday and stunned the top ten ranked hogs in OT 34-31. This isn't the first time the WarHawks pulled an upset against an SEC squad. Back in 2007, they knocked off Alabama 21-14. It is a huge hit to Arkansas and could very likely cost them a BCS bowl bid later in the season. If the SEC race ends up being a close one, people will look back to this game and say hey, they lost to LA-Monroe at home... _____ deserves this bowl spot over them. I personally love this. College upsets are what make this game so great. You have to bring your A game every time you step out on the field, no matter the opponent, or you can and WILL get beat. Bottom Line.
Tigers on Thin Ice
No, I'm not talking about Clemson. I'm talking Auburn. After losing to Miss St. Saturday 28-10, the Tigers are treading dangerous waters right now sitting at 0-2 and 0-1 in SEC play. They host none other than LA-Monroe this weekend but next weekend LSU comes to town. Though I expect Auburn to step up and handle its business this weekend, the possibility of them starting off 0-4 is very possible right now. Arkansas follows LSU then road trips to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are next. The Tigers must get the ball rolling if they want to make a bowl game this year...its crazy that we are talking about that possibility in week 3, but I believe it is a serious concern right now.
Other Scores from the Weekend
#5 FSU had no mercy on Savannah St and beat them 55-0 in just 3 quarters as the game was called due to the threat of weather.
Oregon St. shocks #13 Wisconsin 10-7
Ohio St takes care of UCF 31-16
#22 UCLA upsets #16 Nebraska 36-30
#21 Kansas St punishes Miami (FL) 52-13
ND beats Purdue 20-17
UVA survived against Penn St 17-16 thanks to four missed FG's on the day by the Nittany Lions
#1 Alabama shuts out W. Kentucky 35-0
#3 LSU has no trouble with Washington, 41-3
#19 Michigan over Air Force Academy 31-25
#2 USC beats Syracuse 42-29
Georgia Tech runs wild on PC, 59-3
Coastal Carolina wins an OT thriller against Furman 47-45
Take Your Pick Results:
I finished week 2 with a record of 10-4. My overall record for the year is now 16-7 heading into Week 3. It isn't perfect, but I'll take it. Here's to running the table next weekend with my predictions!
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