Week 7 Review

I'd like to start this review by saying Clemson won Southern Living Magazine's "The South's Best Tailgate" Award. Of course I'm a little bias but gotta say I agree. There is NOTHING like a Game Day in Clemson, SC. Hands down. You can read that article here!  Not to knock other school's tailgating, but its just not the same. But I'm not here to talk about Magazine competitions.

My Tigers had the week off and it was very nice. My school, Presbyterian College (PC) had homecoming and I worked all weekend with my job in the Sports Information Department with Soccer, Volleyball and Football all having home events so it was perfect timing not only for Dabo and the crew, but for us fans as well. Me especially. Nice break to regroup and get ready to go full speed ahead for this final stretch. Now, lets take a look back at what happened since we last talked:


Geno Smith and WVU seemed nearly unstoppable through the first six weeks. Their defense was flat out awful but their offense was like a freight train with no brakes. However, the train ran off the track this week and came to a screeching halt thanks to Tommy Tubberville and Texas Tech. The Red Raiders left no doubt dominating the mountaineers 49-14. Seth Doege had a record setting day throwing for 499 yards and 6TDs while also rushing for 86 yards on the ground. Great leadership by this young man. Not only did WVU's BCS title run take a big hit, so did Smith's Heisman campaign though I do believe he has time to recover. Ya Think Auburn (1-5) is starting to miss good ole Tommy yet?



Alabama kept Missouri win less in SEC play Saturday as they beat the Tigers 42-10. Big stats from this game? Missouri only had 129 yards of total offense...and only 3 yes, THREE yards rushing. Alabama's defense dominated the Tigers upfront and they didn't stand a chance in the world. Alabama is good, folks. Real Good. As a Clemson fan I've been hearing a lot about how SC could possibly compete with Alabama. I think its laughable. Alabama has NFL talent at nearly every position. South Carolina....and nearly every other team in the nation would have problems and serious mismatches all  if they squared off against the Tide.




Florida had no trouble with Vanderbilt on the road taking care of the Commodores 31-17 behind a 177 yard rushing performance from Jeff Driskel, who put up this impressive total on just 11 total carries. The Gators are looking better each week and now prepare to welcome home The Head Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier for a Top Ten Showdown in the Swamp this weekend. ESPN College Game Day will be there. The Gators are a 3.5 favorite over the Gamecocks. Going to be a tough haul for SC after playing a very physical game in a hostile and warm environment last week in Death Valley. Can they be physically and mentally ready for another physical game on the road?



Texas got it handed to them by the hands of Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. The Sooners beat their rivals 63-21 behind the solid play of QB Landry Jones who passed for 321 yards and 2 TDs. The play of the day came from RB Damien Williams of Oklahoma who took a RB Draw 95 yards for the score late in the first quarter. Another big stat on the day was the Sooners accumulating over 677 yards of total offense against the Long Horns. That's two losses in a row now for Mack Brown and Texas. They take on Baylor (3-2) at home next week as they try to get back on track.





Notre Dame improved to 6-0 following a VERY controversial play to end the game as Stanford was "denied" from the end zone in overtime. In my eyes, Stanford's Stepfan Taylor crossed the plane to  score the TD but the play was reviewed and upheld and ND won 20-13. Are the Irish back? It seems to be so...but I'm still not buying in....not yet. If they can get past BYU and Oklahoma...then I might jump on board and believe. But that remains to be seen. Hats off to Coach Kelly though for putting together a great season to this point.



South Carolina gave LSU all they could handle in Death Valley but in the end, they fell to the Tigers 23-21 in front of a packed house. They (SC) battled hard and for a while I thought the Gamecocks were going to pull it out. However, LSU's defense smothered South Carolina and held them to a season low of 34 yards rushing. The Gamecocks had LSU on the ropes but its hard to win in Death Valley and the Tigers have now won 22 straight at home dating back to 2009. Its a tough loss for the Gamecocks but they have to shake it off quickly. They have another top ten showdown on the road at the Swamp and I can promise you they will get the Gators best shot. No time to hang your head and don't let LSU beat you twice.

Other News: 

Louisville got past Pittsburgh 45-35. Ohio St outlasted Indiana 52-49 in a unexpected thriller. Mississippi State improved to 6-0 with a big win at home over Tennessee, 41-31. TAMU just nearly got past Louisiana Tech 59-57 in another shootout game. Michigan blanks Illinois 45-0. Arkansas let out some frustration on Kentucky, 49-7. Ole Miss blasted Auburn 41-20. The Tigers only win this season came on a last second FG against Louisiana -Monroe. Hard to believe just two years ago these guys won a BCS title and this year they, in all likelihood, will be home for the holidays. In the ACC, Duke blew a 20 point lead and fell to Virginia Tech 41-20. North Carolina edged Miami (FL) 18-14 and Florida State bounced back from its loss to NC State and beat BC 51-7. This week I went 8-5 to bring my season record to 58-24 as we head to Week 8.