Following Florida State’s dramatic win over Auburn last night in the National Championship game, the 2013-2014 College Bowl Season is officially over. Now we can look back and reflect on which conferences were the most successful, making the most of their bowl games, and which ones did not do as well. Read more…
The Cards are set to begin a new era as they join the ACC this July and now they will have to do it with a new head football coach. Former coach Charlie Strong was named the new head coach of the Texas Longhorns. At Louisville, Strong went 37-15 & 22-3 the last two years. He certainly left the program in better shape than he found it, both on the field and in the classroom. Despite it not seemingly to be the right fit for Texas we wish Strong well and hope he succeeds at his dream job. Go Stronghorns!
With his departure Louisville AD Tom Jurich will need to find Strongs replacement in a hurry with the recruiting dead period coming to an end soon. So far a vast majority of the Cards commitments are staying with the Cards but decision time is rapidly approaching. Jurich is known to be well prepared in his coaching searches but this time around it will be different. This time his pool of candidates will be larger with the additional draw and resources that comes with the ACC. There has been dozens of names thrown out by the media but only Jurich knows who’s on his list. Lets take a look at the probable favorites.
1. Winning the 2014 BCS Orange Bowl—Awwwww yeah! It literally came down to the last minute when Ohio State was down 40-35 with the ball at the 50 yard line. Braxton Miller threw a beautiful interception, caught by Clemson’s own Stephone Anthony. This sealed the deal for the Tigers and bonus points: Urban Meyer didn’t react by punching Anthony in the throat.
2. Tajh Boyd—In his final game as a Clemson Tiger, Tajh went out with a bang. As Dabo Swinney said, “He put an exclamation point on his legacy.” Tajh finished the game with five touchdowns and 505 all-purpose yards, 78 more yards than the Ohio State Buckeyes. We’re really going to miss his leadership and I can’t wait to see him play on Sunday’s.
3. Dabo Swinney—You could probably make a highlight reel of just Dabo after the game, he was animated to say the least. Personally, his best moment was this magnificent sound bite, “we are the first team from the state of South Carolina to ever win a BCS game”. Ah yes, not only did we get the sweet victory but getting to rub it in Steve Spurrier’s face doesn’t hurt either. For whatever reason, if any Gamecocks are reading this, I say, suck it up. Spurrier is no angel in this fight. You’re mad because Dabo’s comment was the truth and it was said on a bigger national stage. You know, seeing as it was the stage of a BCS Bowl. BOOM, roasted.*
4. Sammy Watkins—Saving the best for last. Sammy set an Orange Bowl record with 16 receptions and a Clemson and Orange Bowl record with 227 receiving yards. He was unbelievable. With an average of 14.2 yards per catch, he was Tajh Boyd’s go to receiver and his talent is going to be greatly missed. As a true junior, Sammy has declared for the NFL Draft. While we’ll miss his lightning speed and magnetic hands, he’ll represent Clemson well in the NFL next season.
Honorable Mentions:
Check out the video here:
*Let the record show I have a much deeper opinion on this matter but for lack of reader attention span will not disclose it here.
It seems that every time I start to write about this something changes and rewrites the story. The media has mentioned Texas and Louisville HC Charlie Strong together a lot lately. First it was Vegas naming Strong as the odds on favorite to replace retirink Mack Brown. Since the two dont seem like a logical pairing many disregarded it. Sometimes though the illogical turns out to be the most logical. This story has grown many legs.
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It was an exciting year for North Carolina and not for all the right reasons. While the highs were high, the lows kept on coming. From PJ Hairston, to the return of Will Graves, the Tar Heels just couldn’t shake negative press in 2013. Yet, there were a lot of things to celebrate as well. Here’s a look at some of the best, and worst, moments of last year, and what to expect in the year to come.
This past weekend featured two huge match ups for Louisville which culminated into one epic Saturday. First up was the hardwood rivalry game with Kentucky in corRUPPt arena. N Carolina and Duke is the greatest basketball conference rivalry but Kentucky and Louisville is the greatest non conference hoops rivalry. Playing your rival ONCE a year adds a little extra to the game, in my opinion. From the time they tipped off shortly after 4pm until the buzzer sounded around 6:30 it was a dog fight. Ultimately it was the Cards coming out on the losing end of the 66-73 final score.
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As the final hours of 2013 tick down, the Confidential wants to take the time to thank its many readers and followers. So… THANK YOU! Let’s hope 2014 is even better for the ACC, the Confidential, and their fans!
What were the most popular articles of 2013? Here you go:
It is only the 5th time in the 81 game history between Syracuse and Villanova that they will meet as non conference opponents. We all know the obvious storylines: Both teams are undefeated at 11-0. It is their 1st meeting in more 30 years that they both are not members of the Big East Conference. It is nationally televised on CBS at 2pm. It is the 3rd time in 5 seasons that both squads will meet when each is ranked in the top 10.
Here is what some of you may not know about the match up. Tyler Ennis will not be the only Ennis on the floor today. Villanova has an Ennis of their own. Dylan Ennis, the older brother of Tyler, is a member of the Villanova squad. A 6’2″, 192 lb. guard, Dylan is a transfer from Rice University. Although he is not the impact player that Tyler is, they both post surprisingly similar numbers:
FG% 3PT FG% PTS./GAME MIN./GAME
Tyler Ennis .421 .435 12.1 21.4
Dylan Ennis .405 .385 9.1 31.5
Let’s hope that this family rivalry will serve as motivation for Tyler. This is the 1st game in a week for the Orange and kicks off a span of 4 games in the next 11 days. Let’s not forget that last season Villanova won 75-71.Oh yeah,and what about the crowd? As of Friday at noon, ticket sales surpassed the 26,414 sold for the Indiana game, but had not reached 30,000 yet. If sales reach 30,000, it will mark the first 30,000 plus game in the months of November and December since 1990, when Syracuse was ranked #1 and they played Temple, who was ranked #16 at the time.
Dear Santa,
As much as it pains me to say, please disregard my previous letter asking for $1,000,000 and Luke Kuechly to be my boyfriend; instead I’d like to make a more selfless request.
This Christmas, I’d like it if you and your elves could conjure up a Clemson win this post season. It would really mean a lot to me, my family, and the rest of the Clemson faithful. I’m sure you’ve gotten plenty of letters from Buckeye fans, Gamecock fans, and Jesse Palmer, asking for a Clemson loss, but I really hope you’ll consider my request. Here are some cold hard facts as to why you should give me what I want grant my wish:
1. I’ve been good this year—I graduated and became a proud Clemson alumni, joined IPTAY to show my support for Clemson athletes, and I continue to pay my student loans on time (Joy to the World!)
2. It’s Tajh Boyd’s last game—Tajh has been a true blessing to the Clemson program and I’d really hate to see him go out on a sour note. Breaking all kinds of ACC and school records, he will go down as one of, if not the best quarterback in Clemson history. This win could be the cherry on top to an already outstanding career.
3. You look really good in Orange—Look! Seriously, you’re killin’ it.
4. Last time Clemson played Ohio State we didn’t punch anyone—this is a no brainer. Last time we played the Buckeyes it was 1978. Their coach literally grabbed Clemson middle linebacker, Charlie Bauman, and punched him through the facemask after he caught an interception. Shouldn’t they be punished? 36 years later. Sure the coach was fired, but I still feel like the whole team hasn’t fully felt those repercussions.
5. Finally, Clemson doesn’t just need this win, the entire ACC needs it—please consider this selfless request not only on the behalf of my Clemson Tigers, but on the rest of the ACC as well. Try as we might to become a strong football conference, it just hasn’t happened yet. With a Clemson win, you’d be showing the nation that the ACC can produce teams that win…even without that SEC speed.
Merry Christmas and I’ll be looking for you on Santa tracker.
Sincerely,
Mary Stewart Bailey
P.S. If you’re feeling extra jolly, I won’t turn away a million dollar stocking stuffer.
Check out @GoCards’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/GoCards/status/413351765577187328
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