The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the tag “Dabo Swinney”

06 Jan 2014
2 Comments

Highlights of the 2014 BCS Discover Orange Bowl

 

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:

  • The Clemson Defense—While the score might reflect a shootout, it was truly entertaining watching the Tigers contain Ohio State QB, Braxton Miller, to a mere 35 yards rushing. They completely shut him down on the ground. With 18 carries, he rushed an average 1.9 yards per carry, his lowest of the season.
  • Santa Claus—if you read my last article, the only thing on my Christmas list was a Clemson win. Ole’ Saint Nick pulled through. Thanks big guy.
  • The Referee’s—One song comes to mind when trying to describe the officiating from Friday night, “these boys can’t hold us back, these boys can’t hold us back, we too deep (ay, ay)”. The anthem of a generation Clemson Football. Good try ref’s, you’ll need some more flags to stop this excessive celebration.

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.

Posted by marystewartb in ACC Network, Bowls, Clemson correspondent, Conference News, Correspondents, ESPN, Football, Game Review, Opinion, Orange Bowl, Results, Sarcasm, Something Positive and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
27 Nov 2013
4 Comments

Clemson Fans, Be Thankful

Thanksgiving is almost here and most people are busy thinking about the massive amounts of turkey they will be eating come Thursday. Clemson fans on the other hand, have one thing on the mind. Chicken. Garnet and Black chicken. Every year with Thanksgiving comes the Clemson Tigers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks* rivalry game, and every year, we are thankful.

Read more…

Posted by marystewartb in ACC Network, ACC only, Clemson correspondent, Football, Something Positive and tagged , , , , , , ,
06 Oct 2013
10 Comments

Dabo Swinney: Courageous or Classless?

The Confidential followed this game by participating in the game day thread over at TNIIAM, the great Syracuse blog.  A big area of debate was Dabo Swinney’s decision to go for it on 4th and goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half, up 35-7.  Even on the Syracuse site, there was debate as to whether it was courageous or classless.  Let’s discuss

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only and tagged , , ,
16 Apr 2013

Clemson Tigers Spring Football News

Fans of the Clemson Tigers expect a lot out of the program.  And head coach Dabo Swinney has been delivering.  The forecast for the 2013 season is most promising also.

Unfortunately, the spring football game brought some bad news in the form of a quarterback injury.  Relax, Clemson fans–it was not Tajh Boyd, who was prophetically held out of the game.  Instead, the injury was to Chad Kelly, who was competing with Cole Stoudt, among others, for the backup quarterback slot.  He suffered an ACL injury, which will likely cost him the 2013 season.  But Swinney is not ruling out a return late in the season just yet:

He had a great start [6-of-7 passing, plus 14 yards rushing and a touchdown pass to Charone Peake] on the first drive. He is going to work hard and come back. It is in his DNA. I heard Jim Kelly [Chad’s uncle] speak recently and he was told his arm was through because of injury. But he came back and ended in the Hall of Fame.

He will overcome it and come back. He could help us late this coming season. Look what Adrian Peterson did for the Minnesota Vikings this year after suffering a torn ACL.

Fans have to be a little bit concerned about the offensive fireworks the backup quarterbacks delivered in the spring scrimmage, as the Orange team defeated the White team, 34-26.  While it is good to see the offenses moving the ball, even without Boyd, an intrasquad game means that those offenses were moving the ball against the Clemson defenses!

But it is Spring, so the emphasis has to be on the positive.  Stoudt, who will be a junior, threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns.  And, according to SB Nation, he did all that in just one half.  And all four touchdown passes were more than 40 yards.  It is not surprise that he was able to connect to Heisman Trophy candidate Sammy Watkins for two of those touchdowns, but remember these names also: Stanton Seckinger (caught a 75-yard bomb); Adam Humphries (caught a 51-yard touchdown); Martavis Bryant (seven receptions for 100 yards); and Tight End Jordan Leggett (50 yard touchdown reception).  The Tigers are simply loaded offensively.

Editor’s Note:  We are still looking for someone to be the Clemson correspondent for The Confidential.  See here for more information.  A good opportunity for a Clemson fan to keep fellow Tigers on top of news, while also letting fans of other ACC schools get a glimpse of what’s going on. 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Post Navigation

%d bloggers like this: