Clemson Football, Revisited

Here's the question: can someone change what he wrote in this blog-world of ours?

I'm going to be man enough to say I made a mistake. I went the easy way out in my last post in regards to Clemson football, and essentially was called out about it by my boy Patrick. I looked at the Tigers' team, didn't think they could pull out an 11-1 year, but also didn't really know who they'd lose to. I don't really think that the Purple and Orange will lose to the Crimson Tide, and I was very unsure about it when I posted the prediction.

It seems more likely that Clemson will be Clemson, they'll lose to someone they shouldn't lose to. They'll scare the Clemson faithful, Bowden will be on the hotseat again, but he'll pull through.

Sound familiar? It should. That's Clemson football. That's what they do best.

Only this year it will be different. This year the Tigers are going to take the ACC. This year is their year. The conference is weak. They've got a great QB in Cullen Harper. They've got CJ Spiller and James Davis, "who may be the best tailback combo in all of college football," according to Tony Barnhart of the AJC. (Of course, the unknown is Caleb King, UGA's number 2 behind Knowshon. These boys, as long as they can stay out of jail, may give the Tiger tailbacks a run for that distinction.)

Clemson this year will go 10-2, win the ACC and play in a BCS bowl in January.

But who will the boys fall to? Duke? Virginia? South Carolina (Gasp!)?

I'm saying it's going to be Wake Forest. That's going to make it a tough go for the Tigers to come out of their division to the championship game, but in the mess of the ACC, Clemson will get help from outside to make sure FSU and WF don't get to Tampa.

So, the revised look:

Clemson, 10-2:
vs. Alabama (Atlanta) .... Win
vs. The Citadel ................ Win
vs. NC State .................... Win
vs. SC State ..................... Win
vs. Maryland ................... Win
at Wake Forest ............... Loss
vs. Georgia Tech ............. Win
at Boston College ............ Win
at Florida State ............... Loss
vs. Duke ........................... Win
at Virginia ........................ Win
vs. South Carolina .......... Win

ACC Championship, Dec 6, Tampa:
vs. Virginia Tech ............ Win

And on the Alabama game, my suggestion is take Alabama against the spread, but Clemson wins.

Hope my "flip-flop" isn't too much of a blunder. If it is, then I guess I only lose three readers. 100% of my audience, yes, but still a small number.

Football Free-For-All!

In response to the AJC's Mark Bradley, here are my football picks for the Falcons, Jackets and Dawgs (plus Clemson and USC) for 2008, "The Year of the Dawg."

Atlanta Falcons, 6-10:
vs. Detroit ...................... Win
at Tampa Bay ................ Lose
vs. Kansas City .............. Lose
at Carolina ...................... Lose
at Green Bay .................. Lose
vs. Chicago ...................... Win
at Philadelphia ............... Lose
at Oakland ..................... Win
vs. New Orleans ............ Lose
vs. Denver ...................... Lose
vs. Carolina .................... Win
at San Diego .................... Lose
at New Orleans .............. Lose
vs. Tampa Bay ............... Win
at Minnesota .................. Lose
vs. St. Louis .................... Win

Georgia Tech, 5-7:
vs. Jacksonville State ... Win
at Boston College .......... Lose
at Virginia Tech ............ Lose
vs. Mississippi State .... Lose
vs. Duke ......................... Win
vs. Gardner-Webb ....... Win
at Clemson ..................... Lose
vs. Virginia (HC) ........... Win
vs. Florida State ............ Lose
at North Carolina .......... Lose
vs. Miami ....................... Win
at Georgia ...................... Lose

Georgia, 11-1 (Reg Season):
vs. Georgia Southern .... Win
vs. Central Michigan ..... Win
at South Carolina ........... Win
at Arizona State ............. Win
vs. Alabama .................... Win
vs. Tennessee ................. Win
vs. Vanderbilt (HC) ....... Win
at LSU ............................. Win
at Florida (Jville) ........... Win
at Kentucky .................... Win
at Auburn ....................... Lose
vs. Georgia Tech ............ Win

vs. Auburn, SEC Championship Game .... Win
vs. Ohio State, National Championship ... Win

Clemson, 10-2:
vs. Alabama (Atlanta) .... Lose
vs. The Citadel ................ Win
vs. NC State .................... Win
vs. SC State ..................... Win
vs. Maryland ................... Win
at Wake Forest ............... Win
vs. Georgia Tech ............. Win
at Boston College ............ Win
at Florida State ............... Lose
vs. Duke ........................... Win
at Virginia ........................ Win
vs. South Carolina .......... Win

vs. Virginia Tech, ACC Championship Game .... Win

South Carolina, 7-5:
vs. NC State .................... Win
at Vanderbilt ................... Win
vs. Georgia ...................... Lose
vs. Wofford ...................... Win
vs. UAB ........................... Win
at Mississippi .................. Win
at Kentucky .................... Win
vs. LSU ............................ Lose
vs. Tennessee ................. Lose
vs. Arkansas ................... Win
at Florida ......................... Lose
at Clemson ....................... Lose

What to watch for:
Ga Tech vs. Duke: The Blue Devils, under new headcoach David Cutcliff, are better than advertised. The Techies pull out a win late in the 4th.

Georgia - Florida: A 1 vs. 2 matchup in Jacksonville, this one won't need the buildup and hype that the media machine will give it, replaying last year's endzone dance over and over in the week prior to the Cocktail Party. Florida puts up a tough first half, but Georgia wins by 12.

Georgia at Auburn: There's no way the Dogs are making it undefeated through this schedule, but they're going to surprise most by making it this far. Toomer's Corner is rolled like never before after the Dogs lose a tight one to the Tigers (But get sweet redemption a couple weeks later in Atlanta.)

Clemson - Alabama: The Georgia Dome (now clad in Red and Black ... sorry Tide and Tigers, the Dogs own the Dome) is packed for the first annual Redneck Bowl, and Saban's Tide puts a damper on Clemson's high hopes as Alabama wins by three.

Clemson at Florida State: The elder Bowden wins his last Bowden Bowl.

South Carolina at Clemson: Clemson wins, but Spurrier's still not on the hot seat. Seems as if USC will never get over the hump. Spurrier considers retirement after the Music City Bowl.