I just posted this buried deep on page 3 of another thread but decided to give it a thread of its own. Hope that's ok with everyone. I'm interested to see how many others share my optimism.
Judging by this thread (the thread I originally posted in), it seems the overwhelming majority expect us to lose to Clemson. It's understandable, they've been better than us this year. I won't be surprised by any outcome but my gut tells me the Noles take this one.
A few things working in our favor:
Judging by this thread (the thread I originally posted in), it seems the overwhelming majority expect us to lose to Clemson. It's understandable, they've been better than us this year. I won't be surprised by any outcome but my gut tells me the Noles take this one.
A few things working in our favor:
- Clemson's rush D has been vulnerable at times this year (141 yards to Troy, 273 to Louisville, 155 to BC) - I expect Dalvin JP and DF to move the ball on the ground with decent success.
- Clemson turns the ball over - only 4 teams have turned it over more in all of football. Our D has been pretty opportunistic - i expect we'll win this battle at home changing momentum in our favor a few times.
- Clemson's offense has not been very effective where FSUs Defense has been most vulnerable, big plays. Clemson has the 2nd fewest 30+ yard plays in the ACC (11 on the year). For perspective, FSU has nearly twice as many (20) and Louisville has nearly 3 times as many (29).
- Our D line will beat their O line. With Clemson struggling up front at times, and our D line seemingly rounding into form with Sweat and Nnadi getting healthy and better, I think we'll cause them problems. We'll surely get beat by the mobile QB some like our D has been known to do this year, but I expect us to continue our man to man/ bring pressure approach that's paid dividends lately, and I think it will be effective more than not.
- Red zone offense - Noles are the best in the ACC and 14th best in the country scoring about 94% of the time in the red zone. Clemson is the worst in the ACC and 108th best in the country converting less than 76% of the time. Huge advantage for the Noles if this holds up next Saturday.
- Pressure - like so many teams in the past that have had a string of success, Clemson looks like a team doing its best not to lose and stay undefeated. It's a recipe for playing tight while the Noles can throw caution to the wind and let it rip. I expect us to have a big emotional edge.
- Home sweet home - I don't think it can be overstated how big of an advantage this will be for us this game, this year. I can't imagine anything other than a rabid crowd playing under the lights at home for the first time this year. The new spears are going to light up and it's going to be the most electric and loud Doak has been in years. I expect the players to feed off this energy and play the most physical brand of football we've seen from them all year.
