(UPDATED at 2:49 p.m.)

Hamilton opts to test the NFL waters

Well, it looks like it's official. All-star receiver Derrick Hamilton will join Donnell Washington in jumping to the NFL a year early.

Again, I wish them both well, but I also think they're making a mistake.

Hamilton's decision took long enough. He finally met with coach Tommy Bowden today after he had postponed a meeting with him on Thursday. (More here and here.)

ACC -- A FOOTBALL CONFERENCE: Check out this column from Bob Thomas of the Times-Union in Jacksonville. It's about the ACC's strength in football. Here's the most important passage:

-With a 97-83-5 all-time bowl record, the ACC is the nation's all-time winningest conference by percentage in postseason history;

- The ACC is tied with the SEC for most bowl wins (13) over the past two seasons, but has the best winning percentage (.684, 13-6), followed by the Big East (.600, 9-6) and SEC (.590, 13-9);

- It is the only league with a winning bowl record in each of the last three years, and;

- It boasts a 26-20 overall record vs. Bowl Championship Series conference teams over the past two years, including a 10-7 mark against the SEC.

Good stuff. (Link via Tigernet.)

PRE-PRE-PRESEASON POLL: ESPN's Ivan Maisel lists his Top 25 teams for the 2004 season, and Clemson clocks in at No. 13.

GRATUITOUS CLEMSON INSULT: Check this out. In a column about the sad state of American comedy, Washington Times reporter David Eldridge writes the following:

That's what it's come to, folks. Comedy Central's Jon Stewart is the funniest person in the country now.
Think about that too long, and it's really sort of depressing. It's like the year Clemson � Clemson � finished as national champion in college football. Jon Stewart is charming and, yes, quick-witted and amusing, but ... the funniest guy in the country?

That's cutting-edge sarcasm, folks! He must be a Georgia fan or something.

Is that the best Eldridge has got? If so, then his column certainly says a lot about the state of comedy in America, but not in the way he intended. (Link found via Tigernet.)

RECRUITING UPDATE: A few more players will be visiting Clemson this weekend.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: OK, here's a new feature I'm adding during the off-season. Here goes:

What one thing are you most looking forward to . . .

1. ...today?
My lunch at the Middle Eastern restaurant I go to every Friday.

2. ...over the next week?
Payday is next Friday, bay-bee!

3. ...this year?
Hopefully a decent raise. My salary was frozen last year.

4. ...over the next five years?
More raises. Also, I hope to have continued good health.

5. ...for the rest of your life?
Love and happiness.

(UPDATED at 8:25 p.m.)

Hamilton's decision: Is it a done deal?

WPDE, an ABC affiliate serving the Florence-Myrtle Beach area, is reporting that Derrick Hamilton has indeed decided to turn pro. According to WPDE, Hamilton will announce his decision to his teammates at Saturday's team banquet.

If it's true, it's bad news. But I'd like to see some independent confirmation of this. As of this morning, Hamilton still hadn't made up his mind. (More here and here.)

ACC EXPANSION, AND BEYOND: This is an important story. The Washington Post is reporting that Boston College will not join the league until 2005, and that it will have a ripple effect throughout college fooball, perhaps prompting a fairly large re-alignment of the ACC, Big East and Conference USA.

ALL-BOWL JASMIN: Clemson running back Chad Jasmin has been named to Ivan Maisel's All-Bowl team. Congratulations, Chad.

THE 2004 SCHEDULE: It hasn't been ironed out yet, but three non-conference games are set: Sept. 18 at Texas A&M, Oct. 16 vs. Utah State and Nov. 20 vs. South Carolina.

PLAN YOUR SICK DAYS IN 2004: This is funny.

DO YOU HATE SPAM? Then you'll hate this guy.

(UPDATED at 2:10 p.m.)

Is Derrick Hamilton bound for the draft, too?

Yesterday, defensive tackle Donnell Washington announced he'd declare himself eligible for the NFL draft. Today, it looks like all-star receiver Derrick Hamilton may do the same thing. (More here and here.)

I think Hamilton is making a mistake. An outstanding season in 2004 would have significantly raised his draft status.

I guess this is the downside of redshirting entire freshman classes.

RECRUITING UPDATE: This could be the weekend that decides which players will sign with Clemson. Thirty-six potential signees will visit the school this weekend. Signing Day is Feb. 4.

WALKER IN ALL-STAR GAME: Senior offensive lineman Gregory Walker will play in the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas All-American Classic on Jan. 17. Congratulations, Greg.

NOTEBOOK: Right here.

'ROCKY SHOCK': Here's a follow-up to the Peach Bowl that I haven't seen before. It's an enjoyable read.

CLEMSON FAN DIES AFTER FALL: Ian Burns, a Clemson fan who fell from a pedestrian ramp at the Peach Bowl, died of his injuries on Tuesday. I'm very sorry to hear that.

MORE TIME, LESS ACTION: Here's a fascinating story from the New York Times. It seems that the Sugar Bowl produced only 16 minutes and 28 seconds of live action during a 3-hour, 45-minute broadcast. The rest of the time was replays, commercials, shots of the band or the crowd, etc.

The Times seems to think this is a bad thing, and granted, some games do run too long (the Peach Bowl sure did), but I think that's what makes TV sporting events worth watching. You can see replays, see fan and player reactions up close, and often get a better understanding of what happened on the field than if you were there in person.

It's hard to beat the excitement generated by the crowd at a live sporting event, though. And the proliferation of Jumbo-trons in stadiums means we can get the instant replays, too.

If only it didn't take so long to go to the bathroom at Death Valley...

Washington declares himself eligible for NFL draft

Well, this is a real blow. Junior defensive tackle Donnell Washington, who finally began playing up to his awesome potential this season, is going to enter the NFL draft and forgo his final season at Clemson. The State has apparently scooped the Greenville News, which says Washington will decide by the weekend if he'll enter the draft. Or maybe it's the other way around.

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden says he thinks it's a bad idea.

I agree.

THAT RANKING: There are a couple of newspaper stories about Clemson being ranked 22nd in the final polls.

PEACH BOWL THOUGHTS: College Football News has five thoughts on the Peach Bowl. Check it out.

STATS A WRAP: Here's a final look at Clemson's rankings in various NCAA statistical categories. As a team, we finished No. 2 in the country in kickoff returns. Derrick Hamilton was first in the ACC and 23rd in the nation in all-purpose yards. Charlie Whitehurst was second in the ACC and 14th nationally in total offense.

(UPDATED at 5:28 p.m.)

A national title split; Tigers finish 22nd in both polls

With LSU's 21-14 victory against Oklahoma in Sunday's Sugar Bowl, we have a split decision for the national title in college football.

Clemson was voted No. 22 in both the coaches and AP's poll. It's the second Top 25 finish under coach Tommy Bowden.

LSU is the BCS national champs, but Southern California won the voting in the AP poll.

Here's the final AP poll:

Rec Pts Pvs
1. Sou Cal (48) 12-1 1,608 1
2. LSU (17) 13-1 1,576 2
3. Oklahoma 12-2 1,476 3
4. Ohio St. 11-2 1,411 7
5. Miami 11-2 1,329 10
6. Michigan 10-3 1,281 4
7. Georgia 11-3 1,255 11
8. Iowa 10-3 1,107 13
9. Washington St. 10-3 1,060 15
10. Miami (Ohio) 13-1 932 14
11. Florida St. 10-3 905 9
12. Texas 10-3 887 5
13. Mississippi 10-3 845 16
14. Kansas St. 11-4 833 8
15. Tennessee 10-3 695 6
16. Boise St. 13-1 645 18
17. Maryland 10-3 564 23
18. Purdue 9-4 526 12
19. Nebraska 10-3 520 22
20. Minnesota 10-3 368 24
21. Utah 10-2 308 25
22. Clemson 9-4 230 -
23. Bowling Green 11-3 189 -
24. Florida 8-5 165 17
25. TCU 11-2 126 19

And here's the final USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches' poll:

1. LSU (60) 13-1 1,572 2
2. Sou Cal (3) 12-1 1,514 1
3. Oklahoma 12-2 1,429 3
4. Ohio State 11-2 1,370 6
5. Miami (Fla.) 11-2 1,306 9
6. Georgia 11-3 1,183 11
7. Michigan 10-3 1,140 4
8. Iowa 10-3 1,119 12
9. Washington St 10-3 983 14
10. Florida State 10-3 929 8
11. Texas 10-3 894 5
12. Miami (Ohio) 13-1 800 15
13. Kansas State 11-4 746 10
14. Mississippi 10-3 730 18
15. Boise State 13-1 704 16
16. Tennessee 10-3 684 7
17. Minnesota 10-3 553 20
18. Nebraska 10-3 532 21
19. Purdue 9-4 510 13
20. Maryland 10-3 462 24
21. Utah 10-2 327 25
22. Clemson 9-4 219 NR
23. Bowling Green 11-3 170 NR
24. TCU 11-2 145 19
25. Florida 8-5 124 17

This is the first time since 2000 that the Tigers have finished the season ranked in the Top 25. It's also the 21st time since 1939 that the program has been ranked in the final AP poll.

Once again, congratulations to the coaches and players on an outstanding season. The future of Clemson football looks bright.

ANOTHER LOOK: College Football News has updated its Clemson page with the results from the Peach Bowl. A lot of people have problems with CFN's accuracy, but this page provides a nice, quick summary of the Tigers' season.

And here's the 2003 list of accomplishments from the SID's office.

Peach Bowl postmortems keep rolling in

I'm posting a few more follow-ups to Clemson's huge 27-14 Peach Bowl victory over No. 7 Tennessee today, but with the college football season basically over, I expect the rate of posting to slow down considerably for the foreseeable future.

Don't worry. I'll be monitoring the media for any Clemson football news. I'll do my best to follow recruiting, and I'm sure I'll have plenty to post on Feb. 4, National Signing Day. I'll also follow spring practice and the Orange-White Game. But there may be weeks with little or no Tiger football news.

During the long lulls, I'll try to fill the space with some other stuff to keep your interest. You know, stuff about music, movies, etc.

In the meantime, on with the Peach Bowl aftermath.

WE'RE RANKED: Clemson is ranked 16th in the latest USA TODAY Sagarin ratings. Way to go, guys!

IS CLEMSON BACK? Not so fast, my friend. Or that's what coach Tommy Bowden is saying. (More here and here.)

BRIGHT FUTURE: The Anderson Independent-Mail has a story about how Clemson could be a dominating team in 2004 -- on paper, anyway.

FIVE BIG QUESTIONS FOR 2004: How will the expanded ACC affect the Tigers? Will Derrick Hamilton and Donnell Washington go pro? Read that and more here, along with a projected starting lineup.

'AJC' REPORTS ON GAME: I missed this stuff the other day, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a couple of noteworthy columns about the Peach Bowl. First up is the legendary Furman Bisher, who writes about the unlikely ending to Clemson's up-and-down season.

Next is Mark Bradley, who says you can now tell which school's orange is the real orange.

SO LONG, AARON: Clemson senior kicker Aaron Hunt, who grew up in the heart of Vols country in Oak Ridge, Tenn., reflects on the Tigers' big win.

(UPDATED at 4:03 p.m.)

Peach Bowl was a landmark win, no matter how you slice it

It's one of the few victories over a Top 10 team in school history and it will almost certainly see us ranked in the final Top 25 poll. I agree with the ESPN commentator last night who said Clemson should be a preseason Top 15 team next year.

Anyway, on the media coverage.

GAME STORIES: "We're back," says The State; "Tigers win a Peach," says the Greenville News; "Rocky flop in Atlanta," says the Knoxville News-Sentinel; "Vols continue embarrassment in Peach Bowl," says The Tennessean.

THE STATS: Here's a complete statistical summary of the game.

COLUMNS & COMMENTARY: The State's Ron Morris says the Peach Bowl win bodes well for the future of Clemson's program, and Bart "Bandwagon" Wright of the Greenville News says the Tigers have turned the page. David Climer of The Tennessean comments on how bad Clemson made Tennessee look. John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel has a good column on the mystery that was the Vols' No. 6 ranking:

Clemson didn't just beat the Vols. It put their six-game, regular-season winning streak in perspective. The Vols beat only one winning team in that stretch and they struggled against both Alabama and Duke, which combined to lose 17 games.

The sixth-ranked Vols felt they deserved better than the Peach Bowl. They were snubbed by the Bowl Championship Series.

At least in UT's case, the BCS knew what it was doing.

Exactly.

ROCKY TOP MELTDOWN: Tennessee, in addition to being outplayed, lost its cool. (More here.) Especially satisfying was seeing linebacker Kevin Burnett rack up 30 yards of unsportsmanlike penalties in the fourth quarter for a late hit and subsequent taunting. Burnett had made several provocative statements at a pregame press conference in Atlanta. And check this out: Burnett blames the refs for the loss!

The following is posted without comment:

Burnett is one of Tennessee's captains...

THAT SNEAKY PLAY: The fumblerooskie-type play that produced a second-quarter touchdown for Clemson has worked before. (More here and here.)

DERRICK HAMILTON -- NATION'S BEST PLAYER? That's the opinion of one former coach, according to this article on Clemson's top receiver.

JASMIN RUNS WILD: Running back Chad Jasmin had a great game.

TRICKERATION: Clemson's offense fooled Tennessee's defense, and Tennessee's deviation from its pregame offensive plan fooled some of the Vols' players.

KEYS & REPORT CARDS: The State has its keys to victory and that high five thingee. The Knoxville News-Sentinel has a best & worst from the game. The Tennessean hands out a report card.

HOUSE OF HORRORS: Once again, the Vols stunk it up in the Georgia Dome.

WHOSE ORANGE IS THE REAL ORANGE?I think that's been decided, but it's still something for the fans to talk about.

NOTEBOOKS: Here, here and here.

ACC GOES 5-1: Georgia Tech crushed Tulsa 52-10 in the Humanitarian Bowl. With that victory, the ACC improved to 5-1 in postseason play and should clinch ESPN's Bowl Challenge Cup.

(UPDATED at 10:54 p.m.)

Tigers dominate Vols, 27-14

Wow! What an impressive showing in the Peach Bowl! This is a great, great victory for this program. I'll post more tomorrow, but tonight is for drinking!!!!! Go Tigers!!!!

*****************************************************************
Peach Bowl: It's on today

Well, I'm geeked, as the kids say. We'll find out a lot about our team today and hopefully get the kind of win that provides a nice springboard for next season, which could be a very special one indeed.

Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Go Tigers!!!!!

CLEMSON PREGAME COVERAGE: From The State, the Greenville News and the Anderson Independent-Mail.

TENNESSEE PREGAME COVERAGE: From the Knoxville News-Sentinel and The Tennessean.

ANOTHER PREVIEW: From College Football News.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: The ACC improved to 3-1 in the bowl season on New Year's Day. Maryland demolished West Virginia 41-7 in the Gator Bowl and Florida State lost a 16-14 heartbreaker to Miami in the Orange Bowl.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, TIGER FANS!

May 2004 bring us lots of victories on the football field, beginning Friday in the Peach Bowl.

THE LAST MILE: Clemson is wrapping up its preparations for Friday's Peach Bowl game against Tennessee.

FLAPPING THEIR GUMS: The State has its version of the Tennessee-Clemson smack-talking that I highlighted yesterday.

THRILLING HILL: The Anderson Independent-Mail profiles linebacker Leroy Hill, who had an All-American-caliber season in 2003.

WATCHING WHITEHURST: The State has a good profile of Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst. Here are a few of Charlie's favorite things. And here's a column about Whitehurst from The State's Ron Morris.

MORE ON RECRUITING: Here's another story that echoes yesterday's articles.

SHARPE-DRESSED MAN: And here's another story about center Tommy Sharpe.

WEST ZONE: And here's another story about the West End Zone project.

NOTEBOOKS: Here, here and here.

IT'S A MATCH: Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel grades the position-by-position matchups between Clemson and Tennessee.

STUFFING THE RUN: That will be Tennessee's defensive strategy against Clemson on Friday.

THE DOME OF DOOM: The Georgia Dome has not been kind to the Volunteers over the past few years.

CLEMSON LOOKS FAMILIAR...: To Tennessee's coaches and players.

TAKE THE QUIZ: Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist John Adams has a quiz for Tennessee fans to test their knowledge of all things Clemson. Check it out.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: Can the ACC improve to 4-0 in the bowl season? We'll find out today. Maryland plays West Virginia in the Gator Bowl, and Florida State meets Miami in the Orange Bowl.