Clemson 52, Georgia Tech 14: Impressive Opener

Photo by Tigernet

America's First-to-Worst Football Blogger (me) is just now catching up on coverage from Clemson's season-opening thrashing of ACC foe Georgia Tech on Thursday night. The Tigers weren't perfect in the 52-14 win, but they didn't have to be. Superstar quarterback Trevor Lawrence was just 13 of 23 with two interceptions, but he did throw a sweet TD strike to Tee Higgins. The story of the game, though, was the huge performance by running back Travis Etienne, who rushed for 205 yards and three TDs on just 12 carries.

GAME STORIES: The State, Tigernet.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Tigers face probably their biggest test of the season on Saturday -- No. 12 Texas A&M. Thank god it's a home game.

Clemson vs. Georgia Tech: It's Finally Gameday!

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The day we've all been waiting for is here — the opening of Clemson's football season.

The No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Tigers kick off tonight at home against ACC foe Georgia Tech. Gametime is 8 p.m. on the new ACC Network, which Sling TV doesn't offer (yet), so I don't know how I'll be able to watch. I'm hoping it gets out of hand early so it doesn't matter.

GAME PREVIEWS: Shakin' the Southland, Tigernet, Clemson 247.

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: NCAA.com has a nice look at the Clemson-Georgia Tech series, including that heartbreaking 2004 Tiger loss in Death Valley that was probably the most apt example of the now-defunct phrase "Clemsoning."

WHERE IS CLEMSON? A great story from the Washington Post. Sample:

Evidence suggests that the proper noun “Clemson,” for so long limited to mostly regional usage, has expanded its reach in recent years. It has done so through that most American of methods: having a football team that routinely goes on television and beats the pure living hell out of other people’s football teams.

Read the whole thing.

LATEST LINE: Clemson is a 36-point favorite, which seems a bit high to me.

Predictions are Hard, Especially About the Future

What would college football in mid-August be without predictions? Here are a few.

Shakin' the Southland sees Clemson winning the ACC Atlantic Division (no surprise there).

The Tigers return a ton of key pieces on offense including QB Trevor Lawrence, RB Travis Etienne, WRs Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross, and three offensive linemen. It could be the best offense in Clemson history.

Looking further down the road, Shakin' the Southland also predicts that the Tigers will top Virginia in the ACC championship game.

Tiger Enter Season Ranked No. 1

It's official: Clemson is the team to beat in 2019.

The Tigers are ranked No. 1 in both the AP and coaches preseason polls.

As Shakin' the Southland wrote in its analysis of the coaches poll:

"We’ve arrived and now people are realizing it is 'We want Clemson,' not 'We want Bama.' ”

Here's a link to the full AP poll. Here's a link to the full coaches poll.

The Tigers open the season on August 29 with home night game against ACC rival Georgia Tech. Kickoff is at 8 p.m., and the game will be televised on the new ACC Network.

Clemson is Already Winning Big ...

... And it's only July. Tigernet's David Hood looks at how the Tigers were the all-encompassing focus of both the ACC AND the SEC media days:

It’s easy to understand why Clemson would be the main topic with ACC teams, but the SEC teams also had to answer questions about how this upstart from South Carolina could, gulp, be the favorite again this season.

Read the whole thing.

I'm All Ready for 'All In'

Clemson 24-7 has some news today: The ACC Network, which will launch on August 22, will present a four-part documentary on Clemson football entitled All In: The Clemson Football Family. The episodes will run in prime time, August 25-28.

From the post:

“We knew early on that we wanted to do something special with Clemson,” said Stacie McCollum, senior director of programming and acquisitions. “We wanted to showcase the people and culture behind the program’s success as they prepare to defend their national title. Access programming and storytelling will be hallmarks of this network, and the opportunity to feature the Tigers in our first series is a testament to that commitment. Anyone who loves college football will enjoy this series.”

Check out the trailer:
All In The Clemson Football Family Trailer from ACC Network on Vimeo.

Clemson: National champs in 2013?

That's the best-case scenario, according to Bleacher Report:

This Clemson squad represents the ACC's best chance at a national title in over 10 years.  Tajh Boyd is one of the top signal-callers in the country, and when healthy, Sammy Watkins is among the country's most dynamic playmakers.  The two are surrounded by enough offensive talent to make this a special year.

The worst-case scenario? 8-4 and a middling bowl game. I'm not sure that will cut it this year.

Who'll win the ACC? USA TODAY says Clemson

The folks who give me my paycheck preview the ACC football season:

Clemson is one of the early favorites to bring home the crystal ball at the end of the 2013 season and has by far the best collection of returning talent in the conference. Although the schedule will present difficult challenges, including the opener against Georgia, the Tigers are better equipped to handle a daunting campaign. Until we're given reason to think otherwise, the Tigers are the team to beat.

Sounds good to me.

A successful Clemson helps the new-look ACC

That's the thrust of this AP story previewing the upcoming season:

But there's still work to do as the ACC once again tries to make itself nationally relevant on the field — and the league's preseason favorite, Clemson, has the best chance to raise the profile of the conference.

Read the whole thing.

What if Clemson and Auburn traded mascots?

Sports Illustrated's Campus Union has the hypothetical details:

1. Clemson trades The Tiger to Auburn for Aubie the Tiger and a repair to Howard’s Rock: Foul things are afoot in Clemson, and seeing as Auburn has been there, done that with regard to vandalism after Harvey Updyke and Toomer’s Corner, the school knows exactly how to make things right at Howard’s Rock. All Auburn asks in return is a jolt to jumpstart its program under new coach Gus Malzahn. Who better to inject a little energy than the Clemson tiger, known affectionately to EDSBS readers as “8-Ball”? This is a win-win for both teams if you ask me. – MR

Clearly, some writers are ready for them to tee up the football.

The ACC coaching trap door

Frank Howard: I met him when I was a kid. Never heard 

anyone curse more in my life.

Caulton Tudor has an interesting column examining how the ACC has been unfriendly to football coaches through the years. He mentions Clemson's Frank Howard, Charley Pell and Ken Hatfield.

Along the way, Tudor also makes it clear that football drove the birth of the league:

It may seem illogical these days, but the ACC was formed in 1953 explicitly for the purpose of improving its member schools' football fortunes. Basketball had nothing to do with it. Only two founding schools – Duke and N.C. State – even put any sort of unusual emphasis on basketball. Eight schools broke away from other leagues in order to create a regional football operation that was intended to match similarly sized leagues in wins, national attention and ticket sales. Basketball quickly took control ...

I don't think many people are aware of that.

Clemson fans are among the country's most engaged

We laugh at your mockery, ESPN. Why? Because Clemson fans are the 20th most engaged supporters in the country -- and the No. 1 group in the ACC, according to a study by TicketCity. (Florida State ranked 22nd and Virginia Tech was 25th.) How did they determine that?

Fan engagement is evaluated in terms of the following metrics. The data is based on the 2012 season, excluding bowl games. Each metric was given a corresponding weight, listed in bold, which was determined based on how indicative the metric is of fan activity. For example, home attendance and ticket price are both weighted higher because they are a better direct reflection of home team behavior. Similarly, online metrics are not weighted as high as offline metrics because they reflect only the university-sanctioned social channel and do not account for other fan communities.

A famous coach from that other football sums up how Clemson fans feel: "Football is not a matter of life or death. It's much more important than that."

Who'll win the ACC: Media says Tigers, Vegas says Seminoles

Interesting dichotomy:

ACC media picked Clemson to win the conference by a wide margin, giving the Tigers 95 of 120 votes. It’s a different story in Las Vegas where the LVH SuperBook opened Florida State as the 5-to-4 favorite and Clemson at 2-to-1.

The Vegas oddsmakers think Florida State's defense will be the difference. We'll find out on Oct. 19, won't we?

Dabo Swinney is intriguing, Yahoo says

Pat Forde at Yahoo Sports ranks the 25 most intriguing college football coaches, and Clemson's Dabo Swinney comes in at No. 20, just behind South Carolina's Steve Spurrier and just ahead of Georgia's Mark Richt. Writes Forde:

He's matured from excitable young boy to proven winner, with 21 victories the last two years and a validating Peach Bowl triumph over LSU. But with quarterback Tajh Boyd back and experience on both lines, the Clemson faithful would like a victory over hated rival South Carolina (he's 0-4) and a run at a national title. There is no dress rehearsal with Georgia as the season opener.

Good stuff.

ESPN GameDay at Clemson on Aug. 31?

Possibly...From Tigernet:

A host on ESPN’s College Football Live Show on Friday said that GameDay will be in Clemson for the Clemson-Georgia game on August 31st. It appears he may have slipped up and "let the cat out of the bag." 

I can't imagine why ESPN wouldn't come to Tigertown for that matchup. It'll be one of the biggest games of the year in college football.