Another assistant gets the ax

Fanblogs is reporting that Thielen Smith has been fired. Smith coached rovers and whip linebackers, and was a former defensive line coach.

Firings look bad for Clemson

So says Bart Wright, who wonders why Tommy Bowden hasn't issued any public statements about the dismissal of offensive coordinator Mike O'Cain and defensive coordinator John Lovett. Bowden, meanwhile, is eyeballing Florida assistant Larry Fedora to be the new offensive coordinator.

DANNY'S NOT GOING TO ECU: Surprise, surprise. It's little Skippy Holtz who will be the Pirates' next head coach. At least that's the story today...

DE FACTO ACC TITLE GAME: That's what Saturday's matchup between Miami and Virginia Tech will be.

BREAKING NEWS AGAIN: Danny Ford to coach ECU?

What the hell?

It's not just a rumor: O'Cain and Lovett were fired

The State cites "multiple sources" for the dismissal of Clemson offensive coordinator Mike O'Cain and defensive coordinator John Lovett. Those sources say both men were "blindsided" by the decision. (More here.)

Meanwhile, the university is standing silent on the whole affair.

I'm not disappointed to see O'Cain go. He may have been the main reason we struggled on offense, and it's probably not a coincidence that quarterback Charlie Whitehurst had an off year with O'Cain as his mentor. But Lovett seemed to be doing a solid job on defense, despite many Tigernetters' protests about Clemson's inability to stop anybody on third down. (Yes, I've noticed that, too.)

We'll see what happens in the coming weeks. Hopefully we'll get some good people in there.

BREAKING NEWS: O'Cain, Lovett get canned

Fanblogs is reporting that offensive coordinator Mike O'Cain and defensive coordinator John Lovett will not return next year. More on this tomorrow.

The suspensions is killin' me!

Sorry, couldn't resist. Well, Brawlgate has struck for a second time. The first was last week, when both Clemson and USC refused any bowl invitation that might have been offered. The next blow came Monday, when a total of 12 players from both schools were suspended for the first game of the 2005 season. (More here.) Yusef "Pre-emptive Strike" Kelly also would have been suspended, but he's used up all of his eligibility.

Ain't that a kick in the head?

Ron Morris of The State says a one-game suspension isn't nearly enough punishment. I don't necessarily agree with that. Yes, the fight was bad, but it wasn't like the Pistons-Pacers game, where several fans got beat-downs from players. And besides, the players already are being punished by not getting to go to a bowl. That last point is not making coach Tommy Bowden very happy, by the way.

THAT WAS THE SEASON THAT WAS: College Football News has a game-by-game rundown of Clemson's 2004 season. Check it out. And here's a final look at Clemson's NCAA statistical rankings. Justin Miller ranks No. 1 in the country in kickoff returns, and we were 12th in the nation in pass efficiency defense.

YES, QUESTIONS: Here are five questions for the Clemson football team for the 2005 season.

No bowl for you!

Despite being bowl-eligible, Clemson (and the University of South Carolina) declined to accept any bowl bids. (More here and here.) It's all because of the big fight they had on Saturday.

Ron Morris of The State had a column in Monday's paper calling for just such a move. And here's more from Fanblogs.

That's about it for me on this. I'm on the road and won't be able to post much this week.

Clemson 29, South Carolina 7: Satisfying finale

Wow. I've got to admit that I'm surprised we won so handily. I figured the Cocks would be fired up for what was probably Lou Holtz's final game as a coach, but the only thing they wanted to do was fight.

Now we just have to wait and see which bowl we go to.

On a technical note, thanks to frequent commenter Jason, I was able to watch the game on my computer via Yahoo. (It wasn't being broadcast in our area.) It looked pretty good! No, really! So thank you, Jason.

There is so much coverage of The Big Game, I'm just going to direct you here, here, here and here.

It's Clemson vs. UNC -- for final ACC bowl slot

This weekend's games are obviously important for determining who goes where. All I can say is, go Duke!

BACK TO BIG THURSDAY: Should Clemson-USC be played on Thanksgiving every year? As someone who most likely will be watching it on TV most years, I sayyes. Others might disagree, though, and it'll be hard to get a TV breakthrough on the NFL's traditional big day.

SPURRIER TO THE COCKS? I don't want to get all pessimistic, but if this story is true, then I believe it is bad news for Clemson. Steve Spurrier will kick our butts in recruiting for at least a couple of years, and barring a major shakeup on our coaching staff (no, I'm not talking about canning Tommy; more like an assistant or two), he will likely kick our butts on the field for a few years, too.

That said, I do agree with a post I read on the Tigernet message board. The gist of it was that Spurrier's hiring could be the kick in the butt Clemson needs to get serious about being competitive again.

I hope that poster is right. God, I hope he's right.

FUTURE SCHEDULES: Here's a handy chart that shows 10 years' worth of conference games for the newly aligned ACC.

Beating the Chickens is a Clemson tradition

But Clemson's players are a little more cautious this year.

LOOKING BACK: To last year's 63-17 blowout.

LOOKING AHEAD: To this year's game here and here.

WHAT WENT WRONG AGAINST DUKE? The Greenville News' Bart Wright investigates.

FLASHBACK: The official Clemson site has posted video highlights from the 1988 Clemson-USC game, a 29-10 victory for the Tigers.

THE NOTEBOOKS: Here and here. By the way, I really hope Justin Miller doesn't decide to turn pro early.

SOUTH CAROLINA'S FOOTBALL HISTORY: This is South Carolina Football. (There you go, Rob!)

O'Cain blames himself for Duke loss

And maybe we should, too. Clemson offensive coordinator Mike O'Cain says Duke's defense confused him. That's right. The same Duke defense that's giving up an average of 420.5 yards of offense per game and is 108th out of 117 in rushing defense in the NCAA. (Here's another notebook echoing the same theme. And, here are the voluminous pregame notes from the SID's office.)

THE GAME AGAINST THE COCKS: Apparently, it gets bigger the closer you get to kickoff.

Read that any way you want.

STOCKSTILL COMES HOME: USC assistant coach Rick Stockstill, who coached at Clemson for 14 years, makes his homecoming this Saturday.

BAD YEAR FOR WHITEHURST: You're kidding me! What, our quarterback's not been playing well?

That's the first I've heard of it.

GAMECOCK-TIGER JOKES: These are pretty bad.

FLASHBACK: The official Clemson site has video highlights from the 1980 Clemson-USC game, a 27-6 upset victory for the Tigers.

My father and I were at that game, and it was truly unforgettable. The team warmed up in white pants, but by the time they came down The Hill, they were dressed in all orange. To this day, I have never heard Death Valley as loud as it was at that moment, and I've been to at least a couple of games a year every year since 1976.

To top it off, we beat a South Carolina team that was ranked, bowl-bound and featured Heisman Trophy-winning running back George Rodgers. The victory set the stage for our undefeated national championship season in 1981.