If you watched college football last week, or you were anywhere BUT under a rock, then you probably heard about the Clemson vs Duke upset. It was definitely a shocker to the Tigers fans, but I’m sure no one was more surprised than the Clemson Football team. Today we’ll be discussing a bit about last weeks game, covering some of this weeks game, and then finishing off with some details about our live show!
The Tigers geared up to play their first game of the season last Saturday against Duke, who came off of a 9 win season last year. After a close game up until the half, Riley Leonard and the Blue Devils managed to slip away during the second half, both literally and figuratively. Leonard finished the game with 8 rushes for 98 yards, more than any player on the team that night. He also finished 17/33 on passing with 175 yards of completion. One thing I will say is that Leonard may have looked good on the field, but Cade Klubnik and the Tigers still managed to put up a fight.
Klubnik finished the night 27/43 with just over 200 yards passing. It’s no secret that Cade HAS to adjust to the college level. We saw him get bigger this off season, but when David beats Goliath, we start to care about more than size. The pure panic seen from multiple Tigers last week is something that Dabo Swinney and a coveted national championship team should not be dealing with. From receivers missing routes, to running backs blocking instead of grabbing the run, to Cade panicking in the pocket, it was truly not a National Championship team out there last week.
The Positives From Week 1
Phil Mafah and Will Shipley looked great, but they looked even better when they were both on the field at the same time. Our only Touchdown of the night came from a play action call that had Mafah getting a fake handoff and Shipley catching the scoring touchdown. If we see more of this backfield, and Cade calms down when it’s time to pass, then our offense will be okay. Another positive is our defensive line. We had some players who showed that they didn’t want to play, which gave the opportunity for some freshmen to prove themselves. One freshman who stepped up on the line was T.J Parker, who didn’t receive many snaps last game, but every snap he did was 110%. Our defensive backs looked good, as Leonard was held to only 175 passing yards total for the game. Nate Wiggins continues to impress Tiger fans and even opposing fans with his lock down specialty, but just one man will never be enough!
It’s no news flash that the Clemson Tigers need to step it up and fix some mistakes. What I will say, is that nobody is more disappointed from last week than the Tigers. As a Mauldin High alumni who was mentored by a Clemson based program, practice, and season, I can tell you first hand that the following practice was no fun. (Hopefully) mistakes were fixed, efforts were realigned, and most importantly we hopefully had a leader step up. This team needs someone to instill not only inspiration, but fear into them. All I know is there isn’t much to do now but keep talking, or sit back and see if anything has changed as they head into Week 2 against Charleston Southern.
I Bleed Orange Sports Network hosted its first ever LIVE Pregame Show for the Clemson/Duke game and it was SUCCESS! We will say we’d love for more of our IBO fans to tune in before the games if you aren’t too busy cooking, driving to the stadium, or any other game day activities! You can watch last weeks show in the IBO Facebook Group, and be sure to join the group while you’re there so you don’t miss out on any other IBO related things!
A big welcome to our newest sponsor Diamonds N Gold Direct at 3124 N Main St, Anderson, SC 29621. Welcome to the I Bleed Orange family!
