Clemson reax

Well, it was bound to happen eventually, albeit not the way I thought it would. AU came into the Clemson game with a rabbit's foot shoved up its.....well, you know and relying on an explosive offense and a porous but opportunistic defense. Both things came crashing down on the Howard Field this past Saturday.

AU was a 4.5 point dog and came out guns blazing in the first quarter. THe defense stopped Clemson on two 3 and outs and a six and out and scored two TD's in the process to take a 14-0 lead. But, it all fell apart after that. CU shredded the AU defense, especially in the 2nd half to a tune of 600+ yards and 38 points. Meanwhile, the AU offense decided it wasn't going to block or catch or do anything it was doing in the first half and only scored 3 points in the 2nd half.

Everyone has been calling for the coaches' heads, but I'm not one to go completely ape over one loss. I will say this, though. The team took a step back this week and it really surprised me. I know, I know it was on the road against a team looking for payback from last year, but I expected AU to play much better. I can handle a loss, as bad as it is, but I can't handle digressing and playing unenthused.

Likes:

Parkey was his usual self with a perfect field goal and touchbacks on kickoffs. Special teams coverage was good. Mike Dyer ran like a man possessed (16 for 152!!). First quarter all around a good job. Darren Bates finally played really well and tackled really well (that's saying something).

Dislikes:

Tackling, once again was atrocious. Third downs absolutely killed us with CU converting 10 in a row at one point. That in itself will cause the defense to have a let down and keep the offense out of rhythm. AU coaches didn't seem to make any adjustments, at least that showed on the field, and CU make adjustments and executed them to perfection. Blocking on the perimeter was not very good and pass protection could have been better, but wasn't bad. Trotter staring down Emory Blake before he throws it to him (or an interception). D-line getting no push and no pressure on the QB. Have to have this to be successful.

I'm not using young as an excuse, but this was only the 3rd start for alot of these guys and the first one on the road. It's time for the coaches and players to regroup and reassess and come out and play inspired, hard-nosed AU football. No, AU won't win 9 games (like I predicted rather optomistically earlier), but they still have a chance to get to a bowl. What will be interesting to see is how well the team handles this loss. It's easy to get along and be a leader when you win. Now is the tricky part. Knowing these coaches, players and AU, I think AU will bounce back and get better. They won't win every game but will play competitively and will beat somebody they aren't supposed to. Stayed tuned for a wild, probably frustrating but entertaining season.