Clemson

Fan, recruit, family, player, coach…this was it. Doak…At…Night...when a legit opponent comes calling and the joint is just on fire. For pretty much everyone with a pulse outside of the Champions Club, this is the definition of what we always imagine to be the pinnacle of Seminole tradition on display. For four full minutes the chiefs lead us through an elbow tiring and throat exhausting session of the war chant as we lead the boys through the tunnel; rip through the screen between our Peterson goal posts to the field as fireworks explode. And just when you thought every hair on the back of your neck was ramrod straight, you see that spear get lit. So, when Renegade goes pure vertical, and you can hear guttural screams from the grass on row 39, try finding a better place to be this side of heaven.

Then the actual game started and as gracious Southern hosts, once again we spotted our ACC brethren 14 quick first quarter points. It is almost comical how we look completely bumfuzzled on both sides of the ball to start the game. Our record for scoring touchdowns in the first quarter stayed in tact as we are now oh fer in the opening stanza against teams with a like number of scholarship athletes on the other side of the field. This week we took the script in special direction by picking up a post possession personal foul after a first down inside the 20 by a trailing lineman. More on this special #trend of penalties on the line a little later.  Even more impressive considering our schedule, is our uncanny knack of being incapable of stopping the other guys from scoring the first few times they possess the rock. I know that night before I took the GRE readying myself for graduate school, I went to Hooters and got absolutely trashed. I have to believe that Charles Kelly gives just a little less effort than I did in his weekly prep. In fact, if he mimicked my efforts exactly and took his troops with him, it may explain in spectacular detail why he is so dadgum popular with his guys and yet incompetent at preparing for the actual opponent on tap that week.

Relax loyal readers, I will get to the zebras later…first let's expound a little more on the defense.

Earlier in the season, the story was effort and confusion. Well, DeMarcus Walker - like a politically incorrect neanderthal dragging his missus across the cave when she would not cook the brontosaur burgers to his liking - has pulled the entire defense up to within shouting distance of his level of effort. Yes, we are still preschoolers attacking trig when we try and play a combo zone, but we left our Dabo guts on the Doak turf this weekend. When I am taking my grandkids to Doak, I might be remarking about how amazing that NFL Hall of Famer DeShaun Watson came into our place and beat us in the 4th quarter. This kid's composure is generational. Standing like a stone in the raucous student end zone on 3rd and an Uber, he tossed an absolute dart down the sideline perfectly between two defenders to put a dagger in a momentum-fueled defense. Tavares McFadden was outstanding again. He now has a nation leading 6 picks and was the only guy on the field able to physically match Clemson's tall gifted wideouts. If you are wondering who might be leading the team emotionally in 2017, I think that Derwin will have some help from Dontavious Jackson. He has only been on campus a minute, but he has already unseated a five star 4th year junior for key playing time and has the instincts that we so badly need from our LB corps. With effort that Josh Sweat , Nnadi and Christmas are playing with, the building blocks are there for greatness, but I am genuinely afraid if we continue to employ Art Vandalay as our architect.

I continue to be impressed with the physicality of Ermon Lane. There is a two years of bench time frustration coming out of this boy, and Lavonta Taylor also played about 20 snaps and never got his name called (which is a good thing). However, Marcus Lewis is a dieting Tri Delt at a hot dog eating contest. He is the right person in the wrong place. He just can't cover and when he enters the game, he has two red circles on his chest. Trey Marshall's exit- as he was ridiculously and erroneously called for targeting late - was the place that Clemson easily attacked on their last comically easy TD drive.

We knew that Bobo was a Nono, but we did not know that Noonie was a Goodie. The adjustment he made on the deep ball was outstanding only to be outdone with his footwork in the corner of the end zone on the laser TD toss at the end of the first half. With the aggressive box defense that the Tigers employed, we saw the return of the successful tunnel screen. If you recall, this was a Rashad Green staple in our 2013 romp in Death Valley, and Jimbo loves the call when it feels like it has a chance. We do need our freshman QB to learn one major thing. Either throw the rock into the stands or somewhere in the vicinity of Auden Tate when you are facing sure demolition. It will cut his time in the cold bath and our 3rd and 25 miracle attempts.

I know that every couch tuber in the NoleNation wants to hasten social security checks for our oldest coach. This game did not help. I would - not so strenuously argue - that this was the best an offense has performed against this group at Clemson all season (Louisville was a turnover fest). But, we have very short memories, and tend to focus only on the last series where three freshman rolled through five lineman like they were playing charades and told to act like they are stuck in cement. Clearly, we have a right tackle issue, and at times our true freshman RG was in the deep end without water wings. Except for UF, the season goals are in the toilet, so let's hope the coaching staff is not afraid of personnel experiments until then or when Deondre loses feeling in 3 extremities (he will still play in this scenario).

Again, that Cook kid is pretty good. Good gracious, can he get to the edge. Once we realized what the rest of the conference already knew - that Clemson's interior tackles were ridiculously good, and started running power sweeps where we could attack the ends and backers, the door was open. A missed Tate block in the first half stopped one Dalvin 70 yard burst, but the rest were just lexicons of beauty. I am sure that the Tiger defense is weary of looking at #4 from the back. I'm not. Nice to see Freddy Stevenson break a big one as well, as the thankless job he has rarely gets much credit. Especially when he makes a perfect solo block 9 yards downfield to free up Dalvin and somehow a guy wearing black & white understandably thought that he actually saw Freddy- not making a cut block without anyone within 5 yards - but double teaming a hapless defender. Easy mistake. Then, when this team of morons chats with our HC, they dig in and decide to not just ignore the basic rules of football, but toss the hardcover rulebook out the window at a homeless man sleeping under an overpass. They penalize FSU not from the spot of the foul as the rest of the officials in every other conference might choose to do, but unilaterally go backwards from the line. However, even more egregious than this clownshow or the headfirst ribshot that Deondre took after 2 steps right in front of the ref is the complete hot garbage we had to witness with the game on the line.

The Noles are on the move and driving with a purpose to win the game. Frenchy converts a 3rd and forever with a perfect back shoulder toss to Travis Rudolph. We are on the 34 with 43 seconds on the clock when Travis stepped out of bounds. Despite the first down and the voluntary stroll out of bounds this group of paid professionals started the game clock. Our coaching staff and players, knowing we should have 40 seconds to huddle and call two plays, noticed the clock rapidly disappearing, and in a panic tried to call a play. Obvious result was a false start. Yes, we had a half dozen of these gems in this game, but this one was clearly not in the fat boys in garnet. So, again, instead of admitting fault and resetting the clock and wiping out the penalty, this group digs in again and assigns the foul. What might have happened with a normal 40 second pause and two timeouts from the 34, we will never know - and that is the point.

Clemson won this game because they had a transcendent quarterback and a bunch of interior defensive studs that played big when they had to, but this game was taken over by older dudes wearing neutral colors and that is what sent Nole fans home shaking their heads. It was a special night. A definitive Doak after Dark experience. But, when I leave this Magic at midnight as exhausted as a triathlete, I want to feel that the players decided the outcome - and that was not the case on this Seminole Saturday Night.