Speaker 1: Welcome to the Solid Verbal.
Speaker 2: I'll that for me. I'm a man, I'm forty.
Speaker 1: I've heard so many players say, well, I want to
Speaker 1: be happy. You want to be happy for dake Edo State?
Speaker 2: Is that whoo whoom?
Speaker 1: And Dan and Tye welcome back to the Solid Verbal.
Speaker 1: Boys and girls. My name is ty hilden Brandt. As
Speaker 1: you can tell from the title of this show, it
Speaker 1: is yet another installment of our only Homers Allowed series?
Speaker 1: Would you let in Homer Clublet look, it has no homeers,
Speaker 1: We're allowed to one. I felt so left jed, and
Speaker 1: today we're pleased to welcome back to the show mister
Speaker 1: Larry Williams from Tiger Illustrated dot Com. We actually had
Speaker 1: Larry on the show way back when, like six years
Speaker 1: ago to talk about Clemson, and it's been far too long.
Speaker 1: When we put the call out for folks to tell
Speaker 1: us who do you want to have on to represent
Speaker 1: your school, Larry Williams was the overwhelming favorite for the
Speaker 1: Clemson Tigers. So we're going to get into all things Clemson,
Speaker 1: from Trevor Lawrence to the obvious beast that is the
Speaker 1: Clemson defensive line, and also this state of affairs in
Speaker 1: college football, the rise of Clemson really at the same
Speaker 1: time as the rise of Alabama, and how it feels
Speaker 1: this year anyway, like the two programs are destined to
Speaker 1: meet in the National Championship. So all that and more,
Speaker 1: Larry gave us so much insight. Appreciate everyone tuning in.
Speaker 1: Don't forget we also have another only Homers Allowed episode,
Speaker 1: Dan recorded with our friend Ryan Abraham to talk about
Speaker 1: the state of affairs at Southern cal So without further ado,
Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen, Larry Williams all right, I am joined
Speaker 1: now by the foremost authority on Clemson football. He writes
Speaker 1: for Tiger Illustrated dot com, he hosts the outstanding Clemson
Speaker 1: Dubcast podcast, and of course he is the author of
Speaker 1: Clemson Tough, Guts and Glory under Dabos Sweeney. Please welcome
Speaker 1: back to the show, mister Larry Williams, Sir, how are you.
Speaker 2: Hey man, Great to be with you, ty, enjoy your podcast.
Speaker 1: Thank you. You know you were on the podcast like
Speaker 1: six years ago. I went back and checked. The last
Speaker 1: time you were on with us was way back when
Speaker 1: in twenty twelve.
Speaker 2: Well, I shudder to think at some of the questions
Speaker 2: and I shudder to think it probably some of the
Speaker 2: answers I gave given the different state of the program
Speaker 2: now compared to then.
Speaker 1: Walk me through how the program has changed over the
Speaker 1: last six years.
Speaker 2: Well, when we last talked, I'm assuming that was well
Speaker 2: either before or during the twelve season, and so you're
Speaker 2: in the first year in the Brin's Nivals, and he
Speaker 2: was struggling. They were not near what they are now.
Speaker 2: They I mean, they gave up forty eight points to
Speaker 2: NC State that year I believe like sixty sixty two
Speaker 2: to forty eight. They got just dragged up and down
Speaker 2: the field late at Florida State, and they really were
Speaker 2: still known as sort of that Tommy Balden type rollercoaster
Speaker 2: that could they could bag some big wins, but that
Speaker 2: would fall on their face and and they so they
Speaker 2: were just several months removed from seventy to thirty three.
Speaker 2: Against West Virginia in the Orange Bowl. The narrative after
Speaker 2: that debacle sort of nationally was, boy, it's going to
Speaker 2: take them a long time to recover from this. And
Speaker 2: so a year later that went over LSU in the
Speaker 2: in the Chick fil A Bowl, was so big there
Speaker 2: was a feeling that they just can't hold up against
Speaker 2: some of these SEC heavyweights, and not many people thought
Speaker 2: they were going to be able to hang with LSU,
Speaker 2: let alone beat them, And so they did. They won
Speaker 2: that game. And then in the thirteenth opener, Georgia goes
Speaker 2: to Clemson with Todd Gurley. I remember that game, yeah,
Speaker 2: very yeah, great game, yep. And so here's how I
Speaker 2: sort of view it. In the LSU game in Atlanta,
Speaker 2: the defensive line owned that game. And there's a bunch
Speaker 2: of young defensive linemen like Grady Jarrett and Vic Beasley
Speaker 2: and Corey Crawford. Yeah, and so then against Georgia, even
Speaker 2: though Georgia put up thirty five in that game, if
Speaker 2: you go back and watch, Clemson's defensive line controlled that game.
Speaker 2: And so Clemson is always even under Tommy Balden. He's
Speaker 2: always had elite skill guys, right, sure, But where they
Speaker 2: really turn the corner is when they started getting big
Speaker 2: time players on the defensive line. So that's really where
Speaker 2: they got to the level where they could they could
Speaker 2: go toe to toe with the heavy weight.
Speaker 1: So you mentioned the defensive line, and you know, I mean,
Speaker 1: we're covering fifty games a week here on the podcast,
Speaker 1: and for me, I'm always trying to figure out what
Speaker 1: is a team's identity that's going to help me understand
Speaker 1: what they're all about. My thirty thousand foot view of
Speaker 1: Clemson is that their defense is going to kill you
Speaker 1: in the trenches because of that front four, and they're
Speaker 1: going to set up an offense that is increasingly more
Speaker 1: balanced as the pieces around Trevor Lawrence as Trevor Lawrence
Speaker 1: himself develops. I've I've kind of referred to it casually
Speaker 1: as like an upscale Michigan. Is that a fair assessment
Speaker 1: of who Clemson is as a team.
Speaker 2: Well, I think so. I mean, you know, I don't
Speaker 2: watch a lot of Michigan, but I woulday I would
Speaker 2: say defensively, yes, Offensively, Michigan is more traditional, I guess,
Speaker 2: whereas Clemson, you know, dating back to the days of
Speaker 2: Chad Morris. Uh, and they were really cutting edge when
Speaker 2: Marris first got here because in the a SEC there
Speaker 2: was nobody else doing the the tempo, the hurry up,
Speaker 2: no huddle stuff that he brought from Tulsa. So Clemson
Speaker 2: is more conventional than they used to be, but only
Speaker 2: conventional because everybody else is doing what Clemson used to
Speaker 2: be innovative doing if that makes any sense. Sure, but
Speaker 2: there's still a spread offense and they still have a
Speaker 2: lot of bells and whistles, a lot of eye candy,
Speaker 2: and so I would I would, I guess, consider them
Speaker 2: different from Michigan in that respect. I mean maybe, I
Speaker 2: don't know, maybe a little like Florida State during the
Speaker 2: you know, during the nineties. Yeah, offensively, And in fact,
Speaker 2: that's what this feels like. Clemson in the ACC feels
Speaker 2: like Florida State and the ACC in the nineties when
Speaker 2: the Seminoles were like seventy and two or something ridiculous
Speaker 2: like that, when there was just no hope for anybody
Speaker 2: else to dethrone them. And honestly, I hate to sound
Speaker 2: like a Pollyanna here, but let me ask you, in
Speaker 2: the ACC over the next three to five years, who
Speaker 2: is Clemson's biggest threat.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we were just talking about that. We were talking
Speaker 1: about that on our show yesterday. It's a pretty steep
Speaker 1: drop from Clemson to the next best team. And given
Speaker 1: the state, you would think it would be Florida State
Speaker 1: before long Clemson entered this season, so they win the ACC.
Speaker 1: Year ago, they made the College Football Playoff, they lose,
Speaker 1: of course, to the eventual national champion Alabama. They enter
Speaker 1: this season with a large chunk of that team in tact,
Speaker 1: including Kelly Bryant, who was their starting quarterback. Yet from
Speaker 1: the moment, the very moment we started talking about the
Speaker 1: twenty eighteen season, it was like a foregone conclusion that
Speaker 1: Trevor Lawrence is going to take that job from him
Speaker 1: a true freshman, mind you, a foregone conclusion that he
Speaker 1: was going to overtake Kelly Bryant. He was going to
Speaker 1: be the starter, and he was going to do it
Speaker 1: relatively quickly. I am fascinated by this Larry on like
Speaker 1: eighteen different levels, but I think mostly by the fact
Speaker 1: that there was so little controversy around it.
Speaker 2: When Kelly Bryant decided to transfer, there was controversy only
Speaker 2: in that I think it was a surprise to a
Speaker 2: lot of people that he decided to up and leave.
Speaker 2: In The controversial part came with the sort of parting
Speaker 2: shots that he that he gave when he left, like
Speaker 2: it wasn't your typical release a statement through the school's
Speaker 2: communications department. He told the Greenville News that it was
Speaker 2: a slap. He felt like he was treated unfairly and
Speaker 2: then it was a slap in the face that most
Speaker 2: certainly threw a lot of Clemson fans for a loop,
Speaker 2: and it created sort of an air of controversy, I
Speaker 2: guess because you have some national pundits like I think
Speaker 2: Desmond Howard maybe a couple of others, who were echoing
Speaker 2: that that he wasn't that Bryant wasn't treated fairly. I,
Speaker 2: on the other hand, I believe the exact opposite. I mean,
Speaker 2: I think he was treated more than fairly, because I mean,
Speaker 2: Dad was Sweeney's m for years now, and you could
Speaker 2: see clear evidence of it in twenty fourteen Deshaun Watson's
Speaker 2: freshman season, similar situation where Cole Stout started the first
Speaker 2: few games, and where you could have made a legitimate
Speaker 2: argument that Deshaun could have should have started from from
Speaker 2: snap one day one that season. Fast forwarding to this year,
Speaker 2: you could have made a legitimate argument that Trevor Lawrence
Speaker 2: should have started from snap one.
Speaker 1: But here's here's where I think the difference is. Most
Speaker 1: quarterback changes are due to poor performance or attrition. Kelly
Speaker 1: Bryant wasn't perfect, right, but he was by no means bad.
Speaker 1: There are a lot of teams still that'll take Kelly
Speaker 1: Bryant instead. This was just like, hey, guys, we're going
Speaker 1: to start a true freshman, and you're all going to
Speaker 1: be cool with that, okay. Like the fact that there
Speaker 1: wasn't more pomp and circumstance around this quarterback switch has
Speaker 1: sort of amazed me. Everyone just accepted it.
Speaker 2: No, I agreed. And one key point is that the
Speaker 2: DA was twenty and the rest of the coaches they
Speaker 2: never considered it, Okay, it's Trevor's job now for good.
Speaker 2: They considered the competition to be continuing before Kelly Bryant
Speaker 2: decided to leave. But you know, Kelly could have won
Speaker 2: the job back. And in fact, you know, the first
Speaker 2: game of Trevor Lawrence starting was against Syracuse. They were
Speaker 2: not that good before Trevor Lawrence got hurt in that game. Okay,
Speaker 2: he was not playing all that well. So it's very
Speaker 2: it's completely conceivable that Kelly Bryant could have played well
Speaker 2: in that game, led them to a win, maybe a
Speaker 2: decisive win, and he could have been starting again in
Speaker 2: the following week against wake Forest. But to your point, yes,
Speaker 2: I mean, Trevor Lawrence is just that good. I mean
Speaker 2: I remember back in the spring where I really what
Speaker 2: really got my attention is when some of the assistant
Speaker 2: coaches were asked, Okay, where is Trevor compared to where
Speaker 2: dex I'm sorry, Deshaun Watson was at the same point
Speaker 2: of his freshman offseason after enrolling early, and they had
Speaker 2: no problem saying, yeah, he's right at the same level,
Speaker 2: probably probably higher. And so the fact that the fact
Speaker 2: that the coaches had no problem publicly stating that, and
Speaker 2: most of the time they're wanting to pump the brakes
Speaker 2: on the anticipation surrounding a highly regarded freshman even if
Speaker 2: he is all that, But the fact that they held
Speaker 2: this kid in that high regard. I mean, and I
Speaker 2: was hearing sort of behind the scenes, not from stuff
Speaker 2: they were saying publicly, but just from sort of a
Speaker 2: little rumblings you get that they were saying privately, he's
Speaker 2: the best quarterback they'd ever seen. And so that's amazing,
Speaker 2: and I think he has shown that to date. Now
Speaker 2: he's not a finished product.
Speaker 1: Right Well, that was gonna be my next question. How
Speaker 1: do you grade what you've seen from Trevor Lawrence? Because
Speaker 1: the move was ballsy by any stretch, I don't care.
Speaker 1: It was a ballsy maneuver to bench Kelly Bryant, to
Speaker 1: put in a kid who had zero zero experience at
Speaker 1: the major college level at least two down at Alabama
Speaker 1: had a really good half and won a championship and
Speaker 1: played in spot duty here and there. But Trevor Lawrence
Speaker 1: was a blank slate for him to come in first off,
Speaker 1: get the job, and then for Dabbo to be willing
Speaker 1: enough to stick with him. He's clearly gotten better throughout
Speaker 1: the course of the season. How would you grade what
Speaker 1: you've seen so far and where he's at?
Speaker 2: Oh? Man, I mean it's flying colors. I mean, and
Speaker 2: you can have a you can have an AA without
Speaker 2: being totally perfect, you know, sure, and you have to
Speaker 2: grade on a bit of a curve given that he's
Speaker 2: a first year freshman. I just really like Number one,
Speaker 2: the way he's handled it, the way he's dealt with
Speaker 2: all that pressure that everybody's talking about. I mean, he's
Speaker 2: just unruffled. I guess it's the best way to put it,
Speaker 2: you know, like he's been preparing for his whole life,
Speaker 2: which which he has, I guess, But he's just so man.
Speaker 2: And then and then the actual throws that he makes,
Speaker 2: and he's command of the offense. He makes the defense's
Speaker 2: account have to account for every blade of grass on
Speaker 2: the field. And and if you get a chance to
Speaker 2: watch this guy closely, you know, the normal stuff that
Speaker 2: dazzles the average viewer. You know, the sixty yard bomb,
Speaker 2: you know, hitting a receiver and stride way downfield going vertical.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's impressive and all, but what blows me
Speaker 2: away is the shorter or intermediate type throws number one,
Speaker 2: the opposite hash out routes that you know, they're about
Speaker 2: eight or ten yards yardage wise, you know, but he's
Speaker 2: actually throwing the ball thirty five or forty yards and
Speaker 2: throwing it on a rope and hitting the receiver right
Speaker 2: where he's supposed to be hit on timing route. And
Speaker 2: then also, and this is where I think it's abundantly
Speaker 2: clear that he's an upgrade over Kelly Bryant. It's just
Speaker 2: a quick little bubble throws horizontally that you have to
Speaker 2: do that The timing is so important. I mean, you
Speaker 2: have to get the fall out quickly and accurately. And
Speaker 2: that's an area where Kelly Bryant was very inconsistent, even
Speaker 2: at his best, you know, for all of his strength,
Speaker 2: he just seemed to struggle with those throws. And now man,
Speaker 2: Lawrence just whips it out there so fast, and it's
Speaker 2: just it's right where it needs to be, where the
Speaker 2: running back or the receiver just never breaks stride. And
Speaker 2: then I'm actually earlier today, I was doing a video,
Speaker 2: a weekly video review segment. He had a throw against
Speaker 2: Bosting College where he's running to his left. He's obviously
Speaker 2: right handed, run to his left and just uncourt this
Speaker 2: fifteen yard strike, just a pill to Hunter Renfro on
Speaker 2: the sideline and Kirk kurve Street was going nuts over
Speaker 2: And those are the throws that you're just I think
Speaker 2: that's in the NFL, folks. And you hear people say
Speaker 2: he could be a number one tick right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it's a quarterback class coming out this year,
Speaker 1: for sure. Let me let's expand beyond Trevor Lawrence. One
Speaker 1: of the things that has taken me by surprise, if
Speaker 1: only because I can't follow Clemson as closely as I might, like,
Speaker 1: I didn't realize how good their wide receivers are. T
Speaker 1: Higgins and Amari Rodgers in particular. Now they're both young
Speaker 1: and maybe a bit overshadowed by the Trevor Lawrence storyline
Speaker 1: by just the defense as a whole, that storyline and
Speaker 1: how tenacious they are. But the receiving core to me
Speaker 1: has definitely been a bit of a surprise, and in
Speaker 1: a very good way.
Speaker 2: We look at that in the last year, Dion Kin
Speaker 2: and ray Ray McLeod, two pretty good receivers, right, absolutely, Yeah,
Speaker 2: both of those guys leave early for the NFL. And
Speaker 2: the sort of private reaction that I picked up from
Speaker 2: the coaches was, hey, like they they weren't losing any
Speaker 2: sleep over those two guys leaving. And those are two
Speaker 2: those were two five star recruits. I mean they didn't
Speaker 2: they did not achieve all that you know, most people
Speaker 2: thought they were gonna achieve. Okay, but they were still
Speaker 2: two good receivers, two important weapons, and so you know,
Speaker 2: their issue last year was not having that sort of
Speaker 2: alpha dog receiver like Mike Williams who could just go
Speaker 2: up and get it, you know where you put it
Speaker 2: in his general vicinity and he's gonna get those fifty
Speaker 2: fifty balls.
Speaker 1: The catch radius, right, that's right, that's right.
Speaker 2: They also had Jordan Laggett in twenty sixteen, he made
Speaker 2: huge catches in big games. They had our Tavis Scott, yeah,
Speaker 2: who also made some big catches. Well, fast forwarding and now,
Speaker 2: well I'm sorry, fast forward in the last year in
Speaker 2: the in the in the Sugar Bowl. You know, Clemson
Speaker 2: had several opportunities that were ruined by drop passes. Dean
Speaker 2: Kane dropped had three drops in that game, including a
Speaker 2: deep ball uh that could have been a game changer,
Speaker 2: including I think it was a third and long early
Speaker 2: on when Clemson needed to get some momentum that could
Speaker 2: have really helped. And then a pick six and a
Speaker 2: ball bounces off his hands and is taken back the
Speaker 2: other way for a touchdown to basically end it. What
Speaker 2: I'm saying is they have more of an alpha dog
Speaker 2: presence at receiver now, and a lot of that is
Speaker 2: just physical stature. With t Higgins and Justin Ross, I mean,
Speaker 2: those are just two prototype NFL receivers, those boundary receivers
Speaker 2: who are just taller and bigger and and and can
Speaker 2: win those those fifty to fifty battles. And you mentioned
Speaker 2: Amari Rodgers. He's also, like you said, he's only a sophomore,
Speaker 2: but man, he's just a really really good player, and
Speaker 2: he's only going to get better then. Oh, by the way,
Speaker 2: Hunter Renfro is still out of defenses on third down.
Speaker 2: You know it's funny. I just did a top six
Speaker 2: Hunter Renfro plays of his career because they're going to
Speaker 2: honor him and the other seniors on Saturday against Duke,
Speaker 2: and I say play instead of catch because I put
Speaker 2: at number one. The number one play is Hunter Renfro's
Speaker 2: career at Clemson to date, not the touchdown catch for
Speaker 2: the National Championship, because I think you have to incorporate
Speaker 2: some degree of difficulty and he could make that catch
Speaker 2: in sleep. The tackle he made of Ryan Anderson early
Speaker 2: in the third quarter of that same game Alabama. Ryan
Speaker 2: Anderson is about to return a fumble for a touchdown
Speaker 2: to put Bama up twenty to twenty one to seven
Speaker 2: in the game is possibly over at that point, Well,
Speaker 2: here can Hunter Renfro, who side slights this monster. It's
Speaker 2: like three hundred pounds heavier than he is. Clemson's defense
Speaker 2: comes up with the stop, hold him to a field goal,
Speaker 2: and everything still feels manageable at seventeen to seven. Anyway, Yes,
Speaker 2: Hunter Renfro is still somebody you have to be wary of,
Speaker 2: especially on third down. Sure.
Speaker 1: Also, it surprises me that more people aren't talking about
Speaker 1: Travis Etn. He's ripping off eight and a half per carry,
Speaker 1: He's got fifteen touchdowns on the ground. He needs to
Speaker 1: be in the Heisman discussion. I know there seems to
Speaker 1: be this prevailing wisdom that it's going to be Tua
Speaker 1: or Kyler Murray, but Travis Etn needs to be in
Speaker 1: that discussion.
Speaker 2: I would say he's just not getting enough carries, probably
Speaker 2: because they're just blowing everybody out and they have a
Speaker 2: legit rotation, you know, running back. I mean they have
Speaker 2: a good running back in Tavian Feasture, another good one
Speaker 2: and Adam Choice, and then a freshman and Lynn Dixon
Speaker 2: who looks like he has the makings of being a
Speaker 2: star later on. And so you know, I don't think
Speaker 2: the coaches are preoccupied with Okay, we got to get
Speaker 2: Etm to touches so he can get into this Heisman conversation.
Speaker 2: But is he a Heisman worthy player? Absolutely? I mean, yeah,
Speaker 2: he's such a such a powerful, fast, aggressive runner, and
Speaker 2: he's he's still learning and so I think he's developing
Speaker 2: those instincts developing that vision and that confidence to run
Speaker 2: between the tackles, and boy.
Speaker 1: He is just a load as someone who covers the
Speaker 1: team as closely as you do. What has surprised you
Speaker 1: in watching this twenty eighteen team?
Speaker 2: You know, I thought coming into this the year that
Speaker 2: their secondary might be a bit of a liability. And
Speaker 2: it certainly seemed that way in the second game against
Speaker 2: Texas A and M when Jimbo Fisher's offense was just
Speaker 2: slicing them apart at the second and third levels. And
Speaker 2: I guess I should confine it to safety and not corner,
Speaker 2: because they are really good at corner. But you know,
Speaker 2: they have some depth issues there behind Tanner Muse, And
Speaker 2: I'm sorry they came into the season with some questions, uh,
Speaker 2: some depth issues both that corner and safety. Rent Minibles
Speaker 2: was very nervous. But what has happened is well, Number one,
Speaker 2: they stayed healthy. They haven't had the injuries that they
Speaker 2: had last year. I mean they had quite a few
Speaker 2: injuries in the secondary last year through the whole season
Speaker 2: that that really nagged them. Tanner Muse has become a
Speaker 2: really good safety this season, has really developed well. And
Speaker 2: is he's that uh, he's the safety, the strong safety
Speaker 2: that you know plays near the box, and it's just, man,
Speaker 2: he he is your physical guy who can really punish
Speaker 2: running backs in the gap and and sort of patrol
Speaker 2: that intermediate area and be that kind of enforcer. And
Speaker 2: then Kevon Wallace, a junior other safety as a really
Speaker 2: good player. And then at the corner spots, I mean
Speaker 2: you got Trade von Mullen and aj Torrell. Those are
Speaker 2: two future NFL players, and man, they're just they are
Speaker 2: tall and physical. And so what happens is when you
Speaker 2: play offenses that are really good at a quick game, man,
Speaker 2: they just get up in the receivers grills and make
Speaker 2: it really difficult for them to get off the line.
Speaker 2: And then by that time, the defensive line is in
Speaker 2: the quarterback space. And so I mean that really happened
Speaker 2: against Inncy State. I mean they just they just this
Speaker 2: whole defense just makes life a living hell for whoever
Speaker 2: they play. I mean, it's just it's got to be
Speaker 2: such a nightmare. And I felt so bad for Anthony Brown,
Speaker 2: Boston College's quarterback. Yeah, last Saturday, I mean their series,
Speaker 2: their first series, he just gets crushed.
Speaker 1: What is the identity of a team that can beat
Speaker 1: Clemson knowing that they've got to go up against this defense,
Speaker 1: that they've got to try to stop this offense. What
Speaker 1: characteristics does a team need to possess in order to
Speaker 1: have a real chance of beating Clemson.
Speaker 2: I would say one that can really stress you down
Speaker 2: the field, you know. I mean, if you look at
Speaker 2: a Brent Vinables has put together a masterpiece during his
Speaker 2: tenure at Clemson. But the one little I'm not gonna
Speaker 2: say weakness because I don't know if they I don't
Speaker 2: know if it rises to that level, because they're so
Speaker 2: dang good at all three levels, but the little blips
Speaker 2: of the little periods of struggle that you see. I mean,
Speaker 2: this defense is so aggressive, I mean, it flows so
Speaker 2: hard to stop the run that sometimes they over pursue
Speaker 2: and that leaves them open. You know, you'll see a
Speaker 2: tight end slip behind the safety and be wide open
Speaker 2: on a case, and you know you'll see you'll see
Speaker 2: guys uncovered sometimes not a lot, not regularly, but it happens.
Speaker 2: And I think that's in large part a function of
Speaker 2: just how aggressive they are and how complex this defense is.
Speaker 2: And so probably an offense that can stress you down
Speaker 2: the field. Also an offense that that is really good
Speaker 2: at at that tempo, because we have seen sometimes this
Speaker 2: defense struggles to get lined up and because Brent Venables,
Speaker 2: I mean, he just wants to get them into the
Speaker 2: perfect play every time. He wants to see what the
Speaker 2: offense is going to do before he makes his final call.
Speaker 2: I mean ninety eight percent of the time that that
Speaker 2: is a strength. But there are some exceptions where they're
Speaker 2: not lined up and opposing offenses can sort of get
Speaker 2: to them. And that was really you know that they're
Speaker 2: loan two regular season losses the last two years, Syracuse
Speaker 2: and Pittsburgh. That's the common thread. If both of those
Speaker 2: teams went tempo and had all sorts of ships and
Speaker 2: and confused them and there were times where they couldn't
Speaker 2: get lined their defense couldn't get lined up in those games.
Speaker 2: And so, you know, I think it takes that type
Speaker 2: of uh threat. I guess one one that that a
Speaker 2: spread offense that you know they can make things happen
Speaker 2: down the field, that has dynamic playmakers, and one that
Speaker 2: can also run tempo. And as I see it, there's
Speaker 2: only one team out yeah, yeah, same team that one
Speaker 2: hundred percent of college football followers are talking about as well.
Speaker 1: So let me close out on this then, because it
Speaker 1: is the natural conclusion when we're talking about Clemson. If
Speaker 1: things play out the way I think things are going
Speaker 1: to play out, Clemson is going to be the number
Speaker 1: two seed headed into the college football Playoff. They stand
Speaker 1: an excellent chance of making it through that first round,
Speaker 1: be it against Notre Dame or anyone else, and eventually
Speaker 1: ending up at a game where they're playing Alabama. What
Speaker 1: kind of a chance do you give Clemson against Alabama.
Speaker 1: Everyone's afraid of what this team has to offer, but
Speaker 1: Clemson certainly brings a lot on the defensive side, as
Speaker 1: we've discussed here, on the offensive side. Realistically speaking, how
Speaker 1: big of a mismatch is or isn't that game?
Speaker 2: I don't think it's a mismatch. I've been saying this
Speaker 2: the last few weeks. My position has been if they
Speaker 2: played right now with Clinton win, probably not. But by
Speaker 2: the time January whatever seventh I guess, rolls around, after
Speaker 2: Trevor Lawrence has had that much longer to develop. Sure,
Speaker 2: after those young receivers we talked about, I've had more
Speaker 2: time to get more confident and comfortable. Boy, personally, you
Speaker 2: look at the talent on both rosters. I personally think
Speaker 2: that if these two quarterbacks stay healthy, that this could
Speaker 2: be the most ridiculous national championship matchup in college football history.
Speaker 1: And you know, it would be a very fitting end
Speaker 1: to the season because all year, as we've discussed on
Speaker 1: our show, I think some of the shine is off
Speaker 1: the season because it feels like there is a battle
Speaker 1: for number three behind Alabama in Clemson. It just feels like, naturally,
Speaker 1: those have been the best two teams all year. For
Speaker 1: them not to play in the championship would almost be
Speaker 1: a bit of a disservice.
Speaker 2: Yes, and you know, I mean last year again, Albana's
Speaker 2: offense scored seventeen points in that game. You know they
Speaker 2: think they had like two hundred and fifty six yards. Now, granted,
Speaker 2: there's a way different Alabama offense than the one Clemson face,
Speaker 2: but it's also a way different Clemson offense than the
Speaker 2: one Alabama face. I do think I love Alabama's secondary
Speaker 2: as far as the upside of those guys, those young dbs,
Speaker 2: like certain and some of the other words, McKinney is
Speaker 2: going to be a ridiculous talent, but they're still young
Speaker 2: and so I think there are opportunities for Clemson if
Speaker 2: they do play Alabama in the downfield passing game that
Speaker 2: can really stress Alabama and they can thereby open up
Speaker 2: some opportunities in the running game. And on top of that,
Speaker 2: Alabama has blown everybody's doors off. What happens if you
Speaker 2: put that Alabama's offense in an uncomfortable situation where they're
Speaker 2: having a three and out every third drive instead of
Speaker 2: motoring down the field and being up twenty one to
Speaker 2: nothing before people are in their seats, you know, like
Speaker 2: Crimson is capable of doing that. And we saw Mississippi State. Boy,
Speaker 2: their defense is stout and they gave Alabama some problems.
Speaker 2: And so I just I think it. You know, my
Speaker 2: take on this whole Obama Clemson thing is I am
Speaker 2: sort of I think it's a wonderful time in college
Speaker 2: football history because normally dynasties exist in different eras, right,
Speaker 2: and the fact that we have I mean, I'm not
Speaker 2: saying Clemson is on par with Alabama's dynasty, but they're
Speaker 2: getting but they're getting there, right, They're getting there. Yeah,
Speaker 2: And so I mean, what do we do? What do
Speaker 2: connoisseurs of college football talk about all the time. Oh man,
Speaker 2: what if ninety five Nebraska played you know USC? Or
Speaker 2: what thousand? What one?
Speaker 1: Miami?
Speaker 2: Sure right? Or the or the eighties Jimmy Johnson Miami teams.
Speaker 2: You know, well, we have that right here. I believe
Speaker 2: in Alabama and Clemson and they're playing each other every
Speaker 2: year and it's incredible.
Speaker 1: It's been a ton of fun to watch both of
Speaker 1: those programs develop, but in particular, Clemson has Dablos Sweeney's
Speaker 1: just done such an amazing job. Again, his name is
Speaker 1: Larry Williams. My guess is, if you're a Clemson fan,
Speaker 1: you'll know about Larry. But if you're not, if you
Speaker 1: want to read more of his fine work, going out
Speaker 1: to Tiger Illustrated dot com, or feel free to subscribe
Speaker 1: to the Clemson Dubcast podcast or check out his book
Speaker 1: Clemson Tough, Guts and Glory Under Dabo Sweeney. Larry, give
Speaker 1: me one final prediction. Doesn't have to be too hot
Speaker 1: of a take if you're not comfortable with that, but
Speaker 1: give me one final prediction here before I let you go.
Speaker 2: Oh Man, they might score eighty against South Carolina. I
Speaker 2: am not joking, okay, Hi, I've been around this rivalry
Speaker 2: since I was a kid. I have never, never, until
Speaker 2: this year, seen the entire game Cock fanbase. I'm talking
Speaker 2: ninety nine point nine per even the most eternal optimists,
Speaker 2: they are unanimous almost in saying they ain't got a chance,
Speaker 2: and it's crazy. It's uh boy. That offense, it just
Speaker 2: got shredded by Florida and they gotta they gotta go
Speaker 2: to Death Valley and face this, this machine of a
Speaker 2: Clemson offense. It could get ugly. Actually no, I don't
Speaker 2: know if they'll score score eighty, but my prediction will
Speaker 2: be it's gonna get ugly.
Speaker 1: All right. Well, there you have it again, Larry Williams,
Speaker 1: Tiger Illustrated dot Com. Thanks for giving us so much
Speaker 1: of your time and insight. I really appreciate it anytime.
Speaker 2: Thanks TI