Putting FSU to Rest
The Clemson Tigers went into Tallahassee on Saturday and left with their 7th win of the season. The team celebrated another win, and on Monday, attention turned to the Syracuse Orangemen, the next bump in the road.
It’s truly amazing how after all these years with Dabo Swinney at the helm, people still don’t get what he is all about. Winning games is just one of the purposes of his program. It’s something he does very well, but he also knows winning comes from more than just points on the scoreboard. It comes from getting young men into Clemson and growing as a team and as individuals. Coach Swinney does NOT want to bust out the gate and take college football by storm. He eases into it, not building for the present but priming for the future.
The Clemson Tigers are the perfect example of the definition of “building to a crescendo”. This term is used for gradually getting louder, simply meant to “gain volume or momentum.” In the college football world, you have weekly polls that are supposed to reward the best teams. In actuality, these polls are for fans and chest-thumping. The real ones come out in November. Clemson is currently ranked number five in the latest AP Poll, dropping from 4th due to what the college football world sees as the Tigers getting a close win against an unranked team.
Someone from the ACC scheduling department must have had a grudge against Clemson this year, putting the Tigers on the road in four out of their first five conference games. Seven games later, the Tigers are unbeaten and have their three remaining ACC contests in the friendly confines of Death Valley. One still has to insert the dangerous road trip to Notre Dame.
Going into Doak Stadium Saturday night a 4.5 favorite, the Tigers were once again on “upset alert.” The Seminoles, led by QB Travis Henry, started off like gangbusters, taking the opening kickoff and driving the home crowd into a frenzy by scoring on their first possession. One thing led to another, the Tigers settled down, and with 11:57 left in the game, the Tigers held a commanding 34-14 lead. For various reasons, FSU managed to put up two late touchdowns, and fans can discuss till the end of the season, but anyone who knows football knows the game was not as close as the score indicated.
The #14 Syracuse Orangemen bring their 6-0 record into the Valley on Saturday for a noon game. It’s a little different backdrop for the Tigers as they were playing in the ABC 7:30pm game the last three weeks. The weather is going to be beautiful with a high of 74 expected. The FSU game is over. The team is preparing for the next hurdle. The fans will be en route to Clemson Friday evening and early Saturday morning. Like the guy in the barbershop says ‘Who’s next”?
