Clemson Post-game Thread

[Deleted member 2897]

That is the most despicable and cowardly thing to do (although some would argue for freedom of speech I suppose). Just curious, on Instagram do people use their real names or is it psuedonyms like here or the other GT message boards? I guess I would find it a little more tolerable if people are expressing themselves under their real names. But to disparage someone anonomously is just low down. Especially people that are not yet full grown adults.

Its a lot of Tough_Guy47_SmallJohnson type of names.

 

[MWBATL]

Curry projected the image of Tech the old alums wanted, but he was already out of sync with the current environment. It worked for a bit, but that approach was going out of vogue. The young athletes were very different than the previous generation and Curry was slow to realize the generational change.

Curry was a “nice guy” and a Tech man, the clear gentleman. But he never produced results. I don’t know Welsh, but I dealt with Spurrier and he was a narcissistic jerk. But he produced results. GT Admin chose the nice guy, and they got the results they got. Often, the most effective CEO’s are narcissistic jerks (Steve Jobs). Choosing the nice guy to run an organization is often the wrong choice.

Any resemblance to today’s political climate is purely coincidental (I guess).

 

[Vespidae]

He wanted the GT job, and I’ve always heard he’d interviewed against Curry. He was a Pepper Rogers assistant. He became OC at Duke, then coached USFL, then Duke again briefly

Steve Spurrier - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

I don’t recall Spurrier interviewing against Curry. I do recall Norm van Brocklin interviewed for it.

 

[GT_EE78]

Tech got the worst drubbing in a century and folks are blaming CPJ. SMH

This is year two folks, and Geof Collins is our coach and his staff are the ones developing our players now. I am extremely disappointed in what happened on Saturday which is the worst but kicking I have seen of a Tech team that I can recall. Notre Dame in the 70s may be as bad, but by the second half and sitting in flash cards, I had way too much to drink and thankfully forgot the outcomes.

A couple of questions.

Do any of the old guys think there is any similarity between Pepper and Geof?

Is there a link to CGC's after game press conference? Or was there one?

No, not at all. pepper was charasmatic

the post game presser is linked somewhre in this thread, it didn't get posted separately this week

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

College football has fundamentally changed since the days of Ross and O'Leary.

Say you are a five-star kid and Saban, Dabo and Geoff come calling. Here's the pitch:

Saban: "Come to Alabama. 55% of 5-stars will be picked in the first round. 82% will be drafted period. You'll make the most money after college."
Dabo: "Come to Clemson. 36% of our 5-stars will be picked in the first round. 91% will be drafted period. You're set for life."
Geoff: "Come to GT. None of our players are drafted first round. Most not at all. But you can design barracks for the Corp of Engineers."

That's what we are up against.

And, many of our fans think, "but he will get immediate playing time at Tech". That is so funny, because these guys today ONLY CARE about getting to the league. Nothing else, for most of them, matters. Getting past this for GT (Geoff somehow getting over this hump), especially for DL's, is going to be very, very difficult. Like I have said many, many times, I am rooting for CGC. He is my coach. If anyone can do it, it is probably him and his unbridled enthusiasm. BUT, I will be surprised if he does any better than top 30, maybe top 25. And, this gets us no where near enough talent to compete with the best teams. It will still take superior coaching, but as you have said, Vespidae, maybe the target is only 8-4. (and the option haters will be happy, at least)

 

[4shotB]

And, many of our fans think, "but he will get immediate playing time at Tech". That is so funny, because these guys today ONLY CARE about getting to the league. Nothing else, for most of them, matters.

It will still take superior coaching, but as you have said, Vespidae, maybe the target is only 8-4. (and the option haters will be happy, at least)

Regarding quote #1, I sort of respect that singularity of purpose. This is why guys sign with Clemson or Ohio State or Bama no matter who is on the roster ahead of them. We have struggled with that as fans, thinking that these guys want instant gratification (playing time). it is a long term, business like approach that we appluad in "regular" students. Yes, the odds are small of reaching that particular goal but someone with that type of potential should be doing all that they can to minimize the odds.

On quote #2, I think the vast majority of the fanbase would be thrilled with a program that had as a floor the types of records CCG achieved and as a ceiling, the type of years CPJ achieved on his "up" years. Occasionally this should have you in discussion for the playoffs.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

Regarding quote #1, I sort of respect that singularity of purpose. This is why guys sign with Clemson or Ohio State or Bama no matter who is on the roster ahead of them. We have struggled with that as fans, thinking that these guys want instant gratification (playing time). it is a long term, business like approach that we appluad in "regular" students. Yes, the odds are small of reaching that particular goal but someone with that type of potential should be doing all that they can to minimize the odds.

On quote #2, I think the vast majority of the fanbase would be thrilled with a program that had as a floor the types of records CCG achieved and as a ceiling, the type of years CPJ achieved on his "up" years. Occasionally this should have you in discussion for the playoffs.

Really can't disagree with either of these takes. They are on point.

But, I will say that even to get to the "floor" (or above) you mention, it will take better than average coaching, in my opinion. I am hoping that CGC and his assistants will be showing they can do that in the next 2-3 years. My biggest fear is that he won't be able to recruit to the level needed, mainly based on poor results. I believe many on this board thinks he can keep convincing high end players to come to GT (win some battles with Auburn, UF, etc.) without better results. I think the jury is still out though. I believe if we have no more embarrassing games the rest of the year, his recruiting momentum should be sustainable. With that said, as everyone is so acutely aware, we really need several game changers at DL and LB.

 

[orientalnc]

Regarding quote #1, I sort of respect that singularity of purpose. This is why guys sign with Clemson or Ohio State or Bama no matter who is on the roster ahead of them. We have struggled with that as fans, thinking that these guys want instant gratification (playing time). it is a long term, business like approach that we appluad in "regular" students. Yes, the odds are small of reaching that particular goal but someone with that type of potential should be doing all that they can to minimize the odds.

On quote #2, I think the vast majority of the fanbase would be thrilled with a program that had as a floor the types of records CCG achieved and as a ceiling, the type of years CPJ achieved on his "up" years. Occasionally this should have you in discussion for the playoffs.

I agree with your answer to quote #2. The path to that level is littered with dashed hopes and acrimonious discussions on this board. It may be that we look at getting to 8-4 before we start thinking about being considered for the playoffs.

 

[orientalnc]

No, not at all. pepper was charasmatic

the post game presser is linked somewhre in this thread, it didn't get posted separately this week

Pepper promised that players would be practicing their TD celebration routine because they wanted to be ready for its frequent use.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I wondered about that. Dabo and Paul (Dabo always called him that, btw) were good friends and there's no doubt he would have called off the dogs with Paul on the other sideline.

My guess = he doesn't care one bit about hurting Collins's feelings and wanted to run up a big score against a team with a winning ACC record. It's like Rick Leach always says, "It's our job to score; it's their job to stop us." There might be some personal animosity there, but I doubt it.

I agree. I don't think he would have ever done this against CPJ. I guess he has some kind of animus against Collins, but not sure why or what it might be due to.

Just speculating, but maybe Dabo wanted to send a message to recruits. While CPJ and him were friends, they also weren't typically chasing the same recruits. CGC is going after the same level of recruits as Clemson, and from the same geographical pool as well.

 

[Treb1982]

People see what they want to see. You obviously want to see failure.

Let me give you some data that helps explain how we got here:

1. We were 24-25 in the 4 years leading up to Collins coming in.
2. Collins made a decision (rightfully so IMO) to fully transition to the new offensive scheme.
3. Collins inherited an undersized line that had to be taught how to block for this system, a QB who is now playing corner, WRs that had to be taught how to play the position, a young undersized DL, and kickers that can’t make an extra point.
4. Undersized OL experienced a rash of injuries leading to starting walk-ons out of necessity. Ranked the worst OL in all of college football.
5. QB carrousel out of necessity in year one which led to...
6. Having to start a true freshman (who will be special) at QB this year.
7. Rash of injuries in and already young and thin DL.
8. No depth at LB.

All of the things you listed can happen and there still be progress. Watch the games. Every game (outside of Clemson) we have shown flashes of improvement. Moreso on offense than defense, but still improvement.

I don't want to see failure, those things are failures. The reason why people wanted CPJ gone was because he couldn't get the talent needed to come to Tech and most felt that was because we ran the option offense. So we got rid of him got Geoff, a high energy guy who can sell the school and brand GT. I get it and he has been successful in that aspect. However, X's and O's I see huge red flags... We won more and got beat by less with less talent 2, 3, 4 years ago. And we are getting humiliated in a bunch of games. Like someone said they played a freaking punter as QB. That is embarrassing.... I hope Geoff and his staff can figure it out but he cannot continue to get blown out like this or it will eventually hurt his recruiting and it is obvious at this point his recruiting is stronger than his coaching.

 

[Vespidae]

Really can't disagree with either of these takes. They are on point.

But, I will say that even to get to the "floor" (or above) you mention, it will take better than average coaching, in my opinion. I am hoping that CGC and his assistants will be showing they can do that in the next 2-3 years. My biggest fear is that he won't be able to recruit to the level needed, mainly based on poor results. I believe many on this board thinks he can keep convincing high end players to come to GT (win some battles with Auburn, UF, etc.) without better results. I think the jury is still out though. I believe if we have no more embarrassing games the rest of the year, his recruiting momentum should be sustainable. With that said, as everyone is so acutely aware, we really need several game changers at DL and LB.

Tech is able to get to a 0.67 win rate ... or 8-4 ... without a huge change. Compare to lifetime and recent win rates of 0.57, going consistently 8-4 is a big improvement. Win 6, 8, 10 .. repeat.

The top 10 schools show no sign of slowing. I see no way for Tech to be a Top 10 team. Top 20? sure.

Just speculating, but maybe Dabo wanted to send a message to recruits. While CPJ and him were friends, they also weren't typically chasing the same recruits. CGC is going after the same level of recruits as Clemson, and from the same geographical pool as well.

I don’t think Dabo was sending a message to recruits. Do you really think he loses any sleep thinking about Tech?

 

[GT_EE78]

Just speculating, but maybe Dabo wanted to send a message to recruits. While CPJ and him were friends, they also weren't typically chasing the same recruits. CGC is going after the same level of recruits as Clemson, and from the same geographical pool as well.

I'm sure Dabo would take that as a side benefit but think his primary motivation (Knowing the Bama/UGA game was coming) was to lock in poll votes to keep the #1 seed in the CFP. I see nothing unethical regarding how the game was coached. Starters were leaving early in 3rd Q which i think is his normal blowout routine. It's our guys job to stop their 2nd,3rd and 4th string.

 

[g0lftime]

It was really bad and I do think the coaches were overmatched. But I am firmly convinced the Dabo running it up is all about recruiting. 50 points scored would have easily held the number one ranking. The 73 was to proof to recruits it is a waste of time to consider GT. He recruits heavily in GA and couldn't have been happy Collins was getting interest from 4 stars.

If I was Collins i would point out it took Dabo several years to get Clemson where they are today. Key is every school is on TV today, good players get recruited in the NFL no matter what programming they are playing for and 4 stars have a chance to play at GT year one....highly unlikely at Clemson or Georgia.

The success at Clemson started long before dabo. My brother-in-law started at Clemson. One of his freshmen classmates came back to Atlanta with him one weekend and he was a football recruit. It was either 1973 or 1974 . They recruited over 50 kids that year as it was the last year of basically unlimited class sizes. He said that the administration had decided to emphasize football at Clemson. So they have been all in for football since then. Dabo has taken them to a consistent top national contender but Danny Ford and Charlie Pell had some very highly ranked teams. They really have it rolling now. Bowden and Tuberville were decent but not good enough.

 

[croberts]

I’m thinking we need a little reality check up.
Dabo 9.3 m. His staff 7.4 m
Collins 3 m His staff 3.2 m

Clemson facilities #1 (1-3 depending on who you listen to)
Tech Top 50

Most of the time when you race a Ferrari on a road course with a Camaro you find your *** handed to you . Maybe you need to be reminded of your investment.
We have a lot of Camaro’s Regularly on our schedule.

Bama's first round draft rate is TWICE that of D1. If you are a good player, your chances of being drafted in the first round are the best if you choose Bama. That is their recruiting advantage and it's pretty much untouchable.

Not actually the case. Saw a study that the highest rate of a 4 star to reach the NFL (in the SEC) was Kentucky. Two things are at work here. 1. Alabama has a very high rate of 4 star players never earning a starting position. 2. Nearly every 4 star at Kentucky is a multi year starter.
You could easily switch Tech in for Kentucky and that statement would be true. Would Clayton have set on the bench for 2-3 years at Tech?

 

[Pointer]

I'm sure Dabo would take that as a side benefit but think his primary motivation (Knowing the Bama/UGA game was coming) was to lock in poll votes to keep the #1 seed in the CFP. I see nothing unethical regarding how the game was coached. Starters were leaving early in 3rd Q which i think is his normal blowout routine. It's our guys job to stop their 2nd,3rd and 4th string.

This post is too much for some to comprehend here.

 

[Pointer]

I’m thinking we need a little reality check up.
Dabo 9.3 m. His staff 7.4 m
Collins 3 m His staff 3.2 m

Clemson facilities #1 (1-3 depending on who you listen to)
Tech Top 50

Most of the time when you race a Ferrari on a road course with a Camaro you find your *** handed to you . Maybe you need to be reminded of your investment.
We have a lot of Camaro’s Regularly on our schedule.

Not actually the case. Saw a study that the highest rate of a 4 star to reach the NFL (in the SEC) was Kentucky. Two things are at work here. 1. Alabama has a very high rate of 4 star players never earning a starting position. 2. Nearly every 4 star at Kentucky is a multi year starter.
You could easily switch Tech in for Kentucky and that statement would be true. Would Clayton have set on the bench for 2-3 years at Tech?

The first part of you post, in my opinion, is directly what prevented the previous staff here from reaching their true potential.

 

[Jd89]

Dabo is a classless hillbilly. He needed a splash to assure the winner of the Bama/UGA game didn't jump them. However, you don't do that within your conference because that sh*t is karma and it doesn't help them from a strength of schedule standpoint (I wish Bama would have jumped them due to the strength of schedule-quality of win).

Keep in mind, you can't stop 18-20 yr olds from wanting to score and our baby defense was gassed. He went to the bottom depth of his chart (a kicker for qb) and we still couldn't stop them. We really need depth on the defense side. On the offensive side, our offense wasn't seasoned enough to score against Clemson, so I would say us getting 7 points was about right. I am just disappointed that Dabo didn't just run the ball and keep it in 40s to 50s. See opening comment.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

This game is over and no one outside of us cares. Clemson doesn’t even care about it today. The sports world barely acknowledged it because we had 2 game sevens and Bama/UGA. It was bad no doubt but whether it was 42-7 or what it was it’s already forgotten except by us diehards. We have a winnable game on Saturday and if we win we’ll be 3-3 and Clemson will humiliate another team.

 

[RonJohn]

I don't understand why the discussion has to be only between whether CPJ was a bum or CGC is a bum.

In the last few years of CPJ, the offense was really good except for when we played Clemson (and the mutts, but I don't want to show them any respect). This year, the offense has been pretty good, except for when we played Clemson. Maybe that has more to do with where Clemson is as a program than it has to do with where GT was and is.

The defensive line has suffered numerous injuries this year, and I think that is having a large effect on the defense. Some things that do concern me about the defense though are: The DBs either can't cover receivers, or they get lost in zones and don't cover their area correctly. (Maybe @Ibeeballin can do a film study of the defense and point out such things, but I don't know that the TV angle will even show the coverage to analyze) The DBs also seem to have a tendency to either try to strip the ball, or try to knock the ball carrier down instead of wrapping up and tackling them. Trying to strip the ball is fine, but not if you give up an additional 10 yards especially if they only need another 3 yards for a first down. It was apparent to me from the stands that the Clemson defensive players were in the correct position and did fundamental tackling. The defensive backfield is supposed to be a strength. Are the blown coverages lapses from the players or too little training in practice? Are they trying knockdown blows instead of wrapping up because the players don't do what they are taught, or are they taught to not wrap up? I don't know the answer to that.

The difference in QBs was apparent. Just before the touchdown to the TE, my buddy pointed out to me that the right side of Clemson's offense was under covered. There were two receivers, to which we had one CB on the outside receiver and a safety deep and halfway between the TE and the second receiver. There wasn't a LB to that side of the formation. The safety moved out and down to cover the receiver. The TE went straight out and no LB moved out to cover him. That was an easy pass and score. I think Lawrence saw the formation, knew that the safety could only cover one of them, and knew he was going to throw the ball to whichever receiver the safety didn't cover before the ball was snapped. I don't think Sims sees those kinds of things at this point. That isn't a criticism of him, he just needs experience and film study to get there.

I don't buy into all of the hype, but comparisons the B*** L**** seem well outside of reality. The un-namable coach completely lost the locker room. He took a QB that the team had bought into and replaced him with a guy that the team didn't trust. Things got so bad that he players went to talk to the AD and President about him. I would like for the team to be winning more games, but I haven't seen any indication that he is anything like un-namable.