Looking at the FSU/miami game, which i think Miami played well in spurts, and Clemson's two wins, which were against quality opponents, makes me lean towards Miami covering if they can withstand the Death Valley "crowd influence" the first eight minutes. Defense is too fast for Clem. and Miami's ability to run the ball will be the deciding factors. Canes -7'
Miami/Clemson
- Thread starter jharris
- Start date
clemson is hard to gauge, they could easily be 0-2 and miami could (should) easily be 1-0 with a quality win, then this spread would be double digits. We'll know a LOT more about both teams this weekend. I think kyle wright is really something special. Miami has 2 weeks to prepare and are looking to avenge a home loss to the tigers last year. And if they lose they know full well they will be 0-2 w/ no national championship in sight. At the same time, charlie whitehurst looks solid with clemson's new offensive coordinator. A lot more short high percentage stuff, paying off early in the season. Those wins they have are quality now, but Texas A&M could easily not have a good record at the end of the year based on their schedule difficulty. And maryland, yeah maybe they should have won last week, but they also struggled w/ Navy quite a bit. Clemson beating those teams may not look so quality come december. Really interested personally to see if my CU Buffs have a shot next week in south beach. I lean toward miami on this one.
Thanks for your input DP. I agree Miami will cover and maybe even expose the tigers' weakness, which is stopping the run. Clemson has always been hard to gauge for me and this game is no different but will definetly be on Miami for a small play (2 units). gl to ya
jharris said:
Clemson defense allowed 7.5 rushing yards per attempt vs A&M but the next week only allowed 1.5 rushing yards per attempt to Maryland. So they did improve dramatically but Maryland isn't a top notch rushing team. But the motto is, teams make their greatest improvements from week 1 to week 2. Clemson certianly improved their rush defense and Maryland was a quality opponent. Game was played @Maryland too. Remember, Clemson has played 2 games against quality opponents (and came out victorious in both) while Miami has only played 1 (and came out a loser).
It will be interesting to see if Miami exposes Clemson's rush defense and/or to see how much improvement Clemson made from week 1. IMO all signs point to Clemson. Why? Clemson might stack the line and force 1st year starter Wright to beat them through the air on the road. Clemson seems to have a very ball controlled offense so the defense prob. won't be left on the field to be worn down. We don't know how good Miami defense is because FSU offense isn't very good.
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Clemson has no problem stopping the run. People got that idea last year and continue to hold it, even though it was not true then or now. What Clemson has had a problem with is stopping Reggie McNeal when he runs (or runs the option), especially when Clemson only has 10 players on the field, as was the case on McNeal's 49-yard scamper in the fourth quarter 2 weeks ago. As Maryland showed, Clemson is vulnerable to a passing attack. If Miami wins, it will be through the air, or with big plays on special teams or defense.
