nicksjuzunk
Lurking
- Joined
- May 29, 2009
- Messages
- 35,558
- Likes
- 112,765
A season which began with so many unknowns comes to a conclusion on Friday night. It is a strange concoction... more than what any reasonable fan could have expected, and yet less than what should have been. Regardless, the Vols find themselves matched against an opponent that is a recent powerhouse and a truly compelling match-up, which certainly beats the somewhat yawn inducing Big 10 teams we find ourselves facing year after year. For many of us, we have grown to hate Clemson for many reasons... not the least of which is watching them win national championships with childhood Vol fans being the main cogs in the machine. Madness! Nothing like classic shots of Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne wearing Tennessee gear during National Championship appearances as we sat back wondering if Pruitt would be able to get us to 6 wins enough to build some stability. <shudder>. Fun fact, former 5* Tennessee quarterback commit Hunter Johnson, who played a key role in luring Tee Higgins to Clemson is somehow back at Clemson again after portalling all over tarnation. What is he... about 32 by now? Doesn't matter... still doesn't play.
Keys to Victory:
1. "QB or not QB?", That is the question: A game of this caliber uncharacteristically will feature two quarterbacks who have accounted for approximately 10% of their teams snaps this year. That's pretty wild. Top 10 teams typically have that nailed down, but Hooker is obviously injured and Clemson went with Cade Klubnik in the ACC Championship game. CK had a good game and Clemson fans have promptly crowned him their new king. Truth is, North Carolina's passing defense is bad... a bit better than Tennessee, ranked at 121 nationally, but still bad. Is he really good? Will these practice sessions help him to perform even better? Probably both are true, but to what degree is anyone's guess.
Joe Milton was spotless through the season in mop up duty but his lone start against Vandy in a rain soaked afternoon game brought back nightmares of overthrows. Was it the water, the timing, or the same old story? Well, anyone's guess. Ultimately, two teams are hoping they have their QB of the future lining up behind center. Whichever team is closer to the truth is going to have the edge.
2. Win the Ground Game: With two fresh quarterbacks, expect each team to lean heavily on the ground game, although Clemson will likely balance a bit more than the Vols due to the poor pass defense we have. RB Will Shipley has over 1,200 yards for Clemson this year and a fresh Tennessee DL will be tested often to see if they can contain him. As for the Vols, expect a rotation of Small, Wright and Sampson to give Clemson a few different styles to deal with. Tennessee will benefit from the opt-out of top DE Myles Murphy who is projected as a top 10 pick. Clemson is notoriously deep at DL, so while they will miss Murphy, they will have bodies to pull from the pile.
While Clemson is 10th nationally in rushing defense, with only 101 per game... let's be honest... Tennessee's 110 per game is more impressive considering the strength of schedule. I give the slight edge to Tennessee in rushing defense and a favorable edge to Tennessee in rushing offense.
3. Next Man Up: With Hooker injured and Tillman and Hyatt opting out from the bowl game, Heupel will have big holes to fill. Tillman has essentially missed the season already, and we've discussed Milton, so primarily I see the opportunity being there for Bru McCoy, Ramel Keyton and Squirrel White. While I expect Bru will clearly be WR #1 next year, this is an opportunity for Keyton and White to claim their hold to a position that doesn't get a lot of rotation. All have had big moments and produced in their opportunities and I expect them to do the same, especially with more time to get in sync with Milton as he develops his chemistry with his WR's.
4. Heupel's Show: With Alex Golesh heading to the sunshine state to build his own program, Heupel will have full responsibility of running his offense. Although he has always been extremely involved in play calling and planning, this is his full show, and it will be interesting to see what differences may arise at different times.
Prediction:
This is a primetime match-up in a primetime slot. Recruits know very well who Clemson is. They are starting to know who Tennessee is. This game would go a HUGE way in cementing the Vols reputation in the eyes of young football players exploring their futures. For the first time in a very long time.... the Vols aren't just a team "who used to be...". They are, and they are right now. This is a key opportunity to demonstrate that. However, this game is not without it's pitfalls. First of all, Clemson has had the better part of a three weeks to focus on the Vols fast tempo offense. Most teams just get a few days, but this has been the sole focus for Clemson since they got their Bowl bid. That's not the best for the Vols, but that's only one thing we do well. The question is, "Can we do everything well without Hooker, Hyatt, Tillman, and Jeremy Banks?" Hmmm... and now it gets tricky.
I think we get an absolutely classic shootout, but I'm not sure it ends well for us. Clemson scores a ton, and Tennessee scores just a slight ton less, due to inconsistency at quarterback. I'd love to be wrong, but
TN 38
Clemson 44
