08 September 2007

LOUISIANA-MONROE POST GAME

We could've done a better job at this today, but for our 2nd game in 6 days, not bad.

The Tigers started off slow today but never let up once they got goin', a phrase that sounds like it should be a Bachman-Turner Overdrive song, but that's besides the point. Clemson prevailed with a score of 49-26. Enough of a high scoring game to satisfy those with questions about the Tigers' offensive prowess, but not enough resilience on defense to inspire total confidence in that group. For the official recap of the game check out the ESPN writeup.

Cullen Harper did a fantastic job for the Tigers today, aided by solid blocking from the offensive line. Harper finished an admirable 20/26 for 270 yards and 5 touchdown passes, with no interceptions. He set the individual Clemson single-game record for most touchdown passes with 5, eclipsing the previous record held by 5 other Clemson quarterbacks.

While the running game wasn't exceptional, I'm not really concerned as I would attribute this to the coaches' insistence on not repeating the mistakes of last year and focusing more on the passing game when games are already won. There was a lot of talk over this last week about how infrequently the Tigers honed their passing attack when up on cupcakes last year and I feel this issue was pretty fairly addressed on the field tonight. My only other concern is the ease with which our defense gave up rushing yards, a malady that plagued them last year late in the season.




EXTREME KORN REPORT: Willy Korn absolutely DOMINATED the field, THRASHING the defense with an ASSSSSTOUNDING 49 yards on 6/8 passing, BARRELING through the unworthy and puny defense for a rushing touchdown to cap off a 75 yard POWER DRIVE. HE'S NOT EVEN A RUNNING BACK AND HE RAN FOR A TOUCHDOWN. BALLS. Rumor has it that PRESIDENT BUSH called Willy after the game and congratulated him on his effort. GOD BLESS AMERICA and WILLY KORN. EKR OVER!

One issue I was pretty ticked about has nothing to do with the team itself, but of my ability to watch the team. Of course a gem of a matchup like this one wasn't available on ESPN, ESPN2, CSS, Raycom, or Fox Sports. But, aha, you can always rely on ESPN Game Plan to watch all the games that slip through the cracks. Well, you could if you are in any part of America that doesn't give a crap about the game. The entire Southern region was blacked out. The key region that would want to see the game can't even do so if they pay for it. So, if you can't make it to the game, and you want to watch it at home, and you live anywhere in the south, you can't. Tough. Of course fans should be at the game, but there's no way every Clemson fan can travel to every game.

Minor gripes aside -- and this game was all about minor gripes -- the Tigers played well and won easily. They played around with some things, got lots of playing time for 2nd and 3rd stringers, didn't suffer major injuries, and more than likely got better as a team. It wasn't as much of a blowout as some predicted, but they got the job done.