Brownell's club would love to win two conference games in a row at some point this year, and a home game against Wake Forest (11-9, 2-4) gives the Tigers the opportunity to do just that. Wake was absolutely putrid last year, going just 1-15 in the ACC, but 2nd-year coach Jeff Bzdelik's squad is much more competitive this year. The Deacons knocked off Virginia Tech at home to start the conference season, and also won at BC by 15. But they lost road games at Maryland and Duke, and got blown out at home by NC State.

The Deacons are led on offense by sophomore Travis McKie and junior CJ Harris (17.3 ppg). Harris (17.3 ppg) is Wake's best jumpshooter; Wake's shining moment this year came against VT, when Harris hit a pair of 3s in the final minute to give Wake a 3-point victory. Tony Chennault plays point for the Deacs and leads the team with 2.9 apg. The sophomore can shoot (10.6ppg), and has also shown the ability to split defenders in the lane.

McKie is Wake's best in the frontcourt, leading the Deacons with 6.7 rpg. McKie is one of the team's leading scorers (17.2 ppg), but is coming off of a game against Florida State that saw him foul out after going 1 of 13 from the field (he looked especially horrendous from beyond the arc, where he went 0 of 4 with 2 airballs).

The frontcourt also features a versatile senior forward in Nikita Mescheriakov, whose size (6-8, 220) gives him the ability to work the ball inside, but the transfer from Georgetown also has the ability to shoot the 3 and drive the lane. Ty Walker rounds out the starting 5 for the Deacs. The senior doesn't do much on offense, but he's a great defender, and is widely considered to be Wake's best shot blocker since Tim Duncan. Walker (2.9 pbg) had 4 blocks against FSU in the 1st half alone before leaving the game with a concussion (took an elbow to the face).

Wake Forest's Projected Starting Lineup:

#30-sophomore F-Travis McKie (6-7, 210)

#11-junior G-CJ Harris (6-3, 190)

#1-sophomore-PG-Tony Chennault (6-2, 195)

#25-senior-F-Nikita Mescheriakov (6-8, 220)

#40-senior-C-Ty Walker (7-0, 230)

Also watch out for:

33-sophomore-C-Carson Desrosiers (7-0, 240)

10-freshman-G-Chase Fischer (6-3, 180)

I thought about including Clemson's starting lineup here too, but then I realized that I really don't know who's gonna start for us on Saturday. Andre and Tanner are the only 2 guys that I'm absolutely sure of. Milton will probably get the start too, but only probably. As for the 5 spot, Brownell said after the GT game that he was not yet sure which guy (Bobo or Book) would get the start, and that it would probably depend on who had the better week at practice. The 3's a toss up too. Could be B-Nice. Could be Rod. Could be Sapp. Who knows.

Regardless of who we see start at the 5, it would be nice to see Bobo continue to improve. He's looked a hell of a lot better in the last few games, and has finally figured out how to use his size to his advantage, but he still has plenty of room for improvement. He's got to cut down on the turnovers and do a better job of keeping a firm grip on the ball. And hopefully Devin shows up too, but I'm not hoping for much. At the very least, it would be nice to not see any missed dunks from him on Saturday.

As for the other guys, same keys as always. Andre, shoot the ball well, preferably like you did last weekend. Tanner, stop turning it over. Milton, it's all mental. Just play with confidence and you'll be fine.

What happens Saturday? Wake is much improved from last year, but not they're not good enough to beat the Tigers on the road (although when we play in Winston-Salem just 14 days later, the story might be different). Andre Young continues his hot streak, Devin finally manages to not screw up any of his dunks (but doesn't do much else), and Bobo scores in double figures. Wake keeps it close for 30 minutes, but Tigers roll in the end.

The game will tip at noon and will be televised by the ACC Network (ABC in the Upstate).

Alright, that’s enough dwelling on our defensive futility, let’s examine the brightspot of 2011, the offensive side of the ball. Last time we looked at how our defense performed “per possession” over the past few years. Now we are going to look at the offense.

First, let’s review through Part 2 by the numbers:

The average defensive rank of the “top ten team in plays run” is 82.3

The average defensive rank of a “top ten team in plays run” over the past 5 years is 60.3

In the first year of Malzahn’s offensive philosophy Auburn’s defense dropped 58 spots to 73.

In the first year in Morris’ offensive philosophy, Clemson’s defense dropped 70 spots to 81

In 2011, Clemson’s defense dropped in “stop rate per possession” 6.25%

In year one in Malzahn’s system, Auburn’s defense dropped in “stop rate per possession” 10.57%

Auburn’s National Championship defense out-performed Clemson 2011 “per possession” by 1.82%

Oregon’s National Runner –Up defense out-performed Clemson 2011 by 10.36%

The logic here remains the same as Part 1-2. The offense and the defense are married to each other and work together to help the team win. Their effectiveness is linked together. If the defense can get off the field quickly, it increases the effectiveness of our offense by creating more stress for the opposing defense and more possessions for them to defend.

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Ed. Note: Since my expertise doesn't include information on the different training regimens, we decided to ask around to High School assistant coaches and strength coaches on what they see with the program. This article is a product of that, and as such is not primarily our own writing.We’ve tried to glean as much info from as many sources as possible, because we think it important to remedy the problems with S&C at Clemson.

Many people question why the heat is so hot on the S&C program right now. We don't think many fans realize what exposure is allowed in NCAA now with regards to coaching. The 11 football coaches don't have unlimited access to the team throughout the offseason. Players cannot be coached in a practice setting year-round because of the NCAA limitations. In fact, actual practice is limited to 2 weeks worth of spring practices (which is stretched out for a month at Clemson), twice that in August, and 2 more weeks of bowl preparation practices. Even then, practices and meetings are limited in timespan by the 20 hour rule. In the offseason, the players can speak to the coaches and watch film of course, but it cannot be required or punished if not attended. The coaches cannot take them outside to the fields and drill them or teach. However, the S&C coach has full access year-round with the team, because they do still get time to train. Football games in October and November are won in the 8 months prior. That is why the best coaches put a premium on hiring the right S&C coach.

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We want to examine many aspects of new defensive coordinator Brent Venables. For those of you not familiar with Venables, TDP looked at him as a possible head coaching candidate here at Clemson in 2008. During this search, we briefly profiled him here. We also gave our two-cents on him as a possible HC candidate what seems like ages ago in the immediate post-Tom Bowden era. From the above linked article, the following was said about his recruiting prowess:

Recruiting? He's an outstanding recruiter. He's a younger high-energy guy similar to Muschamp. Many of their best recruits this year are on the defensive side. You can see the players he's pulled in here. His ties are mostly in Texas and Oklahoma, not the southeast.

Clearly, he had our respect on the recruiting trail three plus years ago and still has our attention regarding the talent he brought to Norman during his time there. Obviously ESPN noticed this as well, saying the following his decision to leave OU for Clemson (courtesy ESPN.com)

But as much as the Sooners will miss Venables as a coordinator and linebackers coach, they will miss him just as much as an ace recruiter.

Ronnell Lewis, Demontre Hurst, Tom Wort, Corey Nelson, Austin Box, Jamell Fleming and DeMarco Murray are just a few of the standouts Venables had a hand in recruiting to Norman in recent years.

He also was the assistant who secured two of OU's top verbal commitments in this recruiting class: safety Eric Striker and running back Daniel Brooks. Venables also was the primary assistant recruiting California cornerback Brandon Beaver, who is scheduled to visit OU this weekend.

Not that we didn't believe ESPN, but we wanted to look at his recruiting record ourselves and attained information dating back to NSD 2006. Please note that all data (including "star rating") came from www.rivals.com and their Oklahoma site, Sooner Scoop.

Overall Recruiting Performance (since '06):

--note that the average is players signed per year while AVG star rating is the overall average from the 2006 class to 2011 class.

As shown below (table featuring all players recruited by BV since '06), Brent has done a fine job on the recruiting trail. He has been the primary/responsible recruiter for no fewer than four (4) players signed in any cycle and has been attributed as the primary/responsible recruiter for seven (7) players signed in 2008 and eight (8) signed in 2009. Venables has been able to maintain quality signees despite his high number of annual signees. Look through his players signed list since ‘06. You'll see plenty of Rivals 4+ star players. 16 of the players he recruited from '06 to '11 were ranked as a Rivals 4 star prospect or better, with two of those players rated at 5 stars. That is 2-2/3 players a cycle with jam up ratings. If you remove last season's pull (all three star athletes), he averages OVER 3 players with a 4 star rating per class.

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We were fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the folks over at SBNation's Oklahoma blog, Crimson and Cream Machine, and discuss the defensive coordinator's move from Oklahoma to Clemson. They have provided us with a good bit of info on Brent "The Neck Vein" Venables and what we should expect out of him based on the past 13 years in Norman. They asked us a few questions as well, so be sure to get over there and check out our answers to their questions. Also, these guys are pretty friendly and cooperative folks so feel free to ask them items you may have questions about regarding Venables and all things Oklahoma.

Shakin' the Southland Question: Coach Venables openly stated that his decision to leave OU had nothing to do with the return of Mike Stoops. First off, do you believe this? Also, had Venables stayed, how do you think the defensive responsibilities would have been allocated between the two (i.e., would BV have taken a backseat to Stoops as most suspect)?

Crimson and Cream Machine Answer: I think there is more truth to his statement than some people would give him credit for, but at the same time it would be pretty naive to think Mike Stoops' return didn't play some role in things. I'm of the opinion that if Mike Stoops isn't brought back that Brent Venables is still the DC at Oklahoma so yeah, I think it played a part. But with some of the details that have since come out, it certainly seems as if Venables was just ready for a new challenge and I think any rational OU fan can respect that decision.

If Bob Stoops had been able to convince Venables to stay, given how seriously he was considering Clemson, I believe he would have made Venables and Mike Stoops "equals" in terms of play calling. Stoops is loyal, probably to a fault, and I think he would have been willing to give both guys equal responsibilities to keep Venables on staff. Obviously no one can say whether or not it would have worked, but everyone involved has said they were eager to give it another go.

STS Question: We've begun reviewing Venables' body of work at OU and are impressed with his recruiting prowess. How big of an impact will his loss have on Oklahoma and what do you think Clemson gains from a recruiting standpoint by bringing BV onboard?

C&CM Answer: Not to dodge the question, but until Oklahoma actually hires a replacement it will be difficult to determine just how significant a loss Venables' recruiting prowess will be to replace. That said, while as a DC he wasn't out on the road as much as some position coaches, but still routinely took the lead on defensive recruits and has a well-earned relationship of relating well to recruits. He is a tireless recruiter and you routinely hear recruits talk about him as a "down to earth coach" and a guy they can relate to. He's not one to pressure kids into a commitment either which is something I've always appreciated just as a fan. I can say that most OU fans, myself included, feel like Oklahoma's chances of finding a replacement for Venables as both a position coach and perhaps more importantly a recruiter are not good. And I'm not sure how you could take that as anything other than a massive compliment to Venables.

Admittedly, my knowledge of Clemson and their staff is limited but in following recruiting in general it does not appear as if Clemson is hurting in that area. I'd think recruits would find Venables enthusiasm just as infectious as they appear to do with Dabo Swinney. If I were a Clemson fan, I'd be ecstatic thinking about those two guys in the living room of potential recruits.

STS Comment: Steele was also an excellent recruiter before coming here and Swinney tends to keep the coordinators off the road to work on game planning. Venables will definitely be an asset on the recruiting trail but to what extent is still a question. Steele was a primary recruiter in the PeeDee region and Southwest Florida

STS Question: OU's defensive performances dropped off following Stoops' departure for Arizona. Do you think this drop off was due to Stoops' departure, improvement in Big 12 offenses, a combination of OU's fastbreak style & opponents' offensive improvement, or some combination of these items?

C&CM Answer: I definitely think it was a combination of all the factors you very accurately pointed out. Brent Venables isn't afraid to get in a player's face, in a good way of course, but at the end of the day he's still very much a player's coach and I think the defense lost some of their bite when Mike Stoops left. Couple that with the dynamic spread offenses that exploded onto the scene in the Big 12 and OU's employment of the no-huddle, it put the defense on the field a lot more than it had been in the past. One of the issues that caused for Venables' defense is his habit of really only utilizing substitute players along the defensive line. Maybe things will be different at Clemson, though it's not like he didn't have depth at a school like Oklahoma, but Venables rarely used backup LBs and DBs. So when you keep your starters out there for that many plays, it's more a matter of when not if they are going to get beat.

STS Comment: This looks a lot like what we saw out of Steele, only Oklahoma had more/better recruited depth than Clemson. If Venables refused to substitute at OU then we are very likely to see more of the same here.

STS Question: Sentiment out of many Oklahoma fans was that they wanted Mike Stoops back and really gave no thought as to whether BV would stay if he came back (with some outright wanting a replacement prior to Willie Martinez's departure). Are these thoughts accurate for most of the Sooner Nation and are these your thoughts on this topic?

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Again, this one is a lot of information so, take your time and don’t hesitate to stop and come back later. I’ll give you a few days before I post part 3.

In part 1, we saw how running more plays attributes greatly to poor statistical defense and we examined some accomplished defensive coordinators that were unable to overcome it. Again, my goal here is to affect perception and to better allow all of us (including myself) to become better educated football fans.

After researching for part 1, it occurred to me that our offensive philosophy might affect the defense but, I’m pretty sure I never saw Kevin Steele and Homer Simpson together…coincidence? And wait, didn’t Auburn just win the National Title with Malzahn using this same offensive philosophy? Yes, they sure did. Let’s look at that. Let’s use Auburn as the control. Not only do they use our system, they won the national championship with it.

As you probably already know, in 2003, Chad Morris and his high school staff met with Gus Malzahn to borrow his big picture offensive philosophy. Since then, the two have skyrocketed from coaching high school to becoming the "highest paid offensive coordinators" in FBS football.

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