Clemson Opponents Review: Week 5

(13) Georgia Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 SEC)

Defeated Tennessee 35-32, partly thanks to 208 rushing yards from Todd Gurley. In the third, we learned that Georgia still doesn't have much of a passing game, and that Tennessee isn't very good without Justin Worley under center and throwing the ball like mad. The Bulldogs sealed this win by recovering an onside kick and then letting Gurley run the ball, which must mean they remembered he was on the team this time. They control their own destiny in the SEC East.

South Carolina State Bulldogs (3-2, 1-0 MEAC)

Defeated Hampton 17-10 in their first MEAC game of the season. You forgot they were in the MEAC. I know, I did too. The game-winning score came with about a minute left, in the form of a Jalen Simmons touchdown run. I'll note here the mini-Bulldogs won this game despite, not due to, their passing game (125 yards over two quarterbacks), and... wait, didn't I just write this about a Bulldog team?

(1) Florida State Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 ACC) at N.C. State Wolfpack (4-1, 0-1 ACC)

One of these teams beat the other 56-41 in a game with 1,051 yards of offense. Pass defense? You came to the wrong neighborhood. Winston (26/38, 365, 4 TD, 2 INT) and Brissett (32/48, 359, 3 TD) lit up every single part of Carter-Finley. Yes, the run was sort of stopped, I guess, but each team still racked up 160+ yards on the ground. The fun part is that FSU turned it over four times, but still won because they simply managed to out-NC State NC State after being down many points in the first quarter. Two Wolfpack turnovers probably helped there, as did four consecutive FSU scoring drives in the second half. Eventually, NC State just couldn't keep up. Still, I can't figure out what it is about Raleigh that does this stuff to Seminole teams.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-3, 0-1 ACC) at Louisville Cardinals (4-1, 2-1 ACC)

Somebody won this 20-10 - and it wasn't Wake, because Wake had -22 rushing yards while Louisville had 215 rushing yards. The most interesting thing about looking at Wake's results these days is to see what awful crime they've committed against the art of running a football. This week, not only did they not gain any yards, they didn't even try; those -22 yards came on 12 official attempts. Wake has given up feigning competency in rushing. Unfortunately, John Wolford only managed 122 passing yards while his team had three turnovers. Louisville had three as well and tacked on 89 yards in penalties. I would not call this contest "crisp."

Boston College Eagles (3-2, 0-1 ACC)

Lost 24-21 to Colorado state because... wait, what? Many parts of this game make no sense - 838 yards for just 44 total points? - but one thing does: the Rams could pass, and BC just wasn't sure about how to defend this new-fangled throwyball style of theirs. Colorado State took the lead with a minute left - on a 4th down attempt, no less. Tyler Murphy, FBS' best rushing QB, had 79 of those yards.

Syracuse Orange (2-2, 0-0 ACC)

Lost 31-15 to Notre Dame, that other ACC team. Is Syracuse ever going to start their conference schedule? Oh well. Everett Golson - you remember him, right - completed 25 straight passes, but also had two fumbles and threw two interceptions. Those came as part of five Notre Dame turnovers... uh, I can't figure out how Syracuse lost this game by 16. Everyone had a million yards of penalties, too, and didn't bother to interrupt anyone's offense, which is a testament to how bad Syracuse's must be to only score 15 points. This just isn't football's week.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-0, 1-0 ACC)

Paul Johnson elected not to play this week, and looking at the above results I guess I can't really blame him.

Georgia State Panthers (1-3, 0-1 Sun Belt)

They didn't play either, which makes me sad. The way this week went, they would have gotten 1,200 yards of offense combined with 10 fumbles and lost 103-99 in nine overtimes. And it would have been the best game of all time.

South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2, 2-2 SEC)

Lost 21-20 to Missouri because... I'm sorry, what? South Carolina had them down for most of this game defensively - because this is the week where everything you know is wrong - and then Maty Mauk started throwing and I don't know. They won with 132 passing yards, giving Wake an ideal to aspire to. Actually, they won with 280 total yards. I can't explain this. You can't explain this. The SEC East is now the ACC Coastal, where order goes to die.