Big-Game Hunting
To start, I would be remiss if I didn't mention App State OLB Devan Stringer and offer my deepest and most sincere condolences to him and his family during this tragic time. My thoughts and prayers are with him, his friends and his loved ones.
The App State football team will travel to Clemson this weekend as they continue their big-game hunting trip in hopes of taking down some Tigers. The Mountaineers took care of the first part of the trip Saturday by throttling the Howard Bison 49-0.
Shaedon Meadors hauls in a touchdown in 49-0 victory over Howard
Photo by: Dave Mayo
There has been much talk this off-season about the potential of this 2015 App State team. I think I can speak for everyone when I say it was satisfying to watch the 49-0 win over Howard. After two seasons in a row of uncompetitive opening games (Montana and Michigan, respectively), it was a beautiful sight to see the Mountaineers come out and win a game like expected. Add on top of that the fact that similar games in previous years didn't go so well (Charleston Southern and NC A&T), and you have a whole lot of happy Mountaineer fans.
The game was pretty uncompetitive throughout its entirety, but Howard didn't lay down. App definitely earned the win but, unfortunately for Howard, completely outmatched the competition. Sporting their new gold jerseys and cleats, the Apps looked good and played well in front of the crowd of 24,000+. Now comes the biggest test of the season. The Mountaineers will travel Saturday to Death Valley, one of the toughest places in the country to play.
The 12th ranked Tigers are coming off of a comfortable 49-10 win over Wofford, former App State foe. But Dabo Swinney, Clemson head coach, made it clear that his team is not looking forward to next week's battle with Louisville. When asked about how he felt about opening up with Wofford and App State, Swinney responded:
“Our full attention is on App State. It’d better be. If people don’t think they can come in here and win, they’re crazy. This team can beat anybody. They were a I-AA and beat Michigan. They dang sure can beat a Division I team as a Division I team, especially a team with the confidence, chemistry, leadership and experience they have.”
Yes, that is your obligatory coach statement. But, you better believe Swinney will have his team ready Saturday. No one wants to become the next Michigan of '07.
After opening up as a 21-point favorite, the line has since dropped to -17 for the Tigers. I expect the Apps to come in and play well. As for covering the spread, I'm not so sure. I do think it will be within one score of the 17-point line. Year after year teams like Clemson have been able to use sheer size, strength and speed to wear down App teams. I think the Mountaineers keep it close for a half before Clemson starts to pull away in the third quarter. But, as always when I make statements such as this, I sincerely hope I'm wrong.
I will be traveling to Clemson for my 5th "big" App game in 5 years ( VT, ECU, UGA, and Michigan previously). Traveling far and wide to see my Apps play is one of my favorite things to do. It's what I look forward to all summer. Hopefully I will be able to keep up the tradition after graduation, but we'll see. I will say, I'm very excited to witness of of the greatest entrances in college football at Clemson. It's going to be wild seeing the "most exciting 25 seconds in college football."
Anyways, let's go have some fun. The opportunity to travel to such great stadiums to watch our Apps play is a blessing. When you break it down, App has nothing to lose and Clemson has everything to lose. Let's go shock the world again! I'll see ya'll at Death Valley at 12:30 on Saturday.
Official Jordan Tate Prediction: Clemson 35, App State 14.
