By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
ATLANTA — LSU linebacker Kevin Minter said Saturday Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd has a stronger arm than Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel. Maybe that means Boyd will have a better performance against LSU than this year’s Heisman Trophy winner.
The LSU game was clearly Manziel’s worst of the season as he threw three interceptions completed only 29 of 56 passes for 276 yards and rushed for 27 yards on 17 carries in a 24-19 loss at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas this past October.
“We just had a great game plan,” Minter said.
Boyd is averaging 336.8 yards per game in total offense, the fifth best mark in ACC history. It is the highest average since Florida State’s Chris Weinke averaged 339.2 yards per game in his Heisman Trophy year of 2000. Manziel averaged 383.3 yards per game overall in the regular season.
LSU’s game plan against the Aggies did not work out too well, early on. Texas A&M jumped out to a 12-0 lead midway through the second quarter before LSU rallied to get the win.
LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis said during the Chick-fil-A Bowl press conference that once his defense adjusted to the speed of the game, they settled down and took over. He said he expects the same when the seventh-ranked Tigers take on No. 13 Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on New Year’s Eve in the Georgia Dome.
Like Clemson, the Aggies run an up-tempo style of offense that tries to ware its opponents down. Texas A&M averaged 44.8 points and 552.3 yards per game. Clemson averages 44.2 points a game and 518.3 yards per outing.
“I think first of all, we start looking at the four receivers they have, some of the best four receivers we have seen,” Chavis said. “You also start looking at the tailback (Andre Ellington). He has tremendous speed. Then you look at the quarterback. He can run and throw and they have a lot of options for him.
“They are a very, very talented offense. You can certainly rank it with any high-powered offense we’ve faced.”
LSU (10-2) did not fare too well in the last three games of the season defensively, especially against the pass. The SEC’s Tigers gave up 304 passing yards to Mississippi State, 316 to Mississippi and 359 to Arkansas. But, they did force five interceptions in the three games and made the quarterbacks uncomfortable at times.
“We want to be one of the more explosive offenses in the country,” Boyd said. “There’s no better stage than the one we are on right now, in one of the best bowl games out there going against the best defense.
“I’m excited about the game. It’s another opportunity for us. We are just looking to go out and handle our business and everything else will fall into place.”
The Big boys. The natural thought when you here LSU is big and physical starts with their offensive line, which is true. But, the toughest group maybe on the LSU team is its running backs.
How is this for starters? Spencer Ware, who is listed as the starting running back, is 225 pounds. Jeremy Hill is 235 pounds, Kenny Hilliard is 231 pounds and Michael Ford is 216. That’s just the running backs. The fullbacks, starting with starter J.C. Copeland, are 272 and 236 pounds respectively.
In hopes of trying to simulate LSU’s big running backs and fullbacks, Clemson has used reserve defensive tackle Tra Thomas (276) and reserve linebacker Lateek Townsend (215) on the scout team.
“They are very precise in what they are doing and that’s what you have to appreciate and have great respect for,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “They do it with great intensity. Obviously, they are very physical, very intense and have a very aggressive mind-set in how they run the football.
“They are running downhill to not just set the isolation play, but the whole mentality is in attack mode and it all starts with the running game.”
Beating ranked teams. This will be Clemson’s 35 bowl appearance all-time in the program’s long history, and the 23rd time the Tigers have faced a ranked team. Clemson is 11-11 all-time against ranked teams in bowl games.
This will mark the third time Clemson has played an LSU ranked-squad in a bowl game. Clemson lost to No. 1 LSU in the 1959 Sugar Bowl, 7-0, and then lost to a No. 16 LSU team in the 1996 Peach Bowl, 10-7.
The last time a Clemson team beat a ranked opponent in a bowl game came in the 2004 Peach Bowl when the Tigers beat No. 6 Tennessee, 27-14.
Clemson has lost its last two against ranked teams in bowl games, the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl against Auburn (21) and in last year’s Orange Bowl to West Virginia (22).