By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
The last time these two teams meet on the football field, it turned out to be Tommy Bowden’s last win as a head coach.
No one knew that at the time of course, but in the weeks to follow, the Tigers lost at home to Maryland and then lost a Thursday night contest at Wake Forest, in which a Clemson team that was the preseason No. 9 squad to start the season looked unmotivated and out of sync.
The Monday morning following the loss to the Demon Deacons, Bowden turned in his letter of resignation and the Dabo Swinney era began.
Five years later, here both teams stand, again, on the same field. The Tigers are coming off their best season in 30 years and are considered to be a serious contender for a national championship run. S.C. State, on the other hand, is trying to find itself under head coach Buddy Pugh, who is 88-39 in his 11 years in Orangeburg, SC.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 5-6 season, including a 4-4 mark in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The prospects for the 2013 season do not seem to be good especially after some injuries on the offensive line during the spring.
In fact, it got so bad, Pugh quit the annual spring game in the middle of the contest due to the loss of some lineman—starting center Tristan Bellamy and C.J. Wilson.
As for the Tigers, no one really knows where their mind might be on this day. Sure, Clemson will be expected to win this game, but coming off either a win or a loss to a top 10 Georgia team, plus the fact the ACC opener at NC State is looming on a Thursday night after an off week, what kind of performance will the Tigers put on?
Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd has said many times since the end of last season that it isn’t fun to play football games against weaker competition when they know how much more superior they are in overall talent and skill.
S.C. State
Time to be announced, Sept. 7, Clemson Memorial Stadium
Television: none
2012 record: 5-6
Final ranking: NR
MEAC record: 4-4
The series: Clemson won the only meeting between the two schools, a 54-0 victory in 2008 in Death Valley.
Offense has some holes to fill
Returning starters: 5
QB: Richard Cue threw for 1,819 yards and 11 touchdowns, while also rushing for 322 more yards and two touchdowns. The junior isn’t very accurate, completing only 49 percent of his passes, while throwing 14 interceptions as well.
RB: It’s never a good sign when the top rusher returning happens to be the quarterback and he only rushed for 322 yards, averaging 3.4 yards per carry. Justin Taylor, a transfer from Kentucky should help with a running game that averaged only 33.5 yards per game in 2012. Julius Pendergrass rushed for 273 yards and scored three touchdowns last year.
WR: The two best receivers from 2012 are back in Caleb Davis and Tyler McDonald. Davis hauled in a team-high 35 catches for 311 yards and two scores, while McDonald had 34 receptions for a team-high 527 yards and four scores.
OL: The Bulldogs bring back only one starter in center Tristan Bellamy. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound center is a junior, while the other starters are all sophomores.
TE: Marcus Lloyd caught four passes for 70 yards last season and will be used this year as an H-back in the Bulldogs’ Pro Style/I-formation offense.
Defense has plenty of experience
Returning starters: 8
LB: The Bulldogs run a 4-2 base defense with multiple sets. Linebackers Joe Thomas (6-0, 230) and Justin Hughes (6-1, 220) are back. Hughes led the team with 78 tackles and three forced fumbles.
DB: SC State has three starters back in the secondary, led by strong safety Darius Drummond, who had 25 tackles and an interception last season. Field corner Mason Harris is back, as is boundary corner Steven Murphy. Dominique Mitchell is expected to start at free safety.
DL: Three guys are back up front, including sack leaders Andre Carter (6-1, 240) and Alex Glover (6-1, 220). Glover had five sacks, while Carter had four in 2012. Defensive tackle Jason Hargrave (6-2, 295) is back after having four tackles for loss and two sacks last year.
Special teams
Returning starters: 2
PK: Nick Belcher was 8 of 15 last season, including 4 of 6 from 30-39 yards, while only 1 of 6 from 40-49 yards. He was 24 of 26 on PATs and led the team with 48 points. His long was 47 yards.
P: Belcher is also the punter. He averaged 38.9 yards per punt in 2012 and knocked down 20 inside the 20-yard line. He also had 10 punts that sailed longer than 50 yards.
Returns: Pendergrass will handle kickoff returns. He led the Bulldogs last year with a 25.6 yard average, including one for 70 yards, while Drummond will handle punts. He led the team in punt return average at 8.0 yards and had a long of 25 yards.
Bottom line: The Bulldogs have a chance to be pretty good defensively, but offensively they have a lot of issues, especially on the offensive line where they are extremely young and thin due to injuries in the spring. This one has the potential to be ugly early because of depth issues.