Around the Horn with TCI
By: rmacrae@bellsouth.net October 1, 2015

The  TCI staff of Ed McGranahan, Hale McGranahan, Will Vandervort, William Qualkinbush and Robert MacRae go Around the Horn to answer some of the questions surrounding Clemson athletics and college football.

How will the expected heavy rain impact the game with Notre Dame?

Robert MacRae – It certainly doesn’t help the Tigers on paper.  If it rains hard then it will make it more difficult for Clemson in the passing game.  The Tigers are more likely to need to count on their passing game to win the game.  For the Irish the running game is the primary, with the passing game playing off that.  The Tigers would like to be able to take advantage of all of the playmakers at receiver.

Of course the biggest question in a rainy game is which team hangs on to the football.  If the rains cause the Irish to have more turnovers than the Tigers then advantage Tigers.

One thing is for sure that the game will likely be a lower scoring contest if they are playing in very rainy conditions.

William Qualkinbush – Rain probably won’t help either team. In fact, I can think of very few (if any) teams that are aided by having a wet field and a wet football. AS recently as last week, I’d say the rain probably helps a more conservative team that doesn’t want to necessarily put the ball in jeopardy and wants to run the ball as its primary objective. Then I saw Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech lose to teams that don’t mind throwing the football in horrible conditions.

I believe uncomfortable playing conditions benefit the team that was more comfortable to start with. Nine times out of ten, that’s the home team. It seems fairly simplistic, but if you’re playing in a place you know better than your opposition, you can deal with poor conditions that make everyone a little less sure of himself. For that very reason—and given the similarities between the two teams—I’ll go with Clemson having the “rain edge” in this game.

Ed McGranahan – Every time the conversation turns to football and rain, I remember the 2009 game with Boston College which went on forever. Lightning twice forced the teams from the field.

Ordinarily rain can be an advantage to a team that passes if the quarterback and skill players have large hands. As you’ll recall Clemson scored one touchdown in that BC game when C.J. Spiller returned a punt 77 yards. Richard Jackson kicked six field goals, and the Clemson defense limited BC to 55 yards.
A wet field can create nightmares for defensive backs trying to backpedal and change directions, increasing the potential for big plays down field if the quarterback has the hands to manage a wet ball.
In that case, I like Deshaun Watson’s chances, but would worry slightly about Clemson’s secondary  against Fuller or Robinson.
Though many of Notre Dame’s players probably have cold-weather experience, rain is a different animal.and my guess is that Brent Venables is a pretty fair “mudder,” with his extensive experience on the plains.
So I continue to favor Clemson barring a major injury.
Will Vandervort: I think it impacts it a lot from the Clemson side of things. I know Dabo Swinney says he does not worry about it, but maybe he should. A wet field does not help the Tigers. It takes away the Tigers speed on offense and defense. Yes, Notre Dame has to play in the same conditions, but it’s obvious the Irish, with their huge offensive line and running back C.J. Prosise, is more equipped to be a mudder than the Tigers are. Also, the game will have to be played in the middle of the field if it rains, especially if it rains a lot. That’s is to Notre Dame’s advantage because it has the offensive line that can give Clemson’s defensive line some issues when you take the Tigers’ speed element out of the game.

Hale McGranahan – It’s hard enough to predict results when the weather is cooperating. I don’t have a clue how the rain will impact Saturday night’s game. Even in good weather I think this is a lower scoring game. The forecast for Saturday doesn’t really change that for me, so I guess that’s one way to look at it. This thing could be nice and sloppy.