The "Sixth Sense" Edition

As Clemson gets ready to face SMU at home, Tim Bourret gives us some insight into Cade Klubnik's health.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Each time, or Clipson Sports Talk with Lawton Schwan.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Now finally, Clemson Sports Talk has come back two drive time.

(00:51):
Hell everybody, Lawton Swan back in the saddle once again.
It is the show that shakes the south Land. Clemson
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(01:17):
Put the dot com on it, dog gnet. That's Clemson
Sports Talk dot Com. A O three four five zero
zero eighty six out of the gates here on a
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(01:38):
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That's two two six seven to one zero eight METS Plumbing.
All right, The Tigers back in Death Valley this weekend.
They will take on the SMU Mustangs SMU Enters four

(01:59):
in two two Clemson a disappointing three and three obviously
you know the story of how Clemson got there. Losing
seventeen ten in the opener to LSU, a game that
certainly set you back, but not a game that maybe
defined your season. You lose that game, everything is in

(02:22):
front of you. Probably the most shocking result of it,
although when you go back through it was how poor
the offense played in that game, just across the board,
just across the board offensively. Week one, Clemson didn't have

(02:46):
the electricity that one would presume you would feel given
all of the preseason hype, given everything that people said
about this Clemson Tiger team, think you would score more
at home than ten points. You would think that kay

(03:06):
Clubnick would play better. You would think that this would
be a team in year three of Garrett Riley's system
that would have figured out how to manipulate the opponent,
how to create situations that put you the defenders in conflict.

(03:27):
And that wasn't the case. K Clubnic nineteen to thirty,
eight to thirty a touchdown. Adam Randall got five carries
in the opener for sixteen yards. That's a disgrace. Brant
Westco had four receptions for sixty six yards, and Clemson
who was a three and a half point favorite, falls

(03:47):
by seven, and it leads you to believe in that
moment that hey, you know what, maybe Elis's just a
really good football team. But that has not been the case.
It just hasn't been the case about LSU and who
they are as a team either. And so that storyline

(04:10):
carries over into the next week when Troy comes to
town and you can't seem to get out of your
way and you find yourself down sixteen to nothing, and
you do come back and win that game, but the
questions really began to mount, and in some respects you
felt like maybe, and I think this is the way

(04:30):
coaches would put it a lot of times, that maybe
the LSU game was beating you twice you were just
so flattened and deflated by the loss that you couldn't
quite pick yourself up to get going the next week.
I mean, these are eighteen to twenty two year old

(04:50):
football players. I can see that being the case. But
you do win, and then you go to Atlanta and
everything is on the line, your first conference game. People
been talking about it all off season. You need to
circle this game on your calendar because Brent Key is
doing the jam up job, and then you find yourself

(05:12):
in a fight and you get beat on a walk off,
heartbreaking twenty four to twenty one. And I think in
that moment, Clemson's thunder got stolen. And I think they
did let that game beat him twice because they came
out against Syracuse. It just looked pitiful, look like they
didn't care if there was a football on the field. Now,

(05:33):
not everybody agrees that that's what we saw, but I
saw just pitiful effort, pitiful football play, and in fairness,
Dabo Sweeney this week, you know when he was talking
about that Syracuse game, Yeah, that Syracuse game got Smu

(05:53):
on the mind. You know, he talked about just how
bad Clemson was in that moment, especially on the defensive
side of the ball, and you never recovered. You get
punched in the mouth almost. I mean, statistically it was
thirty four to twenty one. Last season, Louisville beat you
at thirty three to twenty one. Statistically, it was similar

(06:17):
to that Louisville game. But I thought physically the way
it went down, I thought it was worse. And so
now you've answered a couple of weeks thirty eight ten
at North Carolina thirty one ten at Boston College basically
against zero competition. Seriously, you basically just beat nobody. These

(06:46):
wins don't mean much more than beating Troy. Quite frankly,
they're a little more impressive than beating Troy, but not
by much. And here comes SMU. Kevin Jennings, who is
an elite scrambler, doesn't have huge numbers rushing this year,

(07:06):
but can make things happen with his legs, can keep
players plays alive, finds guys in the downfield passing game.
You got to coach in Rhet Lashley, who is and
has been over the course in the last six seven years,
maybe one of the rising stars and names to watch
in college football, and may still be like I don't

(07:28):
know who's going to be next to Penn State, But
if the right pieces say no, or the wrong the
right people say no, you might will do your way
down to hey, will Lashly come here? And I am
certainly not by any means projecting that. I'm just simply
saying he's a rising name in this business. And as

(07:52):
jobs shift and move around, if a better job comes
on the horizon, then SMU, he'll be somebody that people
will want, especially given the success that he's had at
SMU since he's been there, especially with the success that
they've had in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Again, they've never

(08:13):
lost a regular season conference game in this league. The
only team to ever beat him was Clemson a year ago,
walking it off in the ACC Championship. Now, the Tigers
controlled that game up until the second half and then
Kevin Jennings and that offense come alive. I mean, they

(08:34):
did man through for three hundred and four yards. Rashad Smith,
who now plays with the Kansas City Chiefs, had one
hundred and thirteen rushing yards on twenty four carries, and
they converted nine of eighteen third down attempts in that game.
But Clemson found a way and while offensively this season,

(09:00):
and so there's no doubt Clemson has not lived up
to the standard this season. But this weekend, I think
you have to. There's no question this Clemson Tiger team
has to do things that they did over the past
two weekends against two teams that I don't hold highly
in regard in North Carolina and Boston College. They're gonna

(09:21):
have to do this against SMU. They've got to score early.
They've got to get out in front, like you've got
to play with an edge out of the gates. You
can't get yourself in a deficit situation, whether that's behind
on the scoreboard, behind the change, you know, with personal
fouls or silly penalties that really make you have to
work to get first downs. I would love for Clemson.

(09:42):
I would love nothing more, quite frankly, then for Clemson
to take the ball out of the gates in this
ball game at home against SMU and figure out how
to march it down the field and get a lead.
I think the uncomfortable position for Clemson, and it's weird
to say this, I think the uncomfortable position for Clemson
in this game would be for SMU to have the

(10:02):
ball first. I think that is a bad situation for
the Tigers. Not that I don't think that Tom Allen's
defense can stop SMU, but I worry about what happens
if they don't. I don't want to see Kate Klubnick
in this offense getting out on the field for the
first time on Saturday trailing. I think that's bad for

(10:23):
this group. I don't know if it's a mental thing.
I don't know if they're just not as talented as
a lot of the teams we've seen in the past.
Even though in the preseason this was a quarterback in
k Clubnick projected by something to be the top pick
in the NFL Draft. The confidence looks shot, and I
don't want to see him playing from behind once he's
in a rhythm, much like a shooter. I think that

(10:46):
if Clemson were to fall behind, like ten to seven
at some point, but he's already led a drive that scores,
I think he's okay. But if he has to come
in fresh off the sidelines down seven, I'm not so
sure that Kye Clubnicks right now got the confidence. And
I think you and the fans are a cause of

(11:07):
some of this at home, because of the nervous energy
that you project. And I don't blame you. I don't
blame you for projecting it. This is a program, as
we talked about the other day, they went what sixty
one and one from twenty thirteen when they lost to
Florida State, winning every game after that up until Pitt
winning every game after that up until the South Carolina

(11:29):
lost in twenty twenty two, a stretch of sixty two games.
I think at home where you lost one and it
was on a walk off field goal by Pitt in
a year where you win the national championship. So the
reason you feel uneasy at home when you're down in
trailing is because in recent seasons, unlike some of those

(11:50):
other years, not many maybe where you even trail, but
you don't feel confident that this group can come from
behind and win. And that's why I think Clemson needs
to take the ball, start early, put some points on
the board, and then get after it. If you're playing
from behind, if you're in a deficit situation on Saturday
against SMU Tiger Nation, I don't love your spot. If

(12:13):
you're watching on TikTok, let me know what you think
in the comments. And additionally, I think where that carries
over to the defensive side of the ball is I
think they begin to feel a level of pressure because
they also recognize that this offense has had trouble scoring,

(12:34):
that this offense hasn't been electric. And when you have
an offense that struggles to score and the opponents are
pretty adept at that, like SMU is, all of a sudden,
you get into these games going heads up and you're
scratching your head trying to figure out how do we

(12:58):
overcome the fact that our offense doesn't have the same
dynamic impact on the game as our opponent, and that
I think is a problem for Clemson's defense. Mentally, they

(13:19):
emphasize they want to have a lot of takeaways, and
that's all well and good, but real impactful takeaways involve
scoring defensively, pick six scoop and score blocked punts that

(13:40):
turn into positive plays and maybe touchdowns for you. And
I'll throw special teams in there as well. Kick return game,
that's tough. The way we've neutralized kick returns really at
all levels is a problem. But the punt return game,

(14:01):
like great teams. If you watch the elite teams in
the sport, they score in more ways than with their offense,
and I don't think that's just happenstance, right. They score
in those other situations because their players are better than

(14:23):
your players, and when those dudes make a big play,
everybody else the other ten guys on the field are
doing everything they can to create points. And it's not
to say that Clemson's not doing everything they can in
those moments, but those moments have been few and far between.

(14:48):
The feeling that Clemson was going to make a game
changing play on the defensive side of the ball in
a game where they needed it. You just haven't felt
it this year. Go back to the National Championship game
against Alabama in twenty eighteen, and you think about that

(15:11):
third play from scrimmage defensively and the AJ Terrell picked
six of Tua. That didn't win the game for Clemson,
but it set a tone. It set a tone for
Alabama to lemno that even though they were undefeated and unblemished,

(15:32):
that so too were your Tigers. And you go back
over the years of great wins and great success that
Clemson had, and inevitably you will stumble upon a big
fumble return, a big interception return, a big play that

(15:53):
set up positive opportunities for the offense and occasionally put
on the board. You gotta have that this team is
not good enough at this point offensively to withstand a

(16:14):
barrage of points on the defensive side of the ball.
I just I don't have the confidence that if Clemson's
given up twenty four thirty one points or something like
that to SMU, that the Tigers are good enough to

(16:37):
outscore them. There have been plenty of Clemson Tiger teams
over Dabo Sweeney's tenure that I know could outscore people
beyond the shadow of a doubt. I go, yep, that
we can outscore those dudes. Don't matter what they do today,
We're going to outscore them. You haven't felt that way

(16:58):
really about a Clemson offense maybe a little bit last
year at times. But you got to go back to
pre dj Uiunglow. I mean, you really do. You got
to go back to twenty twenty. You got to go
back to the weird twenty twenty COVID season, Trevor Lawrence's

(17:21):
final year to really feel like you had a team
that even if the defense had an off night, you
had enough weapons to outscore the opponent. And that's hard
to believe given when you look at the traditionally in

(17:44):
college football, when you are playing as well as Clemson
has played over the years, you should be landing and
recruiting elite prospects, game changing prospect players that consistently give

(18:04):
you a chance to win offensively. And look, there have
been plenty of misses on both sides of the ball
in terms of recruiting. That's the nature of this business.
There are misses at every school. But the fact that
we're three years into this Garrett Riley offense and it

(18:26):
still doesn't feel elite like you thought it would when
you brought him in to coach this team on the
offensive side of the ball. That's rather disappointing, isn't it.
And look, I'm not sitting here saying, hey, you got
to fire Garrett Riley at the end of the season.

(18:47):
But if this offense does not get better, I don't
need it to be historically better. I just needed to
be good enough to win games when the defense might
have an off night. But this is not what you
have right now. This is not an offense that can win.

(19:11):
In my opinion, this is not an offense that can
win in a shootout having to outscore somebody. I just
haven't seen it. Defense shows up, holds a team to ten,
holds a team to seventeen. This is an offense that'll win.
But if you get into thirty five point ballgames, you

(19:35):
know where that's what five touchdowns. I don't know. I'm
not sure this offense can keep up right now. I
think they have the players that could, I don't know
they have the confidence to do it at this point.
A zero three, four, five, zero, zero eighty six with
a quick break. When we come back, we'll take a

(19:56):
look at some of the biggest games of the weekend
right after this. Lawton Swan Clemson Sports Salt with you
on a Thursday. Timberrey coming up in our number two.
All right, So yesterday, at some point along the way,
I mentioned the fact that you know, there are a

(20:18):
lot of really good games coming into this weekend in
the world of college football, and some of these games
are gonna clean up some things, and some of these
things might dirty the water a little bit, but that's okay.
That's the nature of where we are in the season.
A lot of teams' records are I don't want to

(20:42):
say inflated, but they're supported by non conference victories. I mean,
that's the nature of the early season in college football,
where we don't have preseason games and you only play
eight conference games for the most part. Several conferences obviously

(21:03):
headed towards nine, and some do play nine. But either way,
it's a situation where there are a lot of undefeated
teams and there are a lot of big games to
kind of keep your eyeballs on. But I don't think
there's any League right now, with more to watch than

(21:28):
what you have in the Southeastern Conference this weekend. I mean,
just take, for example, a couple of things here. You've
got a top twenty matchup between Vanderbilt, who is five
and one and one in one in the Southeastern Conference,
hosting number ten LSU, who is five and one and

(21:49):
two in one in the SEC. This is a monster
game for Vandy. They didn't play a week ago. The
last time you saw them, they got beat by Alabama,
they dropped in the polls, and people want to forget
about Bandy. Vandy is similar to the way Virginia is
going to be treated. People want to forget about you.

(22:11):
If they can, can we forget about Bandy? We're gonna try.
The Commodores are the favorites in this ballgame. Now, it's
a slight favorite two and a half. It's not again
you're playing at home. Basically, it's a pick them on
a neutral site, even a neutral site game, I would

(22:32):
say LSU's probably favorite, but in Nashville at home First
Bank Stadium, favoring Bandy noon on ABC. If LSU wins that,
they go to three and one in the conference kind
of clears their path A little bit at the top.
If Vandy wins, now they're two in one and still

(22:54):
very much alive. You've got Oklahoma at South Carolina, the
Sooners favored by five and a half, A little surprise
that spreads not larger given the issues that South Carolina
has had on the defensive line. If Oklahoma wins, that
moves from the two and one in the league. If

(23:15):
they lose, you know, that's gonna really set them back,
because I think this South Carolina team is in a
stretch where they are going to be beaten by several
other key teams in the Southeastern Conference, including A and
M and Old Miss, and a loss of them by Oklahoma,
in my opinion, is kind of doubly bad because you're

(23:36):
gonna take the l in that game, and then when
the other teams that are kind of in your pecking
order range in the conference play South Carolina and get wins,
not only did you get beat but teams that you
need to lose games are then winning games. For South Carolina,
they get twelve forty five on the SEC network a
loss here, they're one in four in the conference, three

(23:59):
and four overall, and I've got to begin to wonder
if that is the case. If they lose this weekend,
at what point do the fans who are loyal to
a fault At what point do the fans kind of say, Man,
this is gonna be a season where we're not going bowling.

(24:20):
This is gonna be a year that's incredibly painful to
go watch. How much do the game Cocks have you know? Internally?
Now A and M's are playing Arkansas, I expect a
big blowout. I think A and M's only favorite surprisingly
about seven and a half. They're the number four team
in the country, but it's on the road. Mike Elkoch,
team's playing with a lot of confidence. I would think

(24:40):
A and M wins this game by ten to seventeen points.
Very shocked at that number. Then you've got ole Miss,
who is undefeated in the league, facing Georgia, who is
three and one. If ole Miss wins, it moves to
four and Oh. It doesn't necessarily clean things up for
them with an M and other teams Alabama at three

(25:01):
and zero, but it does begin to push Georgia back
to three and two in the conference. Now, if Georgia wins,
on the other hand, that just opens up a bigger
mess and The Dogs are favored by seven and a
half at home, because that would put Georgia at four
and one. That would put Old miss at three and one.
There'd be more teams with one loss in the conference,

(25:22):
and you go, holy moly, how's this all going to
sort itself out? Mississippi State and Florida doesn't really have
any bearing on the league. Texas and Kentucky, I mean yeah,
because Texas only has one loss, it's certainly a big game.
I think they'll win their twelve and what a half
point favorites on the road. They should win that game.

(25:44):
That would put Texas at two and one. Kind of
keeps him in that log jam right in the you know,
the upper portion of the Southeastern Conference. Another sort them
out game will be number eleven Tennessee two and one
in the conference at Alabama, Who is Numb? Six seven
thirty on ABC from BRYANTONNY Stadium. The Crimson Todd favored

(26:06):
by seven and a half the third Saturday in October,
this matchup taking place all time rivals. If Tennessee wins,
more mumbo jumbo, I mean, honestly, if Tennessee wins, if
Georgia wins, and if Arkansas wins, and granted there's gonna

(26:28):
be a loser in LSU and Vanderbilt, so one of
those teams will get their second loss. But I think
if that happens, based off of my calculations, there would
be nine teams in the SEC with one loss at
that point. Nine teams would just one loss in the conference. Again,
a lot of football have to be played. Some teams
would be two and one, Some teams would potentially be

(26:50):
four and one with Georgia if they were to win.
But a mess of teams with one loss at that point,
so a lot of ordering out to do. I didn't
even mention Missouri, who was number sixteen. They're one and
one in the conference. They're facing Auburn who is oh
to three. Talk about hot seat job situations. How about

(27:12):
Hugh Freeze at Auburn if they fought at oh to
four in the league. That's a seven forty five start
on the SEC network on Saturday from Jorden Hare Stadium.
Missoo favored by one and a half on the road.
So the Southeastern Conference this weekend about to really mix
it up. Keep it a lot right here on Fox
Sports Radio fourteen hundred. Lowton Swine back with you Clemson

(27:35):
Sports Talk a three four five zero zero eighty six
text line phone line. Again, you can be a part
of the program anytime, any place, anywhere on our website.
So this is kind of a it's kind of a
twofold segment. So thinking about how you feel now, remember

(27:58):
both Clemson and South Carolina, right, and look, you might say, well,
why in the world if you're a Gamecock fan, why
in the world does this guy talk about us on
his program? Isn't it Clemson Sports Talk? Aren't the name
in lights and blazing with the orange and purple of
Clemson tigradation.

Speaker 3 (28:16):
So you could continue to peek over the fence at
the best radio showing.

Speaker 2 (28:20):
The naked Yes, but know your audience right, like know
where you are. And this show's never been, never been
about just beating up on South Carolina fans, even though
every once in a while when I'm telling the truth,
some Gamecocks do get frustrated.

Speaker 3 (28:35):
I listened to the sports talk radio all over the nation,
but the way you come across makes me sick.

Speaker 4 (28:42):
You're gonna find yourself not on the.

Speaker 2 (28:43):
Radio, but not every game Cock that listeners feels that way.

Speaker 1 (28:48):
I'm a Carolina fan, I would listen to your show,
and I want to compliment you on your even handedness
between Clemson and.

Speaker 2 (28:55):
Carolina, and I appreciate that. So as I sit here today,
I recognize that both teams in this state had visions
of grandeur of the college football Playoff at the beginning
of the season, and now you're just wondering what bowl

(29:18):
game you might end up in. Like I even thought
about Clemson today, Like yesterday, we went through the scenarios
that had to play out for Clemson to get to
the ACC Championship, which are in and of themselves nearly impossible.
But what you have to do is just win your
games and hope. Right, But even if you were to

(29:39):
beat SMU and Duke in Florida State, Louisville, Furman in
South Carolina, there's not enough meat on that bone. If
you won the last six games of the year and
finished nine to three, In my opinion, I don't think
you're ranked higher than fifteen. I just don't. I don't
see it. Like of the remaining teams, if you beat SMU,

(30:06):
doesn't matter what their record is, doesn't matter that they've
never lost an ACC game. I mean, they're four and two. Anyway,
it's not they're six and oh, Duke, I mean similar, right,
they're four and two. It's neither their six and oh
Florida State they're three and three. Yay, they beat Alabama. Congrats,

(30:31):
patch yourself on the back. Louisville there four and one,
It doesn't matter. If Furman's twelve and oh, it's not
gonna matter. And then South Carolina three and three, like
it really, I mean, honestly, like who you've beaten Clemson,

(30:51):
that's gonna move you up. Everything has to fall back
to you, South Carolina. I'll admit. If you beat the
teams in front of you, if you beat Oklahoma and
beat out of him, and beat Ale Miss and beat
A and M, you're talking about number fourteen, six, five
and four right now, you will jump You will jump up.

(31:14):
I don't think you'll make the college football playoff, but
you'll move up. And you win these next four games.
If you're South Carolina, you win these next four games,
you're probably just on the outside of the college football playoffs.
As ridiculous as that sounds, especially if you're the team

(31:38):
that delivers the punch. You follow me, if you're the
team that gets the chance to knock off those opponents,
and they're where they are or higher or higher when
you get to them. Why not. But the other problem
I think South Carolina has really more than anything, is

(32:01):
that over the next four weeks they're not gonna be favored,
and they could walk into the Coastal game knowing that
there is no bowl game coming. They could lose their

(32:23):
next four games and realize that even if you beat
Coastal and Clemson, you're a five and seventeen and that
makes the Clemson game your bowl game for sure. Not
to mention a chance to win back to back games
against the Tigers, something that had not happened in my

(32:43):
lifetime until Steve Spurriy arrived in Columbia. I was I'm
not an old man now. I wasn't an old man then,
but I wasn't no spring chicken. I didn't just get
my new feathers. I've been around a while, Bubba, when
that finally had happened, and so thinking about the dynamics

(33:04):
of the next few weeks for both of these teams,
and look, hey, if you're Clemson the same boat. You
lose to SMU, you lose to Duke, you get beat
by Florida State and Louisville. Same thing. You're not going Bowland.
You got three more victories to pick up somewhere along
the way if you're the Tigers as well. Like neither
team is in a great spot at three and three,

(33:29):
but these were teams that people thought would make a
run to the College Football Playoff, and you can't even
be certain at this point that you're gonna make a
run to a bowl. I like Clemson's chances better than
South Carolina's, but not by much. I think the one
difference for me in these two is this, Yes, South

(33:52):
Carolina's playing the elite of the elite, agreed, that's certainly one.
But I think Clemson, even in the situation they're in,
is the more talented team from top to bottom than
those next opponents on their schedule, and that includes South

(34:16):
Carolina of their next six opponents, I think Clemson is
the single most talented team. Does that mean they win
every game? No, clearly not, because I think they're more
talented than Syracuse and Georgia Tech, and probably more talented
than LSU. Quite frankly, I think it's underachievement of coaching
and effort by this team South Carolina's problem is the

(34:40):
only team that I'm pretty certain that they have more
talent than is Coastal, and that's a big problem. We'll
see how it all shakes out over the next couple
of weeks, but I know this, both teams in this
state at three and three have a lot of work
to do to get close to where preseason expectations were

(35:02):
into Palmeadow State Final segment. Flip side and we'll come
back with Tim Bray in our number two, keep it locked,
final saving of our number one on a Thursday. Tim
Berray coming up on the program in our number two.
All right, So the big story maybe for this game

(35:23):
is the situation with Ka club Nick and his health.
I mean, obviously it's a big deal if he can't go.
And here's the thing. Yesterday we heard from Dabo Sweeney
and here's what he said about kay club Nick. This
was after practice on Wednesday, just you.

Speaker 5 (35:43):
Know, been limited.

Speaker 4 (35:44):
We've just been taking our time with him, and like
I said yesterday, he's he's he's gone from day to day,
say he's hour to hour, and hopefully about tomorrow it'll
be minute to minute. But we'll put out a report
tomorrow night first one, and we'll keep going getting better,
getting better every hour that We've just been smart.

Speaker 5 (36:02):
With him and he's been able to do what.

Speaker 2 (36:06):
He needed to do, and so that sounds pretty promising
right when you hear it. Just he's been limited, but
there are multiple reports out there that the situation could
be a little bit worse and that the Tigers might
actually have to turn to Christopher Vezina. So we'll talk
with Tim Burray about that in hour number two. Here's

(36:26):
Dabosweney though, when he was asked about what the preparation
has been like for Zena and backup quarterback Trent Peerman
as well, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (36:34):
I mean those guys have took a ton of work
and done a great job. I mean, if k can't go, Sev,
he's the guy for sure, and you got to go
get it done. We got confidence that he could.

Speaker 2 (36:44):
Dabos Sweeney was also asked about offensive lineman Tristan Lee
and how much he's been able to practice this week
as well as he tries to get back from an
ankle injury.

Speaker 4 (36:54):
The same thing, just just working back, you know, a
little out of time. He'll be another guy that I'm
sure be on the report once we had a good practic.
We had a really good day to day of practice
as a team. So we'll see where we are in
the morning from trainers and all that stuff, and and uh,
we'll go from there.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
Sweety was also asked about Bryant westco at wide receiver
and the rapport he's been able to build with Kate
Klubnick during their two years together.

Speaker 4 (37:20):
I mean, he's he's you know, if he stays healthy,
he's on his way to a you know, probably a
thousand yard year. I mean, he's having a great year.
You know, outside of a couple of plays. He's had
a couple of misses that we needed needed him to
make and in a couple of games early in the season.

Speaker 5 (37:36):
But i mean he's had a heck of a year,
made some big.

Speaker 4 (37:39):
Plays, He's got a bunch of touchdowns, he's finished on
a couple of plays. Just getting better every week. And
as far as just the next level for him, it's just,
you know, just continue his his ascension and he's he's
so improved from a physical standpoint from when he showed
up here. There's still more there and that will happen
as he just stays within the program and progresses and

(38:03):
and then just from a technique fundamental standpoint, he's he's
really gotten better there. Uh, he's got a he's a
very smart player. He really understands uh, the game, he
understands defense. You know, he's he's just again, as he
continues to physically get better, I think he'll even be
a better finisher on the ball. And you know, so

(38:23):
just proud of him. I mean, he's he's done a
heck of a job. He's a he's a he's a handful.
He's done a nice job in the return game as well,
and you know, having a having.

Speaker 2 (38:32):
A heck of year Tabo. Sweety also was asked about
Christopher Bosina, uh and kind of the big picture next
year with Bosina, and of course Sweety answered that one
about like you would expect.

Speaker 4 (38:44):
Yeah, I'm worried about next year. I'm just worried about
trying to be SMU. I'm not worried about any of
that stuff.

Speaker 2 (38:48):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (38:49):
See, Cev has done everything. He's doing practice. That's the
only opportunity he's had, so that's what we go by.
And you know, he's had limited playing time and when
he's had a chance to play, he's done fine.

Speaker 5 (38:58):
But I'm not. I'm not worried about next year. I
ain't worried about next week.

Speaker 4 (39:01):
I'm worried about having a good Thursday and trying to
win the game Saturday.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
Coach, when he was also asked about Antonio Williams in
his play and just kind of his help and game
readiness in the job that he's done so far since
being out earlier this year.

Speaker 4 (39:18):
Yeah, I mean, he had an amazing camp and he
was awesome, which is that's what was so frustrating. And
you know, the fifth I think it was the fifth
snap of the game for him. He's out and you
know for three games, so he's been he had an
amazing camp. So yeah, I mean, just getting back in
the rhythm of things. I guess the Syracuse game, I believe,

(39:42):
you know, it's just great to have him back and
he's just kind of gotten it going. I mean, he's
a he makes a difference when he's on the field
and has been impactful in a lot of ways. I mean,
he had one hundred about one hundred and thirteen one
hundred and seventeen yards last week all purpose, so you know,
he's he rushed the ball three times for ten something
to carry.

Speaker 5 (40:03):
He's you know, led us in receptions, I.

Speaker 4 (40:05):
Believe, and and you know again, you know, he's made
plays in a lot of different ways. So really proud
of him. It's good to We're definitely a better team
with him, that's for sure.

Speaker 2 (40:15):
Sweeny was also asked about the stress that a quarterback
like SMU's Kevin Jenny's get put on you, given his
ability to extend plays and keep his eyes down field.

Speaker 4 (40:25):
Yeah, I mean on a scale of one to ten,
he's an eleven.

Speaker 5 (40:29):
I mean just what it is.

Speaker 4 (40:30):
I mean, he's he again, he makes he makes a
lot of plays within their scheme because he's a really
good player. I mean, he can make all the throws.
He's he knows their system inside and out as far
as you know, the RPOs and the screens and outlets
and the zone reads stuff where he's got RPO stuff
built in outside and he's graded all that. Uh, they

(40:53):
get him out of the pocket a lot. But you
know his It's what you just said. It's like, you know,
you can have him kind of caged up if you will,
but I mean he finds ways to get out.

Speaker 5 (41:06):
If you give him a.

Speaker 4 (41:07):
Crease, he'll take it and and then he can extend
to where you got to cover these guys. There's there's
times when you watch this tape, I mean you, I
mean you're like six seven seconds plus on some of
his plays where he's able to hold the ball, which.

Speaker 5 (41:27):
Just creates a lot of stress on your back end,
you know.

Speaker 4 (41:29):
So you've got to cover these guys until the echo
of the whistle, you know from the refs. So he's
just he's just a gifted player. I mean, he's a
great one. So he puts a lot of strain on
you in all areas.

Speaker 5 (41:41):
I don't I'm not.

Speaker 4 (41:42):
I'm not saying he's Lamar Jackson, but but that's the
type of stress you feel when you're playing this guy because.

Speaker 5 (41:48):
He's he's just that gifted. I mean, he he makes.

Speaker 4 (41:51):
Plays, he makes amazing throws, off schedule plays, you know,
side arm throws.

Speaker 5 (41:59):
He he he has a good knack of moving defenders.

Speaker 4 (42:03):
Uh so, and then again you get him outside, he's
a good thrower on the run too. Just a really
good player, very good player. Got a lot of respect
for him. We got our hands full of him, for sure.

Speaker 2 (42:12):
There you go. That's Dabo Sweeney talked about Kevin Jinning
sor right, well, a quick break, We'll come back. Tim Burray,
long time in legendary clipson s I D joins the
program right after this. Keep it locked.

Speaker 1 (42:24):
Each time for clips and sports talk with Lawton Swan.

Speaker 2 (43:04):
It is our number two. That's drivetime right here on
the show The Shakespare south Lay clempses, Sports Talk, long
and Swan hanging out with you on a Thursday. Legendary
longtime sid Timbarey joins us momentarily, and of course the
show That Shakespare south Land brought to you in part
by our good friends over at mets Plumbing mets Plumbing

(43:25):
dot com two two six seven one oh eight callum
two two six seven one oh eight. That's mets Plumbing
all right. Timbray joins us on a Thursday. Tim, Welcome
in Hope. You had a great week.

Speaker 3 (43:39):
I have a lot, and actually I stayed all the
way to Wednesday after the trip the BC seeing family
and friends in New England. As you know, I grew
up in Connecticut, so I took advantage of that.

Speaker 2 (43:52):
Good for you. That's awesome. That's a part of the
country that I've never personally been to. Got a lot
of family heritage in massach Chusetts and really need to
go talk to me a little bit about like maybe
some of the meals that you took in, because I
got to imagine if you go on a trip like that,
you got to take in some good food.

Speaker 3 (44:11):
I'm Italian, and seafood are usually pretty good up in
the Boston area. The radio network of Friday night before
the game, we went to an Italian restaurant called Vinnie's,
which was really nice. And Sunday we had brunch of
Cheers O Famous Cheers Sports Bar. So that was that

(44:33):
was a lot of fun. So yeah, and then some
places in Connecticut that went, you know to Connecticut where
I grew up, and I had some nice meals there.
So yeah, it was a good trip.

Speaker 2 (44:44):
Tim Bray with us here every Thursday to talk about
your Clemson Tigers, and Tim, let's get started with it.
I was looking and putting together an article about, you know,
how good Clemson has been at home under Dabo Sweeney
for so many years and if you go back to
twenty thirteen when Florida State came in and really pounded

(45:06):
the Tigers pretty good. After that game through South Carolina
coming in to the stadium in twenty twenty two and
beating them. Clemson had only lost one game at home,
that was that walk off field goal to pit and
now on the you know, the potential of losing five
consecutive Power four Conference games at home is really mind blowing.

(45:32):
I think in two respects here. First, I think when
you're living in the moment and I said this yesterday,
you don't recognize how good it is going. And then
number two, I think it's so rare, tim that that
happens that fans may not even have realized it was
kind of happening before their eyes, if that makes sense.

Speaker 3 (45:53):
Yeah, I mean when you win forty in a row
at home, I mean, it just kind of jumps out
of that's when you do. When you do loose, that's uh,
you know, that's for sure. But you know, a couple
of those games are against pretty time. I mean, you know,
the South Carolina and l s U were both ranked
and good teams and came down to the last possession

(46:15):
in both in both situations. Uh So, but you know,
the the the loss to Syracuse certainly stood out as
a as a as a you know, the worst performance
we've seen Lumpson have against the power for a conference
team and in quite some time. So, but it was

(46:36):
Dabbo actually was asked after that game it was a
good thing they were going on the road, and I
think it was. And and they've certainly played really well
in those in those two games.

Speaker 2 (46:50):
I think about Dabo Sweeney's mind sometimes, Tim, and I've
asked him before about like when he does his thinking,
and you know, he talked about that he has a
little note you know, write some things down right by
his bedside and keeping little notes and things of that nature.
But when he's standing behind that podium the other day
and he goes, well, we went from Chapel Hill to

(47:10):
Chestnut Hill and back to the Hill to play, I'm
thinking to myself, where does he get this from? Like
I know, every once in a while he'll say, oh,
Tim Bray reminded me of this, or oh right, Like
every once in a while he'll give you some credit.
Every once in a while he'll give Ross Taylor some credit.
But are you sometimes just sitting there just like mouth

(47:32):
a gape at some of the things he comes up
with like.

Speaker 3 (47:34):
That, Yeah, he does have a mind for that stuff.
And he actually said that to the team after the game,
So that wasn't a spur of the moment thing on Tuesday,
although I've seen him do a lot of spur of
the moment things at the Tuesday press conference. But yeah,
you're right, he does have a knack for stuff like that,

(47:57):
you know. I mean there have been many times when
I was at side he called me at ten or
eleven o'clock with some thing he thought of for me
to research. And you know, that's how I got a
lot of my notes just from questions that he would
he would ask me about. So he does to kind
of have a sixth sense for that type of stuff.

(48:18):
And he you know, he in the course of the week.
I mean, I guess he'll address the team like ten times,
and I marvel at the different things he comes up
with to say, you know, to the team, and a
lot of it is some is off the top of
his head. Some of it is stuff he's been thinking about.
But yeah, he's pretty amazing in that way.

Speaker 2 (48:39):
Man.

Speaker 1 (48:39):
He is.

Speaker 2 (48:40):
He is something to follow and certainly somebody to keep
up with for sure in this business. A lot of
fun regardless if I was talking about Clemson, er talking
about National you know, teams, he would be a guy
that would stand out because of some of the catchy
things that he says. Again, Timburray hanging out with us
here on the Thursday afternoon. Tim Bryant, Westca's having a

(49:02):
really good season. Thirty one receptions, five hundred and thirty
seven yards, six touchdowns, making some big play. He's had
a big catch this past weekend against Boston College. Talk
to us a little bit about his development and what
you really feel like you've seen from him.

Speaker 3 (49:17):
Yeah, he's certainly well on his way to a thousand
yard season, and you know his yards per catch. He
gets a lot of big plays, none bigger than that
touchdown right before the half, you know, against against Boston College.
And I just think he's going to get better and
better as the more experience that he gets. He's just
such a natural, you know, receiver. He's starting to make

(49:40):
some of those Mike Williams type catches in traffic and
those certainly can be difference making plays like the one
he had up at Boston College.

Speaker 2 (49:51):
Now, I think the other question would be kind of
on the flip side, right, like his partner in crime,
so to speak. TJ. Moore two hundred and eighty three yards.
He had the big seventy five yard reception in that
North Carolina game, obviously from Antonio Williams, just one touchdown
on the season. Is are his numbers maybe down because

(50:17):
people are focusing on him and that's allowing Bryant Westcoat
to have better performances or what do you think is
kind of going on there? I don't want to beat
up the kid too much right by any means, but
I guess the bigger question is, from what you see,
is there any reason to believe that maybe TJ. Moors
not having the type of your people thought he might

(50:37):
in part because people are trying to limit his touches
and that's benefiting Westcoat. What are your thoughts on that?

Speaker 5 (50:44):
Well?

Speaker 3 (50:45):
I just s don't think he's been he's been targeted
all that much. He had the one game he got
targeted a bunch, got targeted fourteen times in the one
game he had, you know, one of those games, I
guess before North Carolina might have been against Syriac. But
the other games, I just don't think he's been targeted
all that much and been given that much of an,

(51:06):
you know, an opportunity. So I mean, you know, We've
got three really good receivers and and actually there's a
couple of more that you know, don't see as much
time that are good. And then the add and what
Adam Randall can do coming out of the backfield, and
then Bett Gore the two touchdowns against uh, you know,

(51:27):
North Carolina. I don't I don't necessarily think More is
not having a good year as much as he just
hasn't been targeted that much. And that could change dramatically
from you know, from game to game. We've seen Williams
and Moore and let's go all have one hundred dard
games this year, and it's a function of how much
they're targeted and and that could be a function of

(51:49):
what the defense is is doing. You know, obviously, our
coaches study film and they know who the who the
better or weaker defensive backs are and the team and
who we go to could be a function of who
they perceive is the weaker cover guy.

Speaker 2 (52:08):
You know what's funny you hear Dabosweeny talk about Cole
Turner and how fast he is, and I think everybody's
kind of been waiting for it, but he caught that
little screen, a little short pass this weekend and from
zero to sixty. I mean that was as fast as
I've seen the Clemson wide receiver you run in a
long time. He looked really good on that play, and

(52:29):
I thought to myself, well, that must be what dabos
when he sees at practice.

Speaker 3 (52:34):
Yeah, oh yeah. I mean, all those guys get plenty
of work in practice, and you know we saw it, yea. Well,
you know, and too, what was in twenty twenty two
he was the only guy with one hundred yard receiving
game at a great game against the North Carolina and
then ACC Championship a game. So I mean, I think
he's got a talent too. But as I said, you're

(52:55):
going to spread the spread the passes around, and a
lot of times it's a function of who's garden who
whom defensively.

Speaker 2 (53:04):
That's Tim Beret with us here on a Thursday again.
Follow him on Twitter at tim Beray, the long time
Clemson sid hanging out with us as the Tigers get
ready to host SMU for the first time in Death Valley.
And the elephant in the room right now might be
kay club Nick Now yesterday, after practiced Tim the language
that Dabosweeney used about Kate. He said, he's gone from

(53:29):
day to day to he's hour to hour to hopefully
by tomorrow he'll be minute to minute. And I thought,
I'm glad we're talking about his ankle and not his life.
But what do you know or what can you tell
us about kate situation right now? And how concerned are
you that he might not be able to maybe play
on Saturday. I know there's a lot of people speculating

(53:49):
about him right now.

Speaker 3 (53:50):
Well, I can give you this insight. I just finished
taping the pregame show with him and that runs a
half hour before kickoff, and so I said, you know,
what can we say about Cad He said, well, it's
just going to be a game time decision. So we
can talk about it as a game time decision even

(54:11):
now because that's what it's going to be. Wow. So
we don't know now, and we won't know up until
you see who runs out on there in the field.
And he's honestly not doing that as a thing to
keep SMU in the dark. I think that's just actually
the way it is now.

Speaker 2 (54:30):
When you saw Caid's injury initially on Saturday there at BC,
did it look overly concerning to you, because to me,
from the camera angle that I had on TV, it
looked pretty bad. But I thought it would have been
a knee based off the way he kind of got
rolled up, But then he seemed to recover pretty well.
I mean, what was your perspective on it from where

(54:52):
you saw it?

Speaker 3 (54:53):
Well, yeah, you know, and after the game, you know,
Dabo said Cad wanted to go back in the game,
but they held him out just as a precaution. And
then he said, you know, well it's probably gonna be
sore on Sunday. So I'm sure he got more information
from trainers and such, uh you know, after he talked

(55:14):
to me on the post game. So and those are
types of things that can it can stiffen up or
get worse on you as as as you go along.
As I said earlier, I didn't travel with the team.
I didn't come back to a Wednesday fight. I don't
know how he was on the plane, and I haven't
been to practice yet, uh you know, this week, So

(55:34):
that part of it, I you know, don't know. But
initially I didn't think it was that big of a deal.
But I think it, you know, could stiffen up on
you as we go along well.

Speaker 2 (55:45):
And I think Sweeney also said, and you may know
a little bit more about this, he might have been
nursing something already with that that ankle as well, which
you know, maybe was influenced or exacerbated a little bit
by it. But nonetheless game time decision there, Tim Bray
letting us know from Dabo Sweeney on the situation with
k klub Nick coming into this matchup against SMU, and

(56:07):
on the flip side, I mean SMU's quarterback Kevin Jennings.
We all saw in the ACC championship game a year
ago how good that kid can be. Sweeney wasn't lying
for everybody that heard him say he threw him behind
the back pass. I saw that one on social media
the other day. It was wild. And I mean, I've
thrown tho. I've thrown those at many a Thanksgiving dinner,
believe me, hadn't done it in a football game at

(56:29):
the collegiate level. But the other thing too, you know,
he's a kid who throws from a lot of different
arm angles, escapes the pocket, will throw it right before
the line of scrimmage. He's just kind of a crafty quarterback.
Reminds me of I know Sweeney threw out there Lamar Jackson.
I think maybe from their ability to kind of move
around in the pocket. But he kind of reminds me

(56:51):
a little bit of Deshaun Watson in that craftiness and
that ability to throw the ball from different angles.

Speaker 3 (56:56):
Yeah, I can see that. I'm more look at him
at like a Patrick Mahone. I think, you know, Patrick
Mahons would be one who would throw him behind the
back pass to Travis Kelcey or you know, we've seen
some unusual place from Patrick Mahone. So I think he's, uh,
he's a little bit like like him. I mean, you know,
he's He's not a guy who's gonna rush for a
thousand yards in the season, but he's certainly capable of

(57:19):
making the big plays. And I do know that the
thing Dabble worries the most about is his ability to, uh,
you know, make up stuff as he goes along as
the greatest capability you if you're in a man for
man defense and then he you know, he escapes, you know,
he can make he can make certainly make a big play.
So that aspect concerns and quite frankly it concerns me.

(57:43):
That's kind of similar to what Sanders did to Glimpson
last year for South Carolina. Of course we've got a new,
a different, different defensive coordinator now, so uh but those
types of players can hear you.

Speaker 2 (57:56):
Yeah, and this year he hasn't been as influential, I
guess with his legs when you look at this numbers,
But rushing numbers by quarterbacks at the collegiate level can
be deceiving, right, because the sack yardage comes off of
the rushing total, unlike in the NFL, where the sack
yardist comes off of the passing total. So I mean,
he's got thirty seven carries for five yards, but that

(58:19):
doesn't mean that he's only carried the ball for five
yards this season. He's had some plays where he's made
some yardage. Maybe not as much as a year ago,
but it's still something you have to be concerned with
with this kid.

Speaker 3 (58:30):
Yeah, yeah, he's been I guess he's been sacked eleven
times so far this year. Cade's been sacked seven times,
you know, by comparison. So so we'll, you know, just
have to see what their relative escapability is. If Kate
does play. I don't think he's going to be nearly

(58:50):
as mobile as he's been here the last two weeks
when he's really been been good, you know, over the
last two games or in the month of October. He's
got the fifth best fasting efficiency rating in the FBS,
So he's really improved in that Area's ability to kind
of escape and create things and create openings is the

(59:10):
reason for that. So I don't know that we're going
to be able to see that the aspect of his
game if we see Kate at all, well, that's.

Speaker 2 (59:18):
Have to wait and see Tim Bray with us here
for just a few more minutes talking about the Clemson Tigers.
The other unique part of this situation. Tim Clempson is
the only team in the Atlantic Coast Conference who has
defeated SMU, but the Mustangs have never been defeated in
a regular season game in the league. The oddness of

(59:39):
the fact that Clemson could be the team that does
both is certainly there. But what do you make of
the job that rhtt Lashley's done at SMU through two
and a half seasons essentially in the Atlantic Coast Conference?
Because I felt like they were a good fit when
we were at that first ACC kick off with them
in attendance and after seeing the way they've played so
far in this league, given the deal they took, they've

(01:00:02):
been quite the addition for sure.

Speaker 3 (01:00:04):
Oh yeah, I I certainly agree. I mean, you know,
got in the College Football Playoff their first year. They
weren't nineteen straight conference games, uh you know, over two conferences.
Uh so that is that is really pretty strong. They
did suffer two losses the big twelve teams you know
so far this year, but you know, good teams that

(01:00:26):
that you know, that beat them. So yeah, I've been
certainly impressed with him, and it'll be interesting to see
how long, uh sm you can keep him. That said,
you know, I think SMU has got some you know,
they've they've got some money. They they they don't they
don't take a distribution from the accuh so they've they

(01:00:49):
have obviously have some resources. So you know, I think
he went to Arkansas. That job's open. There's some other
good jobs open, but uh yeah, sm you you know,
might be a good might be a place he might stay.

Speaker 2 (01:01:05):
You said exactly what I said earlier, that he is
a name at a job where people are going to
pursue him and he's still young. I agree about lastly,
one hundred percent on that, timbre no doubt about it.
Follow Tim on Twitter, folks at Timberrey. He's here every
Thursday talking about your Clemson Tigers and hey basketball just
around the bend. They got the scrimmage coming up. Should

(01:01:27):
be a lot of fun. Tim always appreciates your insight
and certainly look forward to talking to you again next week.
So there you go. That's timber A joining the program.
Eight zero three four five zero zero eighty six game
time decision on k club Nick And that's been reported

(01:01:49):
by several different outfits as well. Again, Clemson will put
out there official update on the status at a o'clock Thursday.
Who wie man? So what does that mean? What are
my thoughts on that? We'll certainly talk about it coming

(01:02:12):
up in just a few minutes. We gotta hit a
quick break. We'll come back with more here on a
Thursday afternoon. It is the show that shakes the Southland,
Clemson Sports Talk, Clemson Sports Talk, Fox Sports Radio fourteen hundred,
the iHeartRadio app. All right, So you heard Timbarey there
before the break mentioning that k Klubnick gonna be a

(01:02:38):
game time decision for the Tigers in this game again,
Dabosweeny saying yesterday, day to day, hour to hour, hopefully
he'll be minute the minute. Well, apparently minute the minute
means a game time decision for Clemson. The line on
this game has moved from eight and a half to

(01:02:59):
five and a half, which also further indicates that k
club Nick may not play, which is I think surprising
kind of given the way the conversations around club Nick
went after the game on Saturday that he wanted to

(01:03:25):
go back in, but Tim made a good point. You know,
those things can stiffen up over time, and Dabosweeney did
mention that he was kind of already dealing with a
little bit of an issue. So how do I think
this plays out?

Speaker 5 (01:03:40):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (01:03:40):
Man, the guess is I think it's anybody's guess on this.
If I think about that logically, I think the way
you play this is you focus on, Okay, can we

(01:04:02):
win this game with Christopher Zena in a quarterback and
or Trent pairman? Now, I think it's basina. First off,
I know there's the pairman, the pairman patrol that's out
there rooting for Trent and the people that think that
Zena can't do the job. I disagree. I think Christopher

(01:04:28):
Visina has been hamstrung by the coaching staff in some cases.
I think he's certainly limited by his talent as well,
which is something that we've seen over the year from
quarterbacks Tyson Pumachan. You know, everybody's ready to see Pumachan.
He goes in, he's throwing dirt balls out there. Yo,

(01:04:51):
no wonder he's not the starter. But Clemson has been
incredibly efficient with k Clubnick at quarterback the past two weeks,
and they have been inefficient in the limited amount of
opportunities that have been given. And this is the fair

(01:05:12):
part of this, the limited opportunities that have been given
to Kate excuse me, to Christopher and Zena at quarterback. Now,
he hasn't played a lot this year, but the fact
that he is just seven or fourteen for thirty seven
yards with the interception that he threw this past weekend,
it's not great, it's really not. But it's not his

(01:05:34):
fault that he hadn't been able to play much this
year because of the circumstances around these games and the
fact that Clemson has three losses. Couldn't put Troy to
bed early like there's a lot of reasons that Zena's
numbers are as bad as they are, and it's not
Christopher's fault. And I just wonder how many of these

(01:05:57):
games along the way have has Zina not been able
to play in that he could have maybe gotten some confidence.
I also wonder how many games that he has played
and the chances that he has gotten. Has he had
the starting offensive line, is he had a full bow
of wide receivers, Has he had, like a legitimate been

(01:06:18):
given the keys to a ferrari? How many times has
he had all of the weapons at his disposal when
he's been in these games in the limited number of
plays that he's been in, And I don't believe that's
gonna be many. So flip to Saturday. Flip the script

(01:06:41):
to this Saturday death Valley. How would you play it? Well,
you might say, well, I can't possibly play Christopher Vezina.
We gotta win this game. But here's the rub. Nothing

(01:07:02):
precludes you from playing Zina out of the gates. Nothing
stops you from saying, you know what, Swanny, you are
the better team. Let's just go beat them with the
better team minus our starting quarterback. And the quarterback is

(01:07:22):
the single most important position on the field. Yes, but
play calling, an execution by a backup quarterback, if you've
got enough talent around him, can be enough to win
this game. And so in this situation, I don't know

(01:07:45):
that it hurts you. I know we talked about, Hey,
you want to have a fast start. You don't want
to play from a definite situation. I mentioned all that
I don't want Caid in that spot. I don't want
the fans in that spot. I certainly don't want Christopher
Vesena in that spot either. But I think you roll
out Zena and you just see what you can do. CV.

(01:08:10):
We're giving you the keys to the offense. We'd like
to rest Kate if we could. We're gonna let you
roll with it. We'll see how you'll do. And maybe
Zena goes out and makes plays, and maybe Zina goes
out and delivers. And I'm not insinuating that. Oh boy,

(01:08:32):
we got a quarterback controversy in Tiger Town. No, no, no,
But can you get enough out of Christopher Zena to
win this game and rest Caid? Club Nick given a
bye week looming as well. Not to mention, I think
the easier thing to overcome is probably the Zena going

(01:08:57):
in maybe not doing as well as you hope, and
then saying, Okay, well, Cag's really at eighty eighty five percent,
we're gonna put him out there now, versus you put
Kate out there at eighty eighty five percent and you
fall behind and it's pretty clear that Cade's not himself,
and then you try to let Cev lead you in
the comeback, like let Bezina start it off and see

(01:09:18):
where it goes, and maybe it goes to the good.
And if it goes to the good, then you can
sort of ride that advantage. You're up, You've got a
little bit of leeway, and go from there. Again, I
didn't think this would be a huge topic even after yesterday.

(01:09:40):
I didn't think this would be something we'd have to
talk about. But more people have reported, and then of
course timber Ray here on our show saying that, yeah,
it's gonna be a game time decision on k klubnick
this weekend in Death Valley, stay with us Lowton Swan
the show The Shakespeare south Land on a Thursday, zero
three four five O zero zero eighty six. That is

(01:10:03):
the text line in the phone line, Hey, I mentioned yesterday.
I hadn't got to you text, So we'll do that.
Tiger Chuck hit us up yesterday talking a little Clemson baseball,
as they've got some fall ball going on. He says, Oh,
pitching still a problem for the baseball team.

Speaker 5 (01:10:19):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:10:19):
Oh, don't get discrubbed, Chuck. It's early yet, it's early.
Gotta let those arms Marin hate. We don't want to
put too much on tape, man, I hate to hear that.
I know how much Tiger Chuck loves Clympson Tiger baseball.
I certainly do too. I don't follow it like he does, though,
when he writes our preseason scouting report and it is

(01:10:41):
jam up. I'll tell you this, you go look at it.
What we going on now? Three years, four years, Tiger
Chuck's been tickling the keys to put that together for us.
I'm sure he'll have you. He'll he'll have you all
geared up for the college baseball season. I also talked
yesterday about Tiger Chuckle love this. He always hates when

(01:11:03):
I talk about like the path, the path to the playoff,
as far fetched as it is, it's really more about
the path to the a SEC Championship at this point.
So the question I kind of went into was about
Georgia Tech at three and zero in the league with

(01:11:27):
five games remaining, and really Miami at just one to
oh in the league but obviously showcasing themselves as the
top team in the conference. Which team could you lose
enough to help Clemson? Because I think the rest of
the teams are gonna whittle their way back. I don't

(01:11:47):
think Georgia Tech's necessarily got three losses in their system.
I don't really think Miami does either, but you never know,
and this weekend could change how we talk about that,
or Tomorrow night could changed that at seven o'clock with
Louisville taking all the Miami Hurricanes down in Coral Gables

(01:12:09):
or Miami Gardens, I should say, because Louisville came into
Death Valley last season and punched Clemson right in the
nose thirty three to twenty one, maybe they can do
it again. And if they do, it really does improve
Clemson's acc path. Not that Miami's destined or guaranteed to
lose another game, but they seem like the kind of

(01:12:31):
team that one loss could quickly turn into two or three.
Like as good as they've been they feel like they're
held together by like two paste and bubblegum or something
like that. You know, they don't feel like they're a
very strong, strong team in terms of adversity. And I'm

(01:12:52):
not talking about necessarily this year's rendition of the Hurricanes,
just the past twenty years Miami hurricane teams just haven't
done well with adverse situations. But could they lose two
or could Georgia Tech lose three? Because Georgia Tech losing

(01:13:13):
three is the only way you're gonna pass Georgia Tech.
You can't pass them as a tiebreaker. You can pass
Miami in a tiebreaker. Georgia Tech. This weekend at Duke
would be nice, I think to see the Blue Devil's
gonna win there, and then maybe you hope that Syracuse
or NC State can clip them. I don't think Boston
College will. Maybe Pitt does, but they got to pick

(01:13:34):
up two in a hurry. They're quickly running out of
games to lose it. Ryan listened to the show in
Anderson texted us yesterday when I was talking about this
and said, Swanee, it's a long shop and I'll hold
out hope. I think it's more likely that Miami drops two,
that Georgia Tech loses three, the Canes still face Louisville

(01:13:58):
and SMU. We've just got to win out and pray.

Speaker 5 (01:14:03):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (01:14:03):
No, you're right. Those are the games I looked at too,
brought that up yesterday. I think those are the two.
I think NC State has a chance to be squirrely
at times. You know, I hate that Angelie is out
for Syracuse because obviously Clemson fans got to see Syracuse
with Steve Angeli at quarterback. He's out for the year.

(01:14:25):
And then yeah, maybe at Virginia Tech, maybe at Pitt.
I mean, those aren't games that I just go Yeah,
no chance Miami blows a tire, Carla says, swine, we
dug too deep of a hole. Playoff talk sounds nice.

(01:14:46):
But even if Miami or Tech slip, Clinton hasn't. Clemson
hasn't looked like a playoff team yet. No, you're right,
And again, Carla, not necessarily about the playoff as much
as getting into the ACC Championshi just getting an at bat,
That's all I want, right, I just want an ad bat.
I just want the at bat. That's all Carolina fans

(01:15:07):
can hope for. The at bat. How can we get
in that bat that allows us to have a shot
at the playoff, because it's not gonna happen through winning
out in the regular season. You don't get me wrong,
that's still gotta happen, right, But you gotta have hope.
You got ment help and hope. You gotta have both.

(01:15:29):
Brandon and Spartanburg appreciate everybody listening on the iHeartRadio app. Brandon,
so Swani, I'm choosing chaos. Clemson wins out, Miami stumbles twice,
and Tech drops one they shouldn't, and suddenly the Tigers
are sneaking back into the conversation that Miami stumbling twice

(01:15:50):
puts you back in the conbo for sure. I mean,
look the thing about your statement about Tech drops when
they shouldn't, I'm not sure I find the ones that
they should. Duke this weekend's gotta be one you root for.
But then Duke becomes a problem at four and oh

(01:16:10):
then all of a sudden, But really, but here's the thing,
and that's a good point. You don't have to be
every one of these teams. So you don't have to
be in the top spot, right, you just gotta be
You don't have to be in the cat bird seat.
It's gotta be second. You gotta be riding shotgun? Can
you get the shotgun? Is there enough losses for Virginia?

(01:16:33):
Is there enough losses for Duke and Georgia Tech in Miami?
I don't think Georgia Tech's got enough losses here, as
I said yesterday, right, as long as Haines King is healthy,
they're leading passer, they're leading rusher two hundred and one
hundred versus Clemson, the first one since Lamar Jackson. Yeah,

(01:16:55):
they're tough out with that dude on the field. And
what's their like, what's their backup's name? Five? I think
I mean he brings a different dynamic, but he's not
Haines King. He's not Haines King. All right, final segment. Oh,
by the way, forgot to tell you about our friends
in Alumni Hall on the corner of campus on College
Avenue in downtown Clemson. It's Alumni Hall for all your

(01:17:17):
officially licensed Clemson merchandise, hats, T shirts, Telgate gearmore. Go
check them out today or online at alumni Hall dot
com and let him know. Swane Sinya all right, Well
a quick break, we'll come back. We'll put a bow
on the Thursday edition of the show. What have you
done for me lately?

Speaker 5 (01:17:36):
It's a fair question.

Speaker 1 (01:17:38):
Just don't lose sight of the bigger picture, don't forget history.

Speaker 5 (01:17:46):
Looky for us at Clemson. The answers to the questions
what have you done for me lately?

Speaker 2 (01:17:51):
And what have you done?

Speaker 3 (01:17:52):
Always are the same.

Speaker 5 (01:17:59):
We win.

Speaker 2 (01:18:45):
Final segment on a Thursday tomorrow. We hope to be
joined by Tommy Bowden. Plus looking forward to Will Van
Dervoort being a part of the program as again a
three four five zero zero eighty six text line and

(01:19:06):
phone line. And again we appreciate each and every one
of you being a part of the program on a
Thursday as we get your geared up for the Clemson
Tigers and the SMU Mustangs in Death Valley. How about
that storyline, I mean, if you if you just continue
to think about SMU coming into the league a year ago,

(01:19:29):
going eight and oh in the conference, what a story
and undefeated this year. And I mentioned Rhet Lashley earlier
and how I think he'll be someone that is pursued.
Rhet Lashley is gonna be able to cash in at
SMU if he wants. Don't believe me? How about this

(01:19:50):
out of Bloomington, Indiana. Today, off of the heels of
a win at Oregon, Indiana announced a new eight year,
ninety three million dollar contract for coach Kurt Signetti, makes
him one of the highest paid football coaches in the FBS,
with an annual average salary of about eleven point six million.

(01:20:16):
You talk about covering your rear end to keep him
from going to Penn State. I mentioned his name clearly,
Indiana fans and faithful were concerned, and they've been nothing
in college football in my life until now. Signetti guided
the Huge Hoosiers to a ten to two record and

(01:20:38):
a College Football Playoff appearance in his first season. This year,
they are number three and six and zero heading into
their matchup against Michigan State. In a video posted to
Indiana social media account, Signetti said, I couldn't be more
proud to be a Hoosier and I plan on retiring
as a Hoosier. The way that this state has embraced

(01:20:59):
us and our success in football has meant more to
me than anything else. So again, Kirk Signetti getting a
ninety three million dollar contract with Indiana, Hoo's your athletbor
actor Scott Dolan said, this new deal shows that the
Hoosiers are all in, and he told ESPN, we didn't

(01:21:21):
come this far. It only come this far. We're all
in and going to continue to invest to make certain
that we've got our priorities in line. He's priority one,
and then it's retaining our staff and it's having the
resources to build our roster. Here's what this says to me.
College basketball for the first time is insignificant at institutions

(01:21:48):
like Indiana, like Duke, like UCLA, like North Carolina. You
can no longer just hang your hat on SECU sess
in basketball. The money, the interest, the television contracts, the coverage,
the conversations, the fan support is only going to pour

(01:22:10):
in significantly for college football. And if you want to
stay a part of the big boys in college football,
you better buckle up. If you're the school that's a
traditional basketball school. Indiana just made a statement. Ninety three
million dollars is that statement. Kurt Signetti and the Hoosiers

(01:22:31):
have made a statement over the past two seasons, and
now the program has committed to the coach to say
this is what we want. The Bobby Knight era the
basketball era in Indiana, that's dead and gone. It is
now a football situation in the Hoosier State. Let's face
the facts. College football stirs the drink, and now every

(01:22:54):
athletic department in the country has to recognize that fact.
In Indiana's just one of the first ones that hasn't
traditionally been a football school to pull that trigger. I mean,
that's a wow moment, isn't it. That is I opened
my browser to just kind of get the latest news

(01:23:14):
before we bounce out of here, and I saw that
and I was like, man, Rhett Lashly, other coaches that
could potentially be squeezed out to go to Penn State,
they are going to be able to level up their
contracts and to me, clearly, with Indiana, I'm making that

(01:23:39):
move that tells you everything you need to know basketball.
Basketball is not dead, don't get me wrong, but the
priorities of these programs have to be committed to football.
That's the only way people are going to pump money
into your program. And more specific, why you have to

(01:24:02):
be a football school is because of the dangers of
if you're not. If this thing ever consolidates, Indiana would
have been a school in the past, and I would
have looked at and said, you might could do without him, Kansas,
you might could do without them. Everybody wants to stay
in that upper tier because if not, if you don't

(01:24:24):
have a power football program, it's in some respects death
to your athletic department, your budget, and your ability to compete.
You have to have football as the top priority in
your program. We'll talk more about tomorrow Friday. Until then,
it's always I'll take care now and go Tigers.