Back from Clemson

[Knucklehank1]

Had a great time down at Clemson. Here are some thoughts:

- to comeback like we did was remarkable and really shows the growth we have had as a team. It was incredibly loud there (both the crowd and the music they play right up to the time the team lines-up for a play). If you weren't there, it is hard to describe how difficult an environment it was. Also it certainly helps explain why Clemson got a favorable whistle. Refs are human. There is a reason home teams get 3 points in Vegas.

- as a corollary to my first point, the level of intensity and passion was higher than any game I've ever been a part of. It was unfortunate that we lost of composure in the 2nd quarter. But more importantly I'm amazed that we were able to regain it. Given the atmosphere, most other lesser teams would have folded like a tent.

- the level of athleticism on the field Saturday night was incredible. Both teams have guys that look like NFL players at almost every position. Make no mistake that was big-boy football and both teams are legit top 4 teams.

- we tend to only focus on the things that our team did wrong in terms of why we lost. But keep in mind that Clemson had 5 turnovers, 2 of which were in the red zone. The reality is that both teams had opportunities and both squandered chances to seize control. Really I think that just speaks to the even level of competition and athleticism and the intensity of the game.

- did not like Petrino's clock management at the end of the first half. We should have milked the clock so that Clemson wouldn't have been able to get the ball back. Instead we called a timeout without letting the play clock dwindle down. Those 7 (or at worst 3) points we allowed them to get were costly.

- don't want to dwell too long on the officiating but the most egregious non-call pass was on the 3rd down pass interference in the endzone. The defender was hugging Hiukitini and the ref swallowed his whistle.

- If you go in 2 years, I recommend staying in Greenville. They have a nice downtown area with some good restaurants and bars (and there was an Oktoberfest adjacent to our hotel all weekend). Also they have a nice 3 block farmers market on Saturday mornings. The wife was a big fan of that.

- The fans of both sides were great. We walked around campus, went to the Esso, went to the alumni tailgate and stopped at some Clemson tailgates and were either left alone or were warmly received. The "welcome to Clemson" mantra from everyone was almost kind of Truman Show creepy. I had a couple different folks in Greenville on Saturday morning say how impressed they were with the Louisville contingent and that it seemed like there were more of us than other opposing fanbases from the past. Also I was proud of how Cards fans stayed supportive of the team even when we went down 18. Everyone around us was positive and kept right on cheering.

 

[CardsFirst]

Excellent post. Was there also and had the same experience.

 

[archi-tiger]

Had a great time down at Clemson. Here are some thoughts:

- to comeback like we did was remarkable and really shows the growth we have had as a team. It was incredibly loud there (both the crowd and the music they play right up to the time the team lines-up for a play). If you weren't there, it is hard to describe how difficult an environment it was. Also it certainly helps explain why Clemson got a favorable whistle. Refs are human. There is a reason home teams get 3 points in Vegas.

- as a corollary to my first point, the level of intensity and passion was higher than any game I've ever been a part of. It was unfortunate that we lost of composure in the 2nd quarter. But more importantly I'm amazed that we were able to regain it. Given the atmosphere, most other lesser teams would have folded like a tent.

- the level of athleticism on the field Saturday night was incredible. Both teams have guys that look like NFL players at almost every position. Make no mistake that was big-boy football and both teams are legit top 4 teams.

- we tend to only focus on the things that our team did wrong in terms of why we lost. But keep in mind that Clemson had 5 turnovers, 2 of which were in the red zone. The reality is that both teams had opportunities and both squandered chances to seize control. Really I think that just speaks to the even level of competition and athleticism and the intensity of the game.

- did not like Petrino's clock management at the end of the first half. We should have milked the clock so that Clemson wouldn't have been able to get the ball back. Instead we called a timeout without letting the play clock dwindle down. Those 7 (or at worst 3) points we allowed them to get were costly.

- don't want to dwell too long on the officiating but the most egregious non-call pass was on the 3rd down pass interference in the endzone. The defender was hugging Hiukitini and the ref swallowed his whistle.

- If you go in 2 years, I recommend staying in Greenville. They have a nice downtown area with some good restaurants and bars (and there was an Oktoberfest adjacent to our hotel all weekend). Also they have a nice 3 block farmers market on Saturday mornings. The wife was a big fan of that.

- The fans of both sides were great. We walked around campus, went to the Esso, went to the alumni tailgate and stopped at some Clemson tailgates and were either left alone or were warmly received. The "welcome to Clemson" mantra from everyone was almost kind of Truman Show creepy. I had a couple different folks in Greenville on Saturday morning say how impressed they were with the Louisville contingent and that it seemed like there were more of us than other opposing fanbases from the past. Also I was proud of how Cards fans stayed supportive of the team even when we went down 18. Everyone around us was positive and kept right on cheering.

If you are referring to the pass that fell incomplete for the third down on your last drive (Lamar evaded three tackles for loss) I would agree with you, a PI penalty could have been called. My only thoughts are that maybe the ref thought the Clemson DB was going after the ball, or that there was significant contact initiated by both players (kind of like all the contact for Tennessee's hail Mary... they NEVER call that). The replays I saw, I could not really tell.

On the flip side, I do think Lamar got a "favorable" spot during the 3rd quarter. sure seamed like he was a few feet short on the replay. Doubt it would have made much difference though, in the third quarter our "D" stayed in the locker room.

 

[treetiger]

I believe that the ref's appeared to allow quite a bit of contact on the WRs. I saw that coming early in the game when the Louisville DB was clearly banging, bumping and grabbing Mike Williams. I think for the most part they called this evenly throughout the entire game.
In my 45 years of following Clemson football I've never seen a Clemson team in a game of the magnitude make so many mistakes (penalties, dropped passes, overthrown passes, and missed assignments) and having 5 turnovers, several of them crucial turnovers, and still win the game! It defies physics. That being said, if Clemson is in sync (and they really haven't been yet this year), I believe that overall Clemson is still the better team. But man is Louisville close, and has gotten there quickly! And Lamar may be the better talent on that field Saturday. He would get my vote as Heisman, even over Watson at this point, if I had a vote. Watson needs to get his game back on track, and with Lamar's incredible success and Watson lack of blowing people away, Lamar is clearly in the Heisman sights and Watson is likely out.
Regardless if Louisville fans agree or disagree with my belief that Clemson is the overall better team right now, next year that baton will surely be passed to Louisville. I will be pulling hard for Louisville from here on out, not just because my ancestors were among the first settlers of Western Kentucky (Caseyville), or because I did my army basic training at Fort Knox, but because I like the direction that this Louisville program is going. Good luck the rest of the way.

 

[CardHack]

Lamar got a pretty favorable spot and I had to watch the replay three times to make sure...but your number 94 got away with a potential ejection on that play too. If you rewatch it's at least a late hit by the standard established by that particular crew but he made forcible contact above the shoulder pads and was already down. I think we scored on the drive anyway so it didn't factor directly into the score.

The thing about the turnovers in part was this...the three involving Alexander were a combination of great play coupled with mistakes by Watson. The Williams INT was an outstanding play off a mistake by McCloud. Great play on the strip of Radcliff but the botched snap by our center is an all too familiar development...he's done that multiple times in three years. The INT by your safety was a great play off a bad throw by Lamar...but a great play by any standard due to the ground he covered.

 

[Will4Clemson]

First OP, Glad you had a good trip and were treated well. I cant say enough about how well we were treated last year at your place and glad, we as a fan base, reciprocated. I tell everyone if there is a regular season road trip that is a must do, its definitely Louisville. The two Louisville fans sitting in front of me were enjoyable to watch a game with, wish all fans were like you guys.

I have been to every ACC school and all of the SEC schools minus Mizzou, Florida, Miss State and ATM. All of those places have unique things about them that make them fun but for me I'll take a trip to The Ville over all of them. The fans, football, food booze and things to do are all top notch. I will see you at your place in 2017.

I think the officials were horrible on both sides. Its really bad when you have two teams so evenly matched and officials are even worth talking about after the game.

I dont think any Clemson fan wants to play ya'll again this year. Lamar Jackson is stupid good. And I was impressed with the way he and the whole team handled the third quarter after how the first half went, especially after the quick score to go up 18 before the half. The third quarter was an impressive showing and from my perspective sucked the air out of the stadium.

Best of luck the rest of the way.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Great thread Hank...

I think we all agree there was an incredible amount of talent out there.

The D Line for Clemson is just ferocious. That's probably an understatement. Their WRs are insanely talented. I feel like their O'line is being underrated in a lot of people's reactions to the game - they controlled the line of scrimmage. Their RB is a beast at this level and seemed to be one step from breaking a large run every time.

Our QB is a monster that forces the other team to chase him around, and that combined with time of possession gave us a golden opportunity to get the W, but we made too many mistakes. Our secondary gave up plays but they made some too. Our D played well enough for us to win it, our special teams screwed the pooch at the absolute wrong time.

Long story short I wish we could play again, it was an ESPN classic.

 

[longtimefanSS71]

I was there two

 

[longtimefanSS71]

Observations from our trip:
First off, my cousin's sons play for Clemson. Two years ago we sat with them in the Clemson's parents section on the 20 yd. line. I made the mistake of not saying anything to her and bought tickets through U of L. Sat five rows from the top in section TDR. Wife not happy. I will ask her next time about tickets.

As most everyone did, it took more than 2 hrs to get out. We didn't get to our room in Sapphire, NC until 3:50AM. She gave me free parking pass near golf practice facility. Need a better parking spot. My cousin did say traffic was the worst she'd ever seen. Met and talked to a lot of fans on the way to the car. I met a guy who watched from his parking spot. He said he lost his signal for a short time. He heard such a loud roar and thought Clemson had scored. When his signal came back on, he saw where we had intercepted a pass. Our fans were loud.

Just walking from our car to tailgate with my cousin, a lot of fans thanked us for coming and wished us a safe trip home.

Having about 25,000 more seats, things are bigger there. And part of that is their very large RV Lot. One thing they have that we have very little of is grass, trees and water. It's a great place to tailgate.

I'm ready to go back, but I'd better get better tickets or one family member will stay home.

GO CARDS!!!

 

[EasyCard]

Observations from our trip:
First off, my cousin's sons play for Clemson. Two years ago we sat with them in the Clemson's parents section on the 20 yd. line. I made the mistake of not saying anything to her and bought tickets through U of L. Sat five rows from the top in section TDR. Wife not happy. I will ask her next time about tickets.

As most everyone did, it took more than 2 hrs to get out. We didn't get to our room in Sapphire, NC until 3:50AM. She gave me free parking pass near golf practice facility. Need a better parking spot. My cousin did say traffic was the worst she'd ever seen. Met and talked to a lot of fans on the way to the car. I met a guy who watched from his parking spot. He said he lost his signal for a short time. He heard such a loud roar and thought Clemson had scored. When his signal came back on, he saw where we had intercepted a pass. Our fans were loud.

Just walking from our car to tailgate with my cousin, a lot of fans thanked us for coming and wished us a safe trip home.

Having about 25,000 more seats, things are bigger there. And part of that is their very large RV Lot. One thing they have that we have very little of is grass, trees and water. It's a great place to tailgate.

I'm ready to go back, but I'd better get better tickets or one family member will stay home.

GO CARDS!!!

We stayed in Greenville, which I assume most visiting fans do, and got back at 2:45. Taking in consideration the traffic after the game and the drive to/from Greenville, we spent more time in the car then at the game. Ridiculous. It takes us no more than 15-20 minutes to leave PJCS after a packed stadium and are home in less than 30 minutes total.

Clemson's tailgating is big, but the lack of paved parking (can't imagine the mud in rain), lack of roads in to Clemson, and the post game traffic diminishes the experience.

Why can't Clemson formulate an effective traffic exit strategy? Block off the entire town if need be, heck everyone in town is at the game. No reason the 4 lane divided road going to the interstate can't be 1 way for an hour after the game. It's not a lack of police officers cuz every single one was on the sideline during the game.

 

[Knucklehank1]

We stayed in Greenville, which I assume most visiting fans do, and got back at 2:45. Taking in consideration the traffic after the game and the drive to/from Greenville, we spent more time in the car then at the game. Ridiculous. It takes us no more than 15-20 minutes to leave PJCS after a packed stadium and are home in less than 30 minutes total.

Clemson's tailgating is big, but the lack of paved parking (can't imagine the mud in rain), lack of roads in to Clemson, and the post game traffic diminishes the experience.

Why can't Clemson formulate an effective traffic exit strategy? Block off the entire town if need be, heck everyone in town is at the game. No reason the 4 lane divided road going to the interstate can't be 1 way for an hour after the game. It's not a lack of police officers cuz every single one was on the sideline during the game.

We actually got back to the hotel at 1:30 which was amazing. Fortunately everyone in my group is in very good physical shape, so we parked at Kite Hill which is about 2 miles from the stadium (it is the furthest lot). We hopped the curb and did a u turn and then basically had no traffic from there to Greenville.

People wonder why UofL doesn't have tailgating like these huge schools out in the middle of nowhere and your post answers that question. We have a million people living within 30 miles of the stadium. A game on Saturday is part of our daily schedule. At places like Clemson, the game IS the schedule. I talked to a nice man who said he lived 75 miles away and he acted like it was around the corner. These people just know that 6 times a year they are devoting an entire day to football. We are the products of a larger city and the conveniences and options that come with that.

 

[Tigerssp]

The traffic is just part of Clemson being a "college town". There's nothing else in Clemson. It normally has a population of 16k. Then 7 days a year theres 100k+ pouring into town. It wouldn't make sense to add infrastructure just for those seven days, so it's just something Clemson fans accept.

I will say Saturday was even more awful than normal though. There's a ton of construction going on and a lot of parking had been moved not sure if that was causing it or not.

 

[nccardfan]

We stayed in Greenville, which I assume most visiting fans do, and got back at 2:45. Taking in consideration the traffic after the game and the drive to/from Greenville, we spent more time in the car then at the game. Ridiculous. It takes us no more than 15-20 minutes to leave PJCS after a packed stadium and are home in less than 30 minutes total.

Clemson's tailgating is big, but the lack of paved parking (can't imagine the mud in rain), lack of roads in to Clemson, and the post game traffic diminishes the experience.

Why can't Clemson formulate an effective traffic exit strategy? Block off the entire town if need be, heck everyone in town is at the game. No reason the 4 lane divided road going to the interstate can't be 1 way for an hour after the game. It's not a lack of police officers cuz every single one was on the sideline during the game.

That's actually what they try to do is make it one way out. The problem is some people want to go north and some people want to go south. Two years ago I got in traffic thinking I was headed out but then ended up getting rerouted back in the other direction. It obviously sucks but it would have been worth it had we won.

 

[CardX]

Playing music up until the snap. Kind of bush league, IMO. Crowd noise is one thing...

 

[Rollem Cards]

Got back to G-ville at 2am.

Parked on College Av at a church, and it did take about 30 minutes to get out.

TD's bar Mgr said it was their 2nd biggest sales weekend. Notre Dame was first. LOT of UL fans in town.

Second trip for us. I would love to go one time before I die when we win just to see if they stay warm and fuzzy.

 

[6forcu]

We stayed in Greenville, which I assume most visiting fans do, and got back at 2:45. Taking in consideration the traffic after the game and the drive to/from Greenville, we spent more time in the car then at the game. Ridiculous. It takes us no more than 15-20 minutes to leave PJCS after a packed stadium and are home in less than 30 minutes total.

Clemson's tailgating is big, but the lack of paved parking (can't imagine the mud in rain), lack of roads in to Clemson, and the post game traffic diminishes the experience.

Why can't Clemson formulate an effective traffic exit strategy? Block off the entire town if need be, heck everyone in town is at the game. No reason the 4 lane divided road going to the interstate can't be 1 way for an hour after the game. It's not a lack of police officers cuz every single one was on the sideline during the game.

you went the wrong way