This is Fun

By: Roy Philpott

For a moment Saturday afternoon, Clemson football was exactly how it should be. In fact for a moment Saturday afternooon, Clemson and Wake Forest were the teams many fans remembered from years past. The years in which Clemson rolled up a 32-7 home record or the years it scored 55 and 82 points against the Deacs.

On this day the Tigers got off to fast start, rolling up the points along the way and and using a punishing defense capable of playing with any team in the country to pound Wake Forest into submission.

The crowd was as loud as its been all season and there was even a certain amount of intimidation in the air.

Simply put, with an Atlantic Division championship at stake and the defending ACC champs coming to Death Valley, the Tigers were the better team from start to finish in all phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams.

It was almost as if the team was telling hapless Wake Forest, "You're not coming into our house with those players and beating us with a conference championship on the line."

QB Cullen Harper was as perfect as he's been all season, completely 27-of-35 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns. And not surprisingly, he threw zero interceptions.

The defense intercepted last year's ACC Rookie of the Year QB Riley Skinner once, sacked him five times, recorded 10 tackles for loss and limited the Deacs to just 83 yards rushing and 10 points.

Even the much-maligned special teams, which have been solid the last four games, rose to the challenge by containing the league's top kick returner in Kevin Marion and added in a 90 yard kickoff return by C.J. Spiller for a score just for good measure.

Yes, for the first time in a long time, everything was right with Clemson football.

And you know what?

More than anything else, Saturday's game was fun. A lot of fun.

Pounding a team that has given you problems in every year since 2001 is fun. Winning four games in a row is fun. And most importantly, having a meaningful conference game this late in November and winning that game is the most fun of all.

And you know what else? This coming week leading up to the Boston College game will be just as fun.

As Clemson fans discuss the X's and O's on Internet message boards and sports talk radio and try to determine what needs to happen to lift the Tigers past Boston College, many will quietly be making reservations in Jacksonville for the weekend of Dec. 1, hoping for the opportunity to watch Clemson compete for its first ACC title since 1991.

Too many times fans get caught up in the week to week trails and tribulations of this football program and lose focus that this is supposed to be something that is actually fun. A break away from the real world. A chance to put your problems behind you and enjoy three hours of good old fashion college football.

Of course, it's always more fun when you win and after winning their last four games, the Tigers seem to have that aspect of the game mastered as well as any team in the ACC.

While Saturday against Boston College will certainly be no walk in the park (then it again it might if the last two weeks are any indication of what to expect), I'm going to take a moment and soak it all in.

The attitude and excitement of the players.

The overall atmosphere around campus.

The chance to compete for an ACC Championship.

Even the mindless postings of anonymous Internet "experts" who seemingly have the game, the season and this program all figured out.

Yes indeed, this is fun.

And I advise all of you to try and have just as much fun as I am.