Dealing with Expectations
By: Roy Philpott
It's always interesting to see how one magazine views a team differently than another.
Truthfully, you are going to get 100 times the information on Clemson on a web site like CUTigers.com or through a newspaper that covers the beat simply because we know what is going on at Clemson more than any national media outlet ever could.
We are there, on campus, probably 300 days of the year.
However, the preview magazines are a great way to get a feel for what the rest of the ACC has been up to during the offseason and to gauge how good (or bad) certain teams could be in the coming year.
But for the Clemson football team, things are going to be a little different over the course of the next few months than what we've seen in years past.
Why?
Because this year, the Tigers are going to be the favorite to win the league. No more Matt Ryan. Florida State and Miami are still rebuilding. Virginia Tech lost most of its defense, not to mention its top receiver, running back and cornerback.
Tommy Bowden told us last week in an interview for our upcoming 2008 preview issue of CUTigers The Magazine, he wouldn't be treating anything different even though his team will be picked to win the ACC.
"I’ve been coaching long enough to know that those (predictions) are really not that important because injuries you don’t know about or getting an unlucky break or team moral," he said. "You just don’t know how your team is going to handle certain situations. How are they going to react to a loss? Those are things you don’t know.
“I don’t look at it any differently that what I have over my last 31 years (of coaching). We’re really not going to prepare any differently. But we are going to talk to them a little differently because they’re going to read things that are different about this team than they’ve read in the past because of the expectations."
Typically speaking, the Tigers have played better under Bowden with their back against the wall and not as the favorite. In fact, Bowden and his team haven't lost a game as a lined underdog since Oct. 2005 against Georgia Tech.
But how will they respond being named the favorite to win the Atlantic Division and the league?
A handful of national level publications have already listed Clemson as the favorite to win the ACC, including reporters on CollegeFootballNews.com and ESPN.com. And that's just the beginning.
Strangely enough, this team is already used to playing the favorite role in individual games. Check out a listing of the lined games Clemson has played in during the last two years:
2007:
Auburn - Clemson by 2.5
South Carolina - Clemson by 3
Boston College - Clemson favored by 8.5
Wake Forest - Clemson favored by 8.5
Duke - Clemson favored by 17.5
Maryland - Clemson favored by 3.5
Central Michigan - Clemson favored by 17
Virginia Tech - Clemson favored by 5.5
Georgia Tech - Clemson favored by 3
N.C. State - Clemson favored by 8
Furman - no line
Louisiana-Monroe - Clemson favored by 27
Florida State - 'Noles favored by 3
2006
Kentucky - Clemson favored by 9
South Carolina - Clemson favored by 5.5
N.C. State - Clemson favored by 17
Maryland - Clemson favored by 11
Virginia Tech - Clemson by 4.5
Georgia Tech - Clemson favored by 8
Temple - Clemson favored by 43.5
Wake Forest - Clemson favored by 16.5
Louisiana Tech - Clemson favored by 33.5
Florida State - Florida State by 4
Boston College - Clemson favored by 2.5
Florida Atlantic - Clemson favored by 33.5
Notice a trend? If you're name isn't Florida State, you're going to be an underdog against the Tigers.
But how will they respond being named the favorite to win the league at the ACC's Annual Preseason Media Kickoff? Does it increase the pressure? Is it a motivating factor? Is it meaningless?
You tell me.
Every year about this time, as the upcoming season preview magazines start to hit the magazine shelves, fans start pondering legitimate expectations for their respective teams.
It's always interesting to see how one magazine views a team differently than another.
Truthfully, you are going to get 100 times the information on Clemson on a web site like CUTigers.com or through a newspaper that covers the beat simply because we know what is going on at Clemson more than any national media outlet ever could.
We are there, on campus, probably 300 days of the year.
However, the preview magazines are a great way to get a feel for what the rest of the ACC has been up to during the offseason and to gauge how good (or bad) certain teams could be in the coming year.
But for the Clemson football team, things are going to be a little different over the course of the next few months than what we've seen in years past.
Why?
Because this year, the Tigers are going to be the favorite to win the league. No more Matt Ryan. Florida State and Miami are still rebuilding. Virginia Tech lost most of its defense, not to mention its top receiver, running back and cornerback.
Tommy Bowden told us last week in an interview for our upcoming 2008 preview issue of CUTigers The Magazine, he wouldn't be treating anything different even though his team will be picked to win the ACC.
"I’ve been coaching long enough to know that those (predictions) are really not that important because injuries you don’t know about or getting an unlucky break or team moral," he said. "You just don’t know how your team is going to handle certain situations. How are they going to react to a loss? Those are things you don’t know.
“I don’t look at it any differently that what I have over my last 31 years (of coaching). We’re really not going to prepare any differently. But we are going to talk to them a little differently because they’re going to read things that are different about this team than they’ve read in the past because of the expectations."
Typically speaking, the Tigers have played better under Bowden with their back against the wall and not as the favorite. In fact, Bowden and his team haven't lost a game as a lined underdog since Oct. 2005 against Georgia Tech.
But how will they respond being named the favorite to win the Atlantic Division and the league?
A handful of national level publications have already listed Clemson as the favorite to win the ACC, including reporters on CollegeFootballNews.com and ESPN.com. And that's just the beginning.
Strangely enough, this team is already used to playing the favorite role in individual games. Check out a listing of the lined games Clemson has played in during the last two years:
2007:
Auburn - Clemson by 2.5
South Carolina - Clemson by 3
Boston College - Clemson favored by 8.5
Wake Forest - Clemson favored by 8.5
Duke - Clemson favored by 17.5
Maryland - Clemson favored by 3.5
Central Michigan - Clemson favored by 17
Virginia Tech - Clemson favored by 5.5
Georgia Tech - Clemson favored by 3
N.C. State - Clemson favored by 8
Furman - no line
Louisiana-Monroe - Clemson favored by 27
Florida State - 'Noles favored by 3
2006
Kentucky - Clemson favored by 9
South Carolina - Clemson favored by 5.5
N.C. State - Clemson favored by 17
Maryland - Clemson favored by 11
Virginia Tech - Clemson by 4.5
Georgia Tech - Clemson favored by 8
Temple - Clemson favored by 43.5
Wake Forest - Clemson favored by 16.5
Louisiana Tech - Clemson favored by 33.5
Florida State - Florida State by 4
Boston College - Clemson favored by 2.5
Florida Atlantic - Clemson favored by 33.5
Notice a trend? If you're name isn't Florida State, you're going to be an underdog against the Tigers.
But how will they respond being named the favorite to win the league at the ACC's Annual Preseason Media Kickoff? Does it increase the pressure? Is it a motivating factor? Is it meaningless?
You tell me.
posted by Roy Philpott @ 10:42 AM
1 Comments
Links to this post
1 Comments:
This is EXACTLY what frustrates Clemson fans. In recent years, Tommy Bowden's teams are almost always favored to win because Clemson has more talented players than their opponents (except FSU). But Tommy always manages to lose AT LEAST 3 games that he should win. You could understand getting upset once every year or two, but not 3 times a year. Bowden is a decent coach. He's just not a very good coach. He squanders 3-5 star recruits while coaches like Beamer & Grobe take 2-3 star recruits and turn them into ACC champions and NFL draftees. I just gotta believe that Tommy will get over the hump this year and win the ACC. (At this point, there's really no reason why Clemson couldn't go undefeated before bowling since at this point, Clemson would likely be strongly favored in every game.) . FSU, Miami, GT, UNC, & NCSU will bounce back in the next few years, so if Clemson doesn't win the ACC this year, it could be a long time. C'mon Tommy! Show us that you deserve that extension!
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home