Another Preseason Top 10

By: Roy Philpott

Athlon is in the process of releasing its top 10 teams in the nation and not surprisingly, Clemson comes in at No. 10.

Some other intriguing items include:

WR Aaron Kelly is named Second-Team All-America and First-Team All-ACC.

QB Cullen Harper, RB James Davis, C Thomas Austin, DL Dorell Scott, S Michael Hamlin and KR C.J. Spiller are named First-Team All-ACC.

RB C.J. Spiller, CB Chris Chancellor, S Chris Clemons, K Mark Buchholz and PR Jacoby Ford are named Second-Team All-ACC.

DL Ricky Sapp joins the All-ACC Third Team.

For more information, go here: link

It's also interesting to note that just two other teams from ACC are ranked in the top 25 released so far- Virginia Tech at No. 21 and Wake Forest at No. 24.

Ranking the 2008 Schedule

By: Roy Philpott

1) AT FLORIDA STATE
Whether you believe Florida State will be vastly improved or not in 2008, Doak Campbell Stadium is still a difficult place to play for most teams. Clemson has won there exactly once since 1989.

2) AT WAKE FOREST
Groves Stadium, while seating just 31,500 has been a house of horrors for a lot of teams in recent years. The Tigers lost there in 2003 and 2005 before finally winning in 2006 after a miracle play made by the future No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft in Gaines Adams. What will it take for you to start to believe in Jim Grobe?

3) ALABAMA
Opening the season with Crimson Tide is intriguing, but will it be as tough as road games at FSU and Wake Forest? Probably not. Nick Saban has recruited well in Tuscaloosa, but he's still playing mostly with Mike Shula's players. Come on, does John Parker Wilson really scare you?

4) AT BOSTON COLLEGE
Simply put, Clemson hasn't beaten Boston College since the Eagles joined the league in 2005. Yes Matt Ryan is gone. Yes Andre Callendar, L.V. Whitworth, Kevin Challenger, DeJuan Tribble and Jamie Silva are gone, but this team still is physical AND BIG at the line of scrimmage. Until it happens, winning in "Chestnut Hill" isn't as easy as it sounds.

5) AT VIRGINIA
The last time the Tigers ventured into Charlottesville, they left with a 30-10 defeat. Good thing that was four years ago. The Cavs could be tough in 2008, but chances are they'll be the "white meat" Clemson fans will remember from the 1970s and 80s more than anything else come November.

6) SOUTH CAROLINA
Hey- it's a rivalry game and the Gamecocks figure to be above Georgia Tech in our list after it takes Paul Johnson a year to install his spread-option scheme. Two words- chicken curse.

7) GEORGIA TECH
Clemson generally waxes Georgia Tech one year and loses to the Yellow Jackets the next. This is one of the "good years."

8) N.C. STATE
The Pack could get back to bowl eligibility this year- problem is they'll likely be headed to San Francisco as one of the last teams from the league to make it to the postseason. Make that five in a row for the Tigers in the "Textile Bowl."

9) MARYLAND
Did you know Ralph Friedgen actually hired an offensive coordinator for the 2008 season? Maybe those first three years in College Park really did have some luck involved ... or something. How did he win all of those games anyway?

10) DUKE
Poor Ted Roof. At least he has a chance to rebuild his career now in Minnesota. Now David Cutcliffe gets to see what it's like to share a football stadium with a medical center. (visit the press box next time you're in Durham for more info)

11) THE CITADEL
The Bulldogs actually were tied with No. 7 Wisconsin on the road last year at halftime. Not bad. Keep an eye on WR Andre Roberts come September.

12) S.C. STATE
No disrespect to head coach Buddy Pough, because he's built a team that has a good number of FBS prospects on it, but somebody had to be last on our list. Losing QB Cleveland McCoy gives The Citadel the slight edge.

Another Reason to be Excited

By: Roy Philpott

As if Clemson fans needed another reason to be excited about the start of the 2008 season ...

Aside from the Tigers being listed by nearly every preseason publication as the favorite to win the ACC, how about ESPN's College Game Day being on the scene for the Aug. 30 battle with Alabama in the Georgia Dome?

According to Tony Barnhart of the AJC, the announcement may be nothing short of a formality at this point. You can read the full article by clicking this link.

"The folks at ESPN like to keep their options open and insist no decision has been made. But I’m hearing that the College Game Day boys are coming to Atlanta on Aug. 30 as part of the run-up to the Clemson-Alabama game at the Georgia Dome," Barnhart writes.

Clemson fans will remember the last time Gameday visited the Tigers was one of the best performances turned in by a Tommy Bowden-coached team ... well ever. The 31-7 waxing of 13th-ranked Georgia Tech back Oct. 2006 is a game still talked about to this very day.

You remember it don't you? The introduction of Thunder and Lightning, the all-purple jerseys, the electricity, the excitement and the playstation-like moves of C.J. Spiller.

Of course, having Game Day on hand will only make it harded to get a ticket to what's already being called "the hardest ticket to get in the history of the Georgia Dome."

Think about it for a second ... 80,000 Clemson fans and 90,000 Alabama fans all trying to get a seat in the 70,000 seat Georgia Dome.

Because it's a season opener and expectations are still so high as neither team has yet to lose a game, you could make the argument this game could be played in a 175,000 seat stadium and it would still sell out.

But, having Game Day on hand is never a bad thing ... at minimum it's a massive opportunity for publicity and given the game is being played during the first weekend of the college football season, multiply the usual pub by about 20 considering "Clemson" and "Alabama" will be mentioned every day the entire month of August on ESPN.

And speaking of C.J. Spiller, here is one of my favorite series of pictures of him at Clemson right below. I just happened to be in the end zone in front of him as he juked a Georgia Tech defender and scampered down the sideline for the easy score in that 24-point win over the Jackets two years ago.

At this point, Jacoby Ford is thinking about what's going on after the game because the game itself was OVER.