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School Info:

Location: Clemson, S.C.

Nickname: Tigers

Colors: Burnt Orange and Northwest Purple

Division: Atlantic

2006 Record:

Record: 8-5

Conference: 5-3 (2^nd in Division)

Bowl: Lost to Kentucky 28-20 in Music City Bowl

2006 Team Averages:

(Rankings are in the ACC)

Offense:

Points: 33.8 (1^st)

Total Yards: 411.7 (1^st)

Rushing Yards: 225.2 (1^st)

Passing Yards: 186.5 (4^th)

3^rd Down %: 42.4 (1^st)

Defense:

Points: 15.2 (5^th)

Total Yards: 270.1 (3^rd)

Rushing Yards: 103.3 (6^th)

Passing Yards: 166.75 (3^rd)

2006 Team Leaders:

Passing:

Will Proctor – 183/304, 2353 yards, 16 TD, 11 Int., 135.3 rating

Rushing:

James Davis – 203 carries, 1187 yards, 5.8 avg., 17 TD

C.J. Spiller – 129 carries, 938 yards, 7.3 avg., 10 TD

Receiving:

Chansi Stuckey – 50 rec., 700 yards, 14.0 avg., 3 TD

Aaron Kelly – 30 rec., 355 yards, 11.8 avg., 3 TD

2007 Schedule:

09/03 – Florida State

09/08 – UL Monroe

09/15 – Furman

09/22 - @ NC State

09/29 - @ Georgia Tech

10/06 – Virginia Tech

10/20 – Central Michigan

10/27 - @ Maryland

11/03 - @ Duke

11/10 – Wake Forest

11/17 – Boston College

11/24 - @ South Carolina

2007 Outlook:

Offense:

Last years leading passer, Will Proctor is gone as well as leading receiver Chansi Stuckey.  However, Clemson returns the best rushing duo in the ACC.  James Davis and C.J. Spiller are no joke!  They are arguably the 2^nd best RB duo in the country, 2^nd only to of course Arkansas freakish backfield.  Cullen Harper will take the snaps now for Clemson which may not be so bad.  Harper completed 14 of 20 passes last year for 2 TD’s and 0 Int’s.  The only bad news I can come up with in all this is that Clemson only returns 4 starters on O.  Oh yea, and watch out for this guy named Jacoby Ford at WR who is an All-American on the track team and runs a sub-4.2 40!

Defense:

Better news for the D as they return 7 starters.  But, they lost DE Gaines Adams and CB C.J. Gaddis to the NFL.  Who can step up and replace these key players?  Clemson also lost their other starting CB Duane Coleman and OLB Maurice Nelson!  From what I see/read Clemson defensive strength will be their Linebackers!  The weakness looks to be at CB since they need to replace last years starters.  The passing D could be the key to this year’s unit.  As long as Clemson can continue to play well against opposing offenses, they will continue their success from last year.

Schedule:

Clemson’s OOC schedule is pretty weak other than in-state rival South Carolina of course!  Clemson will play at home 7 times this year including games against FSU, Virginia Tech, defending ACC Champs Wake Forest and Boston College.  Their toughest road game is a tossup between Georgia Tech and South Carolina.  Of course, ask any Clemson fan and they’ll tell you that they would rather have the W against the Gamecocks rather than the Yellow Jackets.  Overall, the schedule favors Clemson and it is certainly possible they finish the season with a solid record!

In a Nutshell:

It’s hard to believe that Clemson finished 8-5 last year after looking at their team statistics.  The run/pass ratio will probably favor the running game more this year than it did last year due to the lack of experience at QB and the hellacious RB duo!  Judging by the schedule though, Clemson will likely be competing with FSU and Boston College for the Atlantic Crown.  They just might need to do that to save the job of Tommy Bowden.  After all, I saw a picture of Clemson players wearing shirts that say “Finish the job or our Coach loses his.”.