• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Wake +21 @ Clemson - Deacs blow another shot at a Death Valley win

I've been talked into driving down to the game since the kickoff time is tailgate friendly. Friends are Clemson alum/fans and already have their tickets, so not even going to bother asking them for ticket advice. I'm fine just getting in but how is the view from the upper deck? Any advice for a first timer in general?
 
I hate to say it but this may by first game in the Clawson era that I'm not going to watch
 
cheeseheads12 said:
I just don’t see wake trying to pass a whole lot in this one. Probably going to be a heavy dose of handoffs and punting while trying to kill clock.
Click to expand...

In year #2 under Elko, Duke handles Clemson and damn near beat Notre Dame. Should have IMHO.
In year #10, under Clawson, some in our fanbase just hope to run clock and is thankful if we don't get beaten by 5 touchdowns.

Not Clawson-out but I just find this somewhat concerning.
 
ironwill24 said:
I hate to say it but this may by first game in the Clawson era that I'm not going to watch
Click to expand...
Defense has been solid but this is the first real test.
Offense has been disappointing and QB has been turnover prone against bad teams.

Not much reason to be optimistic. But I'll obviously still watch.
 
PhDeac said:
Defense has been solid but this is the first real test.
Offense has been disappointing and QB has been turnover prone against bad teams.

Not much reason to be optimistic. But I'll obviously still watch.
Click to expand...
Yeah I mean I say that but I will be drawn back.

Yes we were bad in Clawson's first two years but you could see glimmers of hope in the future.

Now it appears he's doubling down on a bad decision and the thought that we may be throwing a season away two years after an acc championship game makes me sick to my stomach especially considering the D looks considerably better than the last couple years.
 
I'm taken aback by the level of despair in this thread and others related to the program. We've had very solid quarterback play for a long time and right now the position is a weakness. If that remains the case next season, I'll start to doubt Clawson. As for this game, our defense has been improved and has some dudes, we have a very good group of skill players on offense, and this is not a Watson/Lawrence Clemson team. I don't think we are going to win, but I'm also not going to write us off.
 
wakelaw13 said:
I'm taken aback by the level of despair in this thread and others related to the program. We've had very solid quarterback play for a long time and right now the position is a weakness. If that remains the case next season, I'll start to doubt Clawson. As for this game, our defense has been improved and has some dudes, we have a very good group of skill players on offense, and this is not a Watson/Lawrence Clemson team. I don't think we are going to win, but I'm also not going to write us off.
Click to expand...

It would be hard to watch WFU so far this year and not be in despair. Just the GT result and their subsequent loss at home screams despair.

But, for me, it's not the sort of overwhelming, likely irreversible sort of despair I have around the WFU basketball program. For many reasons (Buzz, DM, NIL, etc.), I don't think WFU basketball will ever be truly elite again. I think that train has left the station, never to return. I don't feel that way about the football team. Yes, Clawson probably missed the mark on Griffis (though past good QBs have had some horrendous games). But he knows what he's doing, and likely knows the QB room is a hot mess. Either way, I think Clawson gets us back on track.

Having said that, it's painful (both specifically and in general) to see anything good happen to Duke. They look (so far, against much better competition) really good. That adds to the despair vibe, for sure.

But WFU football will be fine.
 
TheAbster said:
In year #2 under Elko, Duke handles Clemson and damn near beat Notre Dame. Should have IMHO.
In year #10, under Clawson, some in our fanbase just hope to run clock and is thankful if we don't get beaten by 5 touchdowns.

Not Clawson-out but I just find this somewhat concerning.
Click to expand...
How many times are you going to say this?
 
If confidence is built from showing how many times you can get back up after being knocked down, then Mitch Griffis is the most confident QB I have seen. No matter how often he get sacked, he gets back up and does the same thing over again. You have to continue to roll with that kind of confidence.
 
ironwill24 said:
Yeah I mean I say that but I will be drawn back.

Yes we were bad in Clawson's first two years but you could see glimmers of hope in the future.

Now it appears he's doubling down on a bad decision and the thought that we may be throwing a season away two years after an acc championship game makes me sick to my stomach especially considering the D looks considerably better than the last couple years.
Click to expand...

Interesting that our opponent in that championship game has also fallen off. Each of us lost a rather important person at a rather important position.
 
By no means am I "Clawson out" or done with watching the Deacs for this season, but I wish this one was at noon so i could get ours over with and then just watch/enjoy the remainder of the Saturday games. Better yet if we could "check it off" by playing Friday night.
 
Kent said:
It would be hard to watch WFU so far this year and not be in despair. Just the GT result and their subsequent loss at home screams despair.

But, for me, it's not the sort of overwhelming, likely irreversible sort of despair I have around the WFU basketball program. For many reasons (Buzz, DM, NIL, etc.), I don't think WFU basketball will ever be truly elite again. I think that train has left the station, never to return. I don't feel that way about the football team. Yes, Clawson probably missed the mark on Griffis (though past good QBs have had some horrendous games). But he knows what he's doing, and likely knows the QB room is a hot mess. Either way, I think Clawson gets us back on track.

Having said that, it's painful (both specifically and in general) to see anything good happen to Duke. They look (so far, against much better competition) really good. That adds to the despair vibe, for sure.

But WFU football will be fine.
Click to expand...
Good post. I generally skew pessimist, but I think Wake basketball can be redeemed. Not giving up hope yet. Even in the brave new NIL world still seems to me that conference and national title aspirations are more realistic for hoops than football.

I also don't think Duke will have any easier time than we do sustaining success in FB. They caught lightning in a bottle with Elko, portal, opening against a (relatively) weak Clemson, etc. That gilded carriage will turn back to a pumpkin soon enough.
 
Duke and Elko also greatly benefitted by lucking into a QB (Riley Leonhard) that was left behind by Cutcliffe that will probably play in the NFL. Elko is a solid coach, maybe a great coach, but to take the Duke job and have Riley Leonhard hanging out on the roster was a godsend (QBs that can play on that level are hard to find). When Elko took the Duke job, it look like Gunnar Holmberg was going to be the starter. When Cutcliffe was fired Holmberg transferred to FIU and washed out. If Holmberg had been Duke's QB in 2022, there would be no Elko buzz.

Leonhard raised Duke's QB a million levels, and Duke was suddenly more than competitive with Elko coordinating the D. When ND was facing 4th and 16 under 2 minutes to go. Duke was looking at a 10-2 season or better, and with a couple big-time wins, and possible trip to the ACCCG. Now, without Leonhard, Duke is just another team that is out-performing their recent history.
 
It's probably going to come down to $ and staff flexibility. If a good chunk the McCreary/Sutton/etc. dollars start flowing to NIL vs. facilities (how much more could we need?!), and Clawson puts less emphasis on "program continuity" and more aggressively attacks the transfer portal/NIL focused recruits, we will be just fine. If we stick with the current approach, even though it's worked decently well in recent years, we'll likely get left behind in the changing landscape.
 
Duke getting lucky (pre-injury) with their QB while our QB leads the nation in turnovers per game is certainly poor timing and contributing to the general malaise here.
 
Duke isn't just QB. They have a very good defense, and were already better in Elko Year 1 than any unit Wake has rolled out since 2016/2017.

We seem to be better this year on that side of the ball, but we also haven't really been tested.
 
One of the most frustrating things of the Clawson era, is that Wake has yet to combine a strong offense with a strong defense. We have had no balance at all.

When we were elite offensively, we had a sieve defense. The ACC-title run season we forced a lot of turnovers, but gave up a ton of yards and scores.

Now that we are showing signs on defense, the offense is collapsing.

In the early Clawson years, the defense was solid and the offense was a mess.

Maybe that is always going to be a challenge because we don't get a pick of the best recruits, though we saw a decent uptick in the last class for the first time. It seems like we use the portal more to bolster the defense, and recruit more elite talent on offense. That strategy may pan out long term. J. Roberts, Mustafa, Turner are/were good players. That would have probably led to a solid team this year, but we are missing the most important ingredient.
 
Man, I hope Wake gets to kick off 3+ times against Clemson this year.
 
PaddyWF said:
One of the most frustrating things of the Clawson era, is that Wake has yet to combine a strong offense with a strong defense.
Click to expand...
Assuming you define "strong" as ranking in the top 25 statistically, about 5 teams a year have both a strong offense and a strong defense. Definitely less than 10 do. So essentially what you are saying is that the most frustrating thing about the Clawson era to you is that we have never been one of the best 10 teams in the FBS.

If we aren't going to reach that level I think I'd prefer to be top 15 on one side of the ball and weaker on the other, as to me that type of team has a greater chance at legit upsets than a team that is simply top 40 on both sides of the ball but not elite at either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top