It looks like everyone's got a segment now, so this beatdown has probably been hot-taked to death already. So I'll be brief.
This was eerily similar wasn't it? We've seen this buildup and letdown so many times they should put the Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown image on the side of the helmet instead of the U. They toyed with us, and we were NEVER a threat. I don't understand how teams like UNC and Pitt and Syracuse can do things, but we couldn't even breathe in that game.
Quick takes:
Bubba Bolden is about the only guy who would start on Clemson's team. We were so clearly overmatched it was obvious from about 5 snaps in. 5 snaps in I'm thinking "Just don't give up and get humiliated and lose by 60." I knew they were better than us before the game and didn't expect to win, but I did expect us to not be the little kid getting straight armed to the forehead while he wails away at his dad's kneecaps and doesn't come within 5 feet of hitting him.
Venables bent Lashlee over, ballgagged him, and gimped him. If we were ever going to take a run at Clemson's D with our O this was going to be the year with them breaking in all those new players. Not even close. They suffocated us like a giant boa constrictor squeezing the life out of a weasel. They were where we were supposed to be before we got there. It's like they knew our plays better than we did.
When we hired Lashlee, the one game that scared me was how FAU so thoroughly *** raped him in the bowl game. This game reminded me of that but 20 times worse. He had no answers for anything and seemed intent on forcing a running game that never stood a chance all game until he just started chucking it deep and hoping for PI calls.
Lashlee's still a big upgrade over what we had, but what we saw yesterday was atrocious. He was outclassed. UVA looked better against them than we did. I'd expect UNC to move it on them too and not look like Pee Wee rejects like we did.
Our WRs looked like punks out there too. Feeble. King threw some balls that they could have battled for, and they would just fall down instead and cry for a flag. They don't adjust to the ball in the air and have no dog in them whatsoever. I'd empty the bench immediately and see if any of the backups have any guts. I'd start with Keyshawn Smith because no one's come close to covering him this year. He's always five yards behind everyone he plays.
Where was the TE throw game? That's an advantage we should have had but never really attempted to exploit other than 2 or 3 throws. Lashlee outsmarted himself on that one.
Our OL is better, but they got their pussies stomped out. Clemson did them like we did FSU the week prior.
Defensively, we battled, and, like I said, I love Bubba B. But our LBs are sooooooo fcking slow and useless. And you can't beat or even compete with a team like that when you're giving up 3rd and 8+ over and over and over. Unlike the O, the D at least battled and had a pulse. Lawrence is a generational player, and he's going to make plays. I said going it that this was either going to be a shootout or a blowout because we weren't going to stop Lawrence. Well, we saw what happened.
We'll see what happens with Manny. I actually like the guy. Seems like a hard worker and he really cares, but he just might not have that ability to push the right buttons. THat's an art form, and most don't have it. That's why it's so hard to find a great HC. We'll see if it's what we all suspect it is coming up the next several weeks. If we get in another series of dog fights with the teams coming up, then it's just same old Miami. This can either be a blip in a season of progress, or it can be same old Miami.
