The Tigers have now played nine straight games without a break, have suffered multiple injuries across the defense and have also played with the weight of being No. 1 and a target on their backs since the first release of College Football Playoff rankings. Coach Dabo Swinney is now 73-26 in his career at Clemson. But what do I know?
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Now we just need the game to live up to the hype.
Even with a victory over No. 1 Clemson and a conference championship in hand, North Carolina’s credentials likely wouldn’t be enough to vault past No. 6 Ohio State (11-1) or No. 7 Stanford (10-2 entering Pacific 12 title game against Southern California). Watson, the ACC Player of the Year, led the conference with 331.6 total yards per game and 36 total touchdowns.
Swinney said Watson is the “complete package”, comparing him to former New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera.
Nov 28, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Marquise William (12) waves to fans after a victory against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Carter Finley Stadium.
Swinney said in July this team was prepared for the long run and punched holes all season in the air of skepticism that hung over the Tigers. If you try to shut down one guy, they can beat you with somebody else.
“I’ve got as much confidence in ‘Quise as anybody that’s going to step on that football field”, Fedora said.
Making North Carolina’s run this season more noteworthy is that it has come in the wake of multiple NCAA investigations that could have derailed the program.
However, the Clemson defense isn’t the only thing the Tar Heels are concerned about.
A familiar name you may know from our comment section, Alston Meadows, is a alumnus of both UNC and Clemson and offered to give us the inside scoop of the Tar Heels as we head into the big matchup this weekend. The Tigers, having climbed past the Crimson Tide & Sooners to plant their flag at college football’s summit, are those burdened with championing the ACC within the playoff.
Fedora was the talk of the coaching vacancy at SC, but refused to entertain those rumors with his team preparing for the title game. Fedora said, referring to the last time UNC won the ACC championship. This will be North Carolina’s first appearance in the championship, though the Tar Heels did tie for a win in the Coastal Division in 2012 but were ineligible. “Because for all of the talk about the talk about the North Carolina defense – and from a numbers standpoint they’ve been better this year – but when you look at efficiency, and you look at opposing offenses the defense actually hasn’t been that great”, Smith told TigerNet Thursday. Wood and Williams have combined for 2,066 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns.
DOMINANT STARTS: UNC has been downright dominant in the first half of games in November.
Carolina’s offense has been impressive this season ranking 16th in the country in total offense, largely behind the arm and legs of Marquise Williams. Maybe the key to the entire offense is that they’ve allowed just 12 sacks this season and averaging more than four yards of rushing before contact. Before we get into that, let’s go on and toss out a few facts.
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