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Friday, March 7, 2014

Top 10: Keys To Conquering Downtown


I actually wrote this article last year for a college newspaper that I was working for, but I had to revise it and make it shorter to get it published. Because of that, I decided to share the full version here with you guys. I think it has some good tips to surviving DT trips and it's a little funny as well.

1. Full-Phone Battery: You don’t want to be downtown and have your phone die on you. I mean, first off, you’re just going to feel lost without it. If you’ve got no battery, how are you gonna meet up with your friends? Send drunk texts and tweets? Get a ride home afterwards? Make sure that baby has plenty of juice before you head out.

2. People: Make sure you know people who are going downtown. Do not go by yourself unless absolutely necessary. I repeat, DO NOT GO BY YOURSELF. I’ve learned from personal experience, you always say you’re going to know someone there or assume that you’ll run into people you’ll know, but every once in a while there will be no one you know (or at least not anyone you want to talk to), and when that’s the case, you’ll end up hanging out in a corner with maybe one person you’ve met randomly down there before who you don’t even really like that much. Trust me, you do not want to be that guy, it’s no good for anyone. So make sure you have a crew to go with when you decide to get adventurous.

3. Cash: Hard to make it rain with plastic. That’s why when going dt you want to have cash to pay for your drinks with. It’s such a hassle paying with a card every time. If you start a tab, you have to hope that no one decided to go and use your name to get a drink on your card, and you have to remember to go and close it out at the end of the night and not forget your card, which is something that PLENTY of people do. No one wants to have to ride back to TTT’s on Saturday morning to ask them if they have your debit card. Your other option if you don’t start a tab is to pay for each drink separately on your card, that’s still a hassle because you have to wait for them to swipe it and then you’ve got to put you John Hancock on a piece of paper who knows how many times a night.  Another downside of cards, some bars have a minimum amount you must spend before they will let you use your card, and you do not want to have to buy your buddy a drink that you know you will not get repaid for just so that you can use your card. People also have a tendency to spend more when they’re paying with a card, and if you’re lucky enough to be using one of your parents’ cards you don’t want to wake the next morning to only find out you rang up a $690 bar tab the night before (trust me, happened to my roommate). It’s all about the Benjamins: cash is the way to go when going downtown.

4. Quarters: This one is a personal favorite of mine. Usually everything downtown cost how ever many dollars and some change, hardly ever is it a whole dollar. Take you four or five quarter when you head out, and along with your cash you can pay for your first few drinks with the exact amount before you start tipping. The reason most bars have their prices like they do is so that people will give them dollars to pay for their drinks and not worry about getting the change back. Well, we see you, Bars, and we’re on to your games.

5. Know the Scene You Want: This key is very important one, as it pretty much helps determine where you should spend your time dt. You’ve got to know what type of setting you’re looking for, and you’ve got to know which bar to go to for that atmosphere. If you’re looking for a place to kind of start off the night and get one drink and to be able to actually talk to your friends, I’d recommend TTT’s. It’s laidback, quieter, and the beer prices aren’t bad. If you’re more of a fraternity/sorority person, 356 and Loose Change are the move. You want to dance? Well, hit up Wingin’ It or 356 for the best options there. If you want a combination of hanging out and dancing, TD’s is the place to be. Knowing what type of atmosphere you want and knowing which bar to head to is a big key to having a good time dt. You don’t want to be trying to have a conversation with your friends in Wingin’ It and “Back Dat Ass Up” come on and some random girl/guy try to come and combine your two bodies in to one, you really don’t.

6. Bouncers: Meet some bouncers. Even though it may not seem like much, it’s a lot better when you don’t have to take your ID out and you can just give them a simple handshake and walk in instead. Plus, it makes you look like a bad ass. It’s good to know people.

7. Prices/Specials: As broke college kids, we don’t have money to just be throwing around, so you need to know if there’s any specials on certain nights at the bars, and also what their prices are on regular nights as well. No need to be spending extra money on a fancy beer when it’s $1 Busch Lights. No need to be buying nice beers when it’s the same price or cheaper to get house liquor. Gotta save that money when you can, and as long as it gets you drunk, who cares what it was?

8. Layout: Know where to go to get your drinks inside the bar. Figure out where that one spot is that you can get drinks faster than other people. Know that when 356 has a cash bar, it’s on the left side so you don’t have to wait so long at the main bar. Know that when the cash bar in Wingin’ It is set up, it’s in the front right corner right when you come in. My personal favorite however, is the back bar at TD’s. Not many people use it. They can make just about every drink that they can make in the front, and you can get it in half the time. Oh yeah, and they’ve got dollar shots. I’ve said this to my friends several times, “the back bar in TD’s is the key to success,” and it really is. Know where to go to save time and have less hassle downtown; it really makes it more enjoyable.

9. Half Shots: Everyone wants to look like a baller, but not everyone has baller money. You think you’re going to be a hot-shot and buy shots for you and your seven friends; then you get your bill: $42. All of a sudden you don’t feel so good anymore. The cure for this is to buy half shots. Instead of buying eight Soco Kamikazes, buy four split eight ways. Your friends will never know, you’ll save a ton of money, and you’ll still look like a baller bringing back eight shots and passing them out to everyone. Stay Scheming, shawty.

10. Ride Home: When the nights over, you really need to have a plan for getting wherever you’re going, whether that be your apartment or a lucky someone’s that you may or may not have met that night. First off, never drink and drive or ride with a person that has been drinking. If you go with a group of people, make sure y’all decide before the night starts who is driving home, because if you don’t, everyone will wind up chocolate wasted. If you’re planning to call someone to come pick you up, let them know ahead of time so that when you call at 2:15am they will actually be expecting it and answer. A taxi is also a viable option, it’s really not that expensive, just make sure you have cash. As a last resort to get a ride, choose the CatBus. It’s not a bad call during the spring and summer, but right now in the winter months, it is absolutely freezing waiting on that thing late at night. But hey, it’s still better than getting left dt and passing out on a Todaro’s bench and getting arrested.


Obviously, these tips are geared toward Downtown Clemson, but a lot of them can be applied elsewhere as well. We all know the options are limited in Clemson, but when the apartment and fraternity parties get played out, downtown can become your best friend. So if you guys pay attention to these things, I think your next dt trip will be very successful, and you will indeed conquer downtown.


Follow me on twitter @K_Mart10

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Clemson Basketball: The No Fun Zone

Clemson's Offensive Points Per Possession
I figured this blog may have more impact coming off of a win than a loss, so I decided to go ahead and write after Clemson's recent win over Georgia Tech instead of after their matchup tonight against #1 Syracuse.

Clemson basketball, woof. It is just not fun to watch. Even when they win, it's not fun. I called a buddy of mine after the game the other day and I told him, "Man, that was terrible. I got absolutely no joy from that, even though we won. That was not fun at all."

The Tigers just don't play good basketball. There can be a difference in being fun to watch, and playing good basketball, and Clemson is neither. I'm going to use a football analogy to try an explain this. In college football, teams like Stanford and Wisconsin aren't very fun to watch because they run the ball and grind it out, but they're still playing good football, so it's definitely watchable. The Clemson basketball team isn't fun to watch, and they don't even play good basketball, especially on the offensive end. The Tigers sport a 41.8% offensive efficiency, which needless to say is not stellar. Just take a look at the last two games, a 53-49 win over Florida State on the road and a 45-41 win over Georgia Tech at home. Those two games were horrible to watch. Clemson did absolutely nothing offensively. I received no joy from watching those games, even though the team I was cheering for won. The offense just has no identity, no scorers, and even the sets look terrible.

I just want Clemson to have one decent offensive player. Somebody who can get a bucket when needed. Brad Brownell has not done a good job on the offensive end, and it did not help that the player with the best offensive game, Devin Coleman, transferred from the team early in the season. What Brownell did with Coleman made no sense, he would play 30 minutes one game and then not get off the bench in the other. If I was Coleman, I would have been upset too. When he transferred, everybody said, "oh well he didn't get to play because he didn't play defense and didn't buy in on that end of the floor." Oh yeah? Well, I do not care how bad he was on defense, he scored enough on offense to make up for his supposed lack of defense. You have to have a few guys on your team who can get you a basket when needed, someone who can drive and pull-up and mid-range jumper, someone who can kickstart your team/offense. Clemson has approximately ZERO of those right now.
Attendance Average for the Past Ten Seasons


To wrap this up, Clemson has to get better offensively. That includes getting better offensive players and running better sets. The administration, athletic department, and coaches cannot get upset about attendance, and student attendance in particular, when the product on the floor is not great and is definitely not fun to watch. Attendance has declined in each of Brownell's seasons so far, and the product on the floor is the reason for that. 

Oliver Purnell calling the "Double Fist"
Sometimes I wish we could go back to the Oliver Purnell days when he was calling the 'ol "Double Fist," and Clemson was full-court pressing and getting up and down the court. Do not get me wrong, I think Brownell can be a good coach, but I am not completely sold on him just yet. He has to improve the Tigers on the offensive end, and hopefully he can figure out how to do that rather quickly. In the new look ACC, every game will be tough, and you have to have some scorers.


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Friday, January 24, 2014

A First Glance at Clemson's 2014 Schedule


The ACC released the 2014 football schedule this past Wednesday afternoon, which was a lot sooner than usual. The schedule usually isn't released until sometime in February, so Swofford was really on the ball this year. It's clear the reason the schedules used to take so long to come out was Maryland, who is now leaving the conference to go to the B1G. God, Maryland I hate you so much go away. I'm glad those Terp clowns are leaving, good riddance. Anyway, I digress. Here's a few quick thoughts on the 2014 Clemson Tiger Football Schedule:

August 30th at Georgia
-Two teams with new quarterbacks, should be a good one. Personally, I'm looking forward to heading down to Athens for the first time.

September 6th vs. South Carolina State
-Can't wait to hear their band again.

September 20th at Florida State
-Great to have a bye before the Seminoles, but they have one the week before too, so I don't know how much it will help. I'm ready to head back down to TallaNasty though, I already hear Bullwinkles calling my name. ($10 all you can drink FYI). *Also, going Athens and Tallahassee within a month of each other is going to be a hell of a lot of fun.

September 27th vs. North Carolina
-This game looks really tricky coming off of the FSU contest. I am excited to see T.J. Logan come to town.

October 4th vs. N.C. State
-Second home game in a row. Should be starting to cool down some by this game so hopefully it won't be scorching.

October 11th vs. Louisville
-First contest against the new conference foe. Bobby Petrino's offense scares me, but luckily they lost Teddy Bridgewater and hired Todd Grantham to coach the defense.

October 18th at Boston College
-I have heard it's a fun trip, but I doubt I'll be making it this year. I think Steve Addazio has this team going in the right direction.

October 25th vs. Syracuse
-Man, I hate these guys so much already. I hope we curb stomp them in the Valley and Dabo puts Shafer's sorry a** in a Crippler Crossface at midfield after the game.

November 6th at Wake Forest
-Thursday night game that could be a little tricky. However, the Demon Deacons have been severely lacking in the talent department the past few years so they should be no problem. (HA! that reminds me of the line in Angels in the Outfield where Danny Glover says, "There's a thing called talent, they don't have it!")

November 15th at Georgia Tech
-Screw the triple option.

November 22nd vs. Georgia State
-Ho hum, another snoozer. It's also probably going to be freezing at this point in the year.

November 29th vs. South Carolina
-There's nothing to be said. I'm already excited for this one.


Overall, I think this is as good of a schedule that Clemson could've hoped for. Bye week before FSU, ten days to prepare for GT, and a cupcake before the Gamecocks. Should be good season, I can't wait for August. Spot the damn ball.

Follow me on twitter @K_Mart10


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

R.I.P. Jugheads


When I got on twitter Sunday night, I wasn't expecting anything really, I was just going to read some tweets to see what my friends were up to. Instead, I received some most disturbing news, Jugheads was closing. My twitter timeline was filled with people tweeting about Jugheads closing and how sad and heartbroken they were. It was like a bomb had been dropped on me. Like I had been stabbed in the heart with a dagger. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. I even tweeted, "Wait, Jugheads is closing? WHY, GOD WHY?!"

For you guys that don't know about Jugheads, it was this great hotdog place in downtown Clemson with hotdogs named after former Clemson greats. My personal favorite was The Terry Allen, which came with chili and cheese. Get an order of sweet potato fries on the side and I was set.

I loved going to Jugheads for more reasons than the food, though. I always enjoyed the atmosphere and talking with former Clemson and Chicago Bears Tight End, Keith Jennings. They also had the best window seats of anywhere downtown to sit and watch people walk by. I had a lot of good times at Jugheads. From me and my buddy Brett eating at the window and shooting the breeze with Keith about the scenery walking by to all the nights after going DT where I decided that I had to have a hot dog.

One of my favorite memories was one night after DT when I ran into former Clemson & NFL Safety Michael Hamlin in Jugheads. I asked him where the "Mike Hamlin" was on the menu and told him he had to get Keith to put him on there. He thought it was hilarious and we joked to Keith about it all night and actually had a twitter conversation about it that night and the next day. Good times, good times for sure.

But anyway, I digress, I guess the old saying is true, "you don't know what you have until it's gone." I'd love to have one more Terry Allen. I hope that somewhere down the line Jugheads will reopen somewhere else in Clemson so that classes to come can enjoy it's awesomeness. Until then, I guess I'll have to keep reminiscing on the good old days.

Jugheads, gone but never forgotten.





Follow me on twitter @K_Mart10


Friday, November 29, 2013

Battle for the Hardee's Trophy


Precursor: I'm sorry guys, it is just so hard for me to write about this game. My brain is just frazzled and I can't focus on anything so I know this blog is kind of all over the place. I'm so excited. I do hope I gave you guys some good information though. I hope you all have a good weekend, and if you head up to the game I hope you stay warm, safe, and have a great time.

It's Rivalry Week. One of the best weekends of the year in college football. Michigan-Ohio State, Oregon State-Oregon, Florida-Florida State, Alabama-Auburn, etc., and of course the one that means the most in my home state, Clemson vs. South Carolina. I've tried to stay somewhat reserved this week, getting too jacked up probably wouldn't have gone over too well with Thanksgiving and family coming into town, but man oh man this is a big game. I mean, this is the first time ever both teams have been ranked in the top-10 when they meet. The Gamecocks have won 17 straight at home. Connor Shaw has NEVER lost a game he started in Williams-Brice Stadium. The Tigers are playing for a spot in a BCS game. The past two years, I've felt supremely confident that Clemson was going to beat South Carolina, and everyone knows how that ended up. This season, I don't feel as confident in the Tigers, maybe that's a good sign for Clemson, maybe it's a good sign for the Gamecocks, who knows? It's gonna be a hell of a ballgame. Two top-ten teams, why wouldn't it be? The Vegas power polls have these two teams very close as well. I've seen them at 5 & 7, 6 & 10, 12 & 15, and 10 & 12. About a month ago, I thought that USC was going to win for sure. But now, slowly but surely, I've started to feel a little better about Clemson's chances.

The Breakdown

               The key to this game comes down to the line of scrimmage, and whether or not Clemson can block South Carolina's front seven. The past few years, the Gamecocks have dominated up front. The Tigers seem to be better prepared to hold their own this season, however. The insertion of Isaiah Battle into the starting lineup the past two games has made a huge difference and really improved the right side of the O-Line, especially at right tackle. Battle has the potential to be a an NFL tackle one day and he'll have to play very well this weekend. He will have his hands full with Chaz Sutton, and I also believe the 'Cocks will move Jadeveon Clowney to that side to give him some snaps against Battle. Clowney dominated the game last season, totaling 4.5 sacks. Brandon Thomas will have to be on his game to somewhat contain No. 7. The guy on the SC D-line who really scares me however, is Kelcy Quarles at defensive tackle. He has had a great season and is a big player in the middle of the line. Last season, the Tigers tried to single block Clowney way too often, and I expect them to give Thomas some more help this season and chip him some with a TE, H-Back, or RB. Stanton Seckinger, Sam Cooper, Darrell Smith, and Roderick McDowell have to be up to the task. The Tigers have to run the ball effectively with quarterback Tajh Boyd, and call more designed runs for him. Clemson also has to utilize the screen game to the running backs and the tight ends. These two things will help contain the USC pass rush.
               Clemson's offense has been somewhat vanilla since the Georgia game. In their other big game, Florida State, they were out of it before they had the chance to roll any new wrinkles out there. The Tigers have pretty much blown everyone else out, so they haven't need to break out a whole lot of new stuff. I expect they have some new things to throw at South Carolina this Saturday night.
               One of these wrinkles could be Sammy Watkins running some wildcat. It was rumored that Clemson worked on it a lot the week before FSU, but got behind so quickly they never broke it out. 
               Clemson has to run the ball effectively, and stick with it. A year ago, offensive coordinator Chad Morris went away from the run way too early, and it allowed the South Carolina defensive line to pin their ears back and go after Boyd.
               Keeping Tajh upright is huge. If he can have time, he will be able to complete passes downfield on what I feel is a not a great secondary for the Gamecocks. Hampton is solid, but who knows how healthy Brison Williams will be and the other safety Chaz Elder is a freshman. With the emergence of Martavis Bryant over the last few games, teams won't be able to focus on Sammy Watkins as much. Watkins is due for a big game against the Gamecocks by the way, only totaling eight catches for 76 yards in his two career games against his rival. Both of these guys have the ability to have big games, and the Tigers will need them to do so.
               Defensively, Clemson is much improved from a year ago. I think the question of how South Carolina will block Clemson is just as important as the other way around. Vic Beasley, Grady Jarrett and crew have had a great season pressuring the quarterback, and they have over 100 tackles for loss. 
               Clemson has to stop Mike Davis, have to. If he gets going, it will be a long night. They have shown the ability to do so though, as they contained 2,000-yard rusher Andre Williams to just 70-something yards. 
               Two years ago, Connor Shaw killed the Tigers with his legs. He doesn't run as well as he used to, and the Clemson defense has improved against mobile quarterbacks.
               The Tigers have to get off the field on third down. They're one of the best in the country (3rd, I believe) doing so this season, and they have to be able to do that and get their offense back on the field.
               TE Busta Anderson is a baller for SC. He's tall and fast, and the Tigers have to make sure they have someone on him at all times.
               Also, I totally expect Spurrier to call one of those play-action deep passes on the first drive of the game to either Shaq Roland or Damiere Byrd.

THE Game Prediction

Five years. Five longgggg years. Four in a row for the first time ever. South Carolina expects to win, and quite frankly I'm not sure if their players respect Clemson. 

“I can tell Tajh Boyd is scared back there. He ain’t no sitting duck, but you can see it in his eyes. He’s scared of our D line. We know that, coming into the game, we’ve got him shook already. Just get a couple hits on him, and it changes the whole game. He’s scared every time we play him.” - Jadeveon Clowney stated during SEC Media Days this summer. 

"@TajhB10 u kno u have never completed a pass on me are u gone change tht this yr?" - Victor Hampton tweeted at Tajh Boyd this past June. Tajh is pissed. Dabo Swinney is especially pissed. My sources tell me that Dabo was VERY pissed last year when D.J. Swearinger yelled/pointed at him on the sideline during the game. Dabo devoted extra film time to this game this past summer, and he will have this team ready to play. The key is for them to not be too uptight.  

However, this attitude doesn't just extend to South Carolina players. Their fans' thoughts on the game have totally changed. I was sitting at my little brother's basketball game the other night, and their were some young kids sitting a couple of rows in front of me. They were maybe 10-12 years old. An old man beside me leaned down and asked them who was going to win this weekend. Without hesitation, they said "the Gamecocks of course, Clemson's no good." This really hit home to me. All these kids know of is South Carolina winning four in a row over Clemson. I mean, they may not have even been born for 63-17! They don't realize they're down 65-41-4 in the all-time series, they use to lose all the time. We have to change that mentality back. Like my dad said to me a month or so ago, "I'm 55 years old, I've never had to put up with this. I've never seen them win four in a row, hell, barely even three in a row." My dad's tired of it. I'm tired of it. Clemson fans everyone are tired of it. Dabo's tired of it. Tajh is tired of it. Sammy is tired of it. The whole team is tired of it. 

South Carolina is just not as good as they have been the past few years. Their depth on defense isn't as vast as it has been, and the Tigers are going to take advantage. The offensive line will come to play. Watkins and Bryant have huge games. Vic Beasley goes off. Tajh Boyd has a game that cements him as the best quarterback in Tiger history, and gets his jersey retired. It's time to make the world right again and change things back to how they're supposed to be. We get another tombstone. The streak ends Saturday.

Clemson - 31
South Carolina - 24

It's about damn time.



Follow me on twitter @K_Mart10

Friday, November 15, 2013

Get Your Shine On


So, last weekend I went to a concert at the Bon Secours Arena(formerly the Bi-Lo Center). I'm just gonna break that down for you guys. The headliner was Florida Georgia Line, and the two openers were Tyler Farr and Colt Ford.

Going into the concert, I only knew one Tyler Farr song, "Redneck Crazy." After the concert, I still only know one of his songs. He just wasn't very easy to understand...he yelled a lot. After seeing him wearing his dark jeans and black leather jacket, he looks like a guy who would definitely "throw empty beer cans at both of your shadows." Farr just looked like one of those guys would do that. Parking on a girl's lawn, shining headlights into her window, throwing beer cans, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Next came on "Mr. Good Time" Colt Ford. I'm not his biggest fan, but he does have a few good songs. Of course he waited to play, "Back," "Dirt Road Anthem," and "Ride Through the Country" until the end. Those are probably my three favorites. He brought Farr back out to sing the part of "Dirt Road Anthem." Farr did an ok job, but he was not Brantley Gilbert of course. I will say this about Colt Ford, he is a hell of a performer, he really knows how to work the stage.

AND THEN FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE HAPPENED! Those boys rocked it. Absolutely killed it. I actually saw them last November opening up for Lee Brice, and I did not think they were that good. However, they have improved a ton and were awesome. They have tons of hits, so obviously that helped. I was a big fan of how they had the videos of songs they have videos playing on a screen in the background. I thought that was really cool. During one part of their set, they brought Tyler Farr and Colt Ford back out, and they all sang some old and popular now hip hop songs. They did songs such as "Thrift Shop," "Back That A** Up," and DMX's "Ruff Ryder's Anthem." That was a really neat thing too that I liked. Also, before they played "Stay," they led in to it with Akon's "Don't Matter." What a classic. FGL came back for an encore and closed with "Tell Me How You Like It," Alabama's "I'm in a Hurry," and of course, "Cruise." Throughout the concert, FGL did a great job of connecting with the fans and getting the crowd into the show. One comment they made that surprised me was they said they had been waiting on this show all year because Greenville, SC was going to be the biggest show they played all year. In closing, Florida Georgia Line was awesome and I will definitely try to see them again at some point. I had an absolute blast.

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Friday, October 25, 2013

Clembarrassing, Hater Hotline, the Snake Pit, & More.

Clemson vs. Florida State

Wow. What a train wreck. From the very first play when Stanton Seckinger fumbled, it was all bad. I mean, I knew the Seminoles were good, I just didn't know they were that good. Those boys are the real deal. Granted, I don't think they're 37 points better than the Tigers, but I do think they're better. Florida State played an 'A' game, while Clemson played a 'F' game. We had chances to get back into it, after the TD pass to Sammy Watkins, Breeland had a pick and we got the ball around midfield down only 17-7. However, the drive stalled and the Tigers punted. They pinned FSU deep in their own territory and forced a 3-and-out and again got the ball around midfield only down 10. The drive moved into 'Nole territory before having to punt once more, and then a long FSU touchdown pass occurred and that was all she wrote. Let me say this as well, Famous Jameis Winston is the real deal, the kid looked amazing. I really wasn't even that mad after the game, it was almost comical. I wanted to be mad at their guys for beating us, but after seeing some of the things they said/did, it became very hard to do so. I loved Jameis saying, "I told them we weren't worried 'bout the noise, 'cause we gone bring the noise," and damnit he was right. I love that swagger/cockiness. Also, I was a huge fan of #5, Reggie Northrup I think it was, doing the robot and then hitting the TerRio "Ooh Kill 'Em" on the sideline. I busted out laughing when I saw that after the game. Here is a video of that -->



South Carolina @ Missouri 

The Gamecocks are going to win. I don't know why, but they just are. I've got that feeling. They're coming off a tough loss to Rocky Top and Mizzou is undefeated and #5 in the country, and no one is expecting the 'Cocks to win, so naturally they will. Clowney looked REALLY good last week against future NFLer "Tiny" Richardson, so maybe he's starting to turn it on. The Tigers are starting freshman Maty Mauck who is in line for only his second start so anything can happen. Connor Shaw is out, so I expect a heavy dose of Mike Davis this week. By the way, I was 100% wrong about Mike Davis. Coming out of high school, I said that he wasn't that good and that I didn't want him at Clemson, but now, that kid is a stud. I would love to have him on my team, so I apologize Mike for doubting you.
I digress, I know the hater hotline guy & my buddy Phil will be pleased with the starting QB for USC this weekend, "I think they oughta put Dylan Thompson in." New QB, I don't care. South Carolina wins it. #DylWithIt

Clemson @ Maryland

The Tigers travel to the Snake Pit, otherwise known as Byrd Stadium, for their last matchup with Maryland for who knows how many years. The Terps are hurting badly, their injury list has more people on it than will be at the game. Diggs, Out. Johnson, Out. Brown, Out. It's unbelievable. The main thing for Clemson will be how they recover mentally from that thrashing last weekend. The Tigers always have a tough time up in Maryland, but I think this Terrapin squad is too depleted to knock off the Tigers. Sorry Scott Van Pelt, you're my boy, but the Tigers take this one.

Follow me on twitter @K_Mart10