Sunday, Sep. 07, 2008

Win gives Tigers a little therapy

After a spotty first half, Clemson’s ground game, defense take over for first win

CLEMSON — Walking back up the sideline after his second touchdown run, Clemson running back C.J. Spiller was met halfway by coach Tommy Bowden.

Bowden had gone some 20 yards out of his way to congratulate Spiller, grabbing the sophomore by the nape of his neck much the way a mother cat carries a kitten.

“It’s always good to have the head coach come up to you and show you some love,” Spiller said.

The gesture epitomized the relatively therapeutic nature of the Tigers’ 45-17 trouncing of The Citadel on Saturday.

A team publicly humiliated by Alabama in its opener a week earlier began the healing process by delivering an expected bullying.

Spiller ran for 75 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, while senior running mate James Davis tallied 107 yards and a score as Clemson (1-1) sustained its track record of punishing lower-tier opponents.

Since the NCAA established two Division I divisions in 1978, the Tigers are a perfect 21-0 against teams from the lower class, winning their previous contests by an average margin of 29 points while not allowing anyone to come closer than 11.

The Tigers’ 28-point winning margin might be classified as average, but players and coaches were unified in how important it was to have an authoritative showing in the wake of an embarrassing 34-10 defeat to Alabama.

“All isn’t lost,” offensive coordinator Rob Spence said. “No one died. We’re still standing and still swinging.

“It’s a small step, but it can lead to larger steps in a lot of ways.”

Coach Tommy Bowden said this week he would not know how the Tigers were emotionally responding until seeing their sense of urgency — or lack thereof — in the next game.

Yet afterward, Bowden suggested Clemson’s win might not provide an accurate read of its pulse because the Tigers were so much more talented than The Citadel (1-1).

The performance was hardly their sharpest.

Clemson’s defense yielded 427 total yards, including 229 first-half passing yards. Davis and receiver Tyler Grisham lost fumbles inside the Bulldogs’ 20, and the Tigers avoided a tighter first half when The Citadel was unable to get any points out of three trips inside Clemson’s 31.

“Though we didn’t play perfect, and played an inferior opponent, I want to feel like those guys felt when they won their I-AA game,” Bowden said, rattling off a list of highly-ranked teams that opened with blowout wins last week.

“You can feel good about yourself for a little bit, then you carry on.”

As expected, getting back to its ground game renewed Clemson’s substantive offensive focus.

With Davis and Spiller rendered non-factors against Alabama — a recurring theme in the Tigers’ major losses — Spence made a surprise visit to their hotel room at 10 p.m. Friday night.

Spence’s underlying message: He wanted to see “Thunder & Lightning” regain their glory.

The effort to re-establish the star tandem was evident from the get-go.

Davis had seven carries for 48 yards on the opening drive.

By the time Clemson removed its starters up 35-7 with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Davis and Spiller had touched the ball on half (21 of 42) of the offensive plays.

“It was a long week, and you’re going to get praise and criticism,” Spiller said. “Now that we’ve got a win, hopefully we can get a little bit of the criticism taken away.”