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Dabo the Prognosticator ...see the evidence for yourself!
Nov 22, 2009, 12:13 PM
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Here are the facts:
Situation #1:
Earlier this year, we faced a tough MTSU team and had a closer-than-some-would've-liked finish against them (even though it was a 37-14 final). Dabo came out after that game and said that MTSU was a bowl team, without a doubt in his mind. He was confident that we had just beaten a future bowl team.
With their win yesterday, MTSU moved to 8-3. They're 6-1 in their own conference, with a chance to move to 9-3 (7-1) with a win over UL-Monroe next week.
Situation #2:
After our loss to TCU, we were all livid. We had victory in our sights, and we stumbled. This one hurt. When Dabo said after the game that he was confident that TCU would go undefeated this year, many of us had flashes of Tommy Bowden and his "We're only one play away!/ Half of the FBS teams in the country lost this week!/ Even (the real) USC loses once in a while!/ Parity!!!" excuses.
Lo and behold, after their 45-10 beatdown of Wyoming yesterday, TCU needs only to take out New Mexico (currently 1-10 [1-6]) to secure their spot in the BCS as one of the few undefeated teams left in the country. Some are even shouting that TCU deserves a shot at the National Championship, though politics and $$ will undoubtedly keep this from happening.
Now obviously, I don't think Dabo can actually see the future. But I think what impresses me most about these situations is that Dabo was straight-up honest with us as fans. After the last decade of Bowden and what felt like a laundry list of excuses as to why we weren't performing as we'd all hoped, I think we'd all grown accustomed to hearing the same ol' lip service from the head coach, but this was not Dabo's M.O.
Situation #3:
When we lost to Maryland, it was the low point of the season. People were calling for Dabo's head, TDP's head, even Barker's head. It felt like we were on course for yet another disappointing season despite our abundance of talent. I'm not gonna lie, I was leaning to the side of the complete coaching overhaul after the Maryland loss.
Instead of letting this pressure get to him, Dabo simply issued a few matter-of-fact conclusions and updates about his coaching:
- "No changes in coaching responsibilities. No 'panic' from coaching staff but disappointed to be 2-3."
- "The coaching staff will use the next two weeks to focus on better fundamentals and execution."
- "The offensive line is better than last year but not as dominant as it needs to be."
When we were all ready to sell the farm, Dabo kept his wits and played the situation objectively and honestly. He believed in himself, his staff, and his team. And sure enough, the lack of panic helped.
Coach Steele and others have cited that week as the "turning point" of the season--not the win over Miami, not the win over FSU, the LOSS to Maryland. The staff used the following off-week to focus on fundamentals, to coach up our players and to help them execute better. The o-line has improved by leaps and bounds since that game, and now they're actually blowing defensive lines off the ball. In all, our entire team carries a confidence that has them playing elite ball, as Division champs, and with much loftier goals ahead.
The Conclusion:
Now I'm not trying to take anything away from Coach Bowden. He took us to a new level from where we were at the time of Tommy West's departure. (And for that matter, I'm not taking anything away from Tommy West, either. He is a good man who did the best he could, without a doubt. He may have just been a tad too green in the coaching world to take on the Clemson job at that time.) I thank both of these men for their incredible efforts to see the Tigers win.
But with all that in mind, gosh dang is feels good to be a champion again. I can't wait to see us line up against the Chickens next weekend. I think we'll blow them out at our home-away-from-home, making it 11 wins out of the last 13 meetings. I can't wait to see us line up against the Bees on Dec. 5 and to see us overcome a fluke-ridden 1st quarter from September to win our 14th ACC Championship. I can't wait to see us line up against whomever we face in our bowl game because honestly, I think we'd give any team in the country a solid run for their money right now.
I'm glad that Dabo is our coach. I hope he and his staff will stay together at Clemson for a long while. I can't wait to see what they'll do next to carry the momentum of this success...
... and I can't wait to see how they will keep leading us into the future.
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