Meineke Car Care Bowl: Clemson vs. South Florida
By Ty Duffy
New Name: The Meineke Car Care Bowl morphs into the Belk Bowl beginning next season. At least it’s concise.
Weather: Snowfall disrupted the schedule, forcing Clemson to “bang and clang a little bit.” They were “able to accomplish that objective.” Whatever that objective was.
Mystery: Skip Holtz has not revealed his starting quarterback. Normal starter B.J. Daniels is recovering from a quad injury. Both he and freshman Bobby Eveld are expected to play.
Attendance: Clemson resold 7,000 of its 12,000 allotment. South Florida resold 3,000. Total attendance is expected to be in mid-40,000s.
For Clemson to Win: Consistency, especially from Kyle Parker. Clemson has abundant talent, yet finished 6-6. Discipline problems and poor communication are common refrains on both sides of the ball. That reflects on the coaching.
For South Florida to Win: Pass protection. It doesn’t matter who starts at quarterback. He can’t make plays if Da’Quan Bowers has embedded him into the turf.
Prediction: Clemson. My stomach isn’t settled, but neither team has an incendiary offense. The Tigers have a demonstrative advantage on both lines of scrimmage. If they cannot capitalize on it with a month to prepare, that would be incredible.
[Photo via Getty]