Chick-fil-a Bowl Notebook - Left at a loss

Sullen Cullen

The most surprising part of the Tiger's loss was the subpar play of junior quarterback Cullen Harper. The Atlanta native has been the most consistent player on the Tigers, but he went just 14-33 for 107 yards and zero TD's. Harper's passes were all over the place, by far his most inaccurate game of the season. After the game, neither he, nor Tyler Grisham, nor Aaron Kelly could give any reasons why Harper was on such a different page as the receivers. But if you could point to one thing in particular to blame for the bowl loss, it was the ineffectiveness of the passing game.

CJ is MVP

Because the voting took place with five minutes left in the game, Clemson Sophomore running back CJ Spiller earned the bowl Most Outstanding Player award. Spiller has only had a handful of truly exhilarating plays this year, but his 83 yard TD run in the second quarter definitely ranks up there as one of his best. Spiller only rushed the ball 8 times, but for 114 yards. Spiller's run kept the Tiger's in the game when the rest of their offense was largely ineffective for the first half.

Young LBs step up

Even though the Clemson defense couldn't get the stop at the end of overtime when they needed it, they played a very good game. The most impressive was fill-in linebackers Kavell Conner and Scotty Cooper. Conner, filling in for Nick Watkins, lead the Tigers with 11 tackles. The Lake City product Cooper, filling in for Tramaine Billie, was second on the team with 8 takedowns. I asked Cooper about what it was like having the season be over... and he told me that football is never over - winter lifting sessions begin this month.

Decision Time

James Davis has submitted NFL paperwork and may go to the draft, even though he has another year of eligibility at Clemson. It's hard to believe that he'd leave... with so many of his teammates and friends coming back next year, all the Tigers believe they can do something special next year. I think Davis would want to be a part of that.

What did you think about Clemson's loss in the Chick-fil-a Bowl? Tell me what you're thinkin'!

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