After stumbling to a 1-2 start, Clemson looks to have gotten their groove back with true freshman Deshaun Watson leading the charge at Quarterback. The Gainesville, GA native was one of the top recruits in the country, and expected to compete for the starting QB job when he enrolled early last spring. Senior Cole Stoudt was named starting quarterback prior to fall camp, however many Tiger fans were more eager to see Watson than Stoudt. The legend of Watson grew in the season opener as he hit Charone Peake for a 30 yard Touchdown on his first pass from scrimmage. After still seeing limited playing time in week 2 against SC State, Watson finally was given his time to shine in the overtime heartbreaker against Florida State. Stoudt started, but once Watson entered late in the first quarter, he never looked back, as he led the Tigers in a toe to toe battle with the number 1 team in the nation. This performance earned Watson the starting job for the last 2 weeks, where he has lead the Tigers to a pair of double digit wins against foes from the state just to the north of Clemson. Watson broke the single game touchdown pass mark for any Clemson player and for any ACC freshman with his 6 touchdown performance against the UNC Tar Heels, in which he lead Clemson to a 50-35 victory. The next week, he posted 2 passing touchdowns and rushed for a pair of touchdowns in Clemson’s 41-0 beat down of North Carolina State. Watson caught the Nation’s eye with his first quarter rushing touchdown against the ‘Pack, in which he leaped up from close to 5 yards out, jumping over the State defender before flying 5 yards for the touchdown. This run was the #8 play on Saturday night’s “Sportcenter Top 10 plays” segment. This week, the Tigers get their 3rd straight game at home against the new kids on the block in the ACC; the Louisville Cardinals. Bobby Petrino stated that he did not believe that Clemson Memorial Stadium will be any louder than the Carrier Dome that his Cards played in last Friday against Syracuse, causing social media outcry amongst the Clemson faithful. Expect the Solid Orange crowd in Death Valley to give Mr. Petrino and his crew an earful for that comment. That game will be this Saturday, October 11, and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
