Completely Unofficial ACC Championship Game Thread

[ponyswim]

Does anyone seriously doubt that we weren't trying to kick it thru the end zone and have no return? Our kicker just did not get it done.

[Mustangs_Maroons]

I don’t understand the rationale for not kicking into the end zone.

He tried to. Not enough leg with the elements.

Genuine question but what elements? I thought I heard it wasn’t windy. I thought this kicker had a strong leg but I guess not. Short on a 50+ FG earlier, can’t kick it to the end zone? I wasn’t there but didn’t seem to be weather related to impede that.

[highlander]

I’m not convinced that God is a Clemson fan.

[Mustangs_Maroons]

Does anyone seriously doubt that we weren't trying to kick it thru the end zone and have no return? Our kicker just did not get it done.

Any rationale person would think you kick it through the end zone, but he was so far short of the end zone I thought it was deliberate.

[peruna81]

elements include drop in temperature as well as fatigue.

Colder ball is MUCH harder to kick to distance.

And sometimes, you just mis-hit a ball...kinda like golf in that way.

[highlander]

It really doesn’t matter. It wasn’t a perfect kickoff for the situation. It wasn’t good coverage. It was less-than-ideal defense on the pass play. And then the kicker made a ridiculous 55-yd FG ad time expired.

[ponyte]

Lost this game in the first quarter. 2 turnovers and 3 personal fouls. Pathetic performance in that first quarter

[peruna81]

Lost this game in the first quarter. 2 turnovers and 3 personal fouls. Pathetic performance in that first quarter

Aye...

[highlander]

Lost this game in the first quarter. 2 turnovers and 3 personal fouls. Pathetic performance in that first quarter

Yeah but then they played their hearts out for the remaining 3 quarters and left it all out on the field.

[Hop Sing]

Lost this game in the first quarter. 2 turnovers and 3 personal fouls. Pathetic performance in that first quarter

BINGO!

[Mustangs35SMU]

I've stayed away from the boards after the last couple of days just to rethink on everything 1) that we went through on Saturday and 2) this season in general.

Before the year, I never expected us to get to this point. Obviously, we all hoped for it. But the fact that we were in the ACC Title game with a first round bye to play for in the College Football Playoff is just still so surreal for me.

The experience leading up to the game was next level. Clutch was an amazing bar to pre-game at, and we completely took over that bar. Getting to watch the Virginia game and our basketball boys walk away with a win in our first ACC basketball game before our first ACC Title game was just a FANTASTIC way to start the evening. I have nothing but great things to say about that place and all the SMU fans that were there.

Honestly, the entire experience of the entire day was just everything I had always hoped for from an SMU game. We more than had our fair share of fans there. Of course, we all knew Clemson was going to bring a ton of fans. But we were there, and we were loud throughout. Even in the down moments, we were still loud. Hearing Clemson fans try and boo Peruna but our fans outscream them is a memory that I will always have.

I did not have the best experience with Clemson fans, and that was from the very get go. Many were drunk before the game even started and made it well known from the start that they were going to try and go after any SMU fan they could get. Thankfully we had three great fans behind us that kept the drunk ones away from us as much as they could. But we decided to move and we were good there until the final field goal. Honestly, I was looking forward to visiting Clemson next season with our game there, but after Saturday night, I think I might pick another away game to spend my money on.

The game itself is what it is. The first quarter, we could very easily see the nerves were all of the place with our games. The turnovers doomed us. We struggled to stop them early, and it cost us overall on the night. I could not be prouder though of the way our boys kept fighting. And that right there, is the difference in mentality from previous SMU teams. Saturday easily could've been a complete embarrassment for us. But they turned it around, and nearly pulled off one of the best comebacks in Pony history considering the circumstances. End of the day, Clemson made 3 extra plays at the end of the game that could've completely changed our season, but thank goodness, the committee came to their senses and put us in.

We deserved better, I felt overall. The refs were horrendous the entire night. That roughing the QB call, HORRIBLE. The fact they did not end the game with a single penalty against is atrocious. It made the entire night feel like we were playing SMU vs the ACC to be honest. But we didn't lose because of them, we lost because of an unreal 56-yarder after a pass play that we should've defended better.

No matter what happens vs Penn State, these boys showed us where this program is heading and I could not be more proud and could not be more excited for our future. It's just the beginning boys. We're ahead of schedule, imo, and just settle in for the fun that's coming.

[indianmustang]

I've stayed away from the boards after the last couple of days just to rethink on everything 1) that we went through on Saturday and 2) this season in general.

Before the year, I never expected us to get to this point. Obviously, we all hoped for it. But the fact that we were in the ACC Title game with a first round bye to play for in the College Football Playoff is just still so surreal for me.

The experience leading up to the game was next level. Clutch was an amazing bar to pre-game at, and we completely took over that bar. Getting to watch the Virginia game and our basketball boys walk away with a win in our first ACC basketball game before our first ACC Title game was just a FANTASTIC way to start the evening. I have nothing but great things to say about that place and all the SMU fans that were there.

Honestly, the entire experience of the entire day was just everything I had always hoped for from an SMU game. We more than had our fair share of fans there. Of course, we all knew Clemson was going to bring a ton of fans. But we were there, and we were loud throughout. Even in the down moments, we were still loud. Hearing Clemson fans try and boo Peruna but our fans outscream them is a memory that I will always have.

I did not have the best experience with Clemson fans, and that was from the very get go. Many were drunk before the game even started and made it well known from the start that they were going to try and go after any SMU fan they could get. Thankfully we had three great fans behind us that kept the drunk ones away from us as much as they could. But we decided to move and we were good there until the final field goal. Honestly, I was looking forward to visiting Clemson next season with our game there, but after Saturday night, I think I might pick another away game to spend my money on.

The game itself is what it is. The first quarter, we could very easily see the nerves were all of the place with our games. The turnovers doomed us. We struggled to stop them early, and it cost us overall on the night. I could not be prouder though of the way our boys kept fighting. And that right there, is the difference in mentality from previous SMU teams. Saturday easily could've been a complete embarrassment for us. But they turned it around, and nearly pulled off one of the best comebacks in Pony history considering the circumstances. End of the day, Clemson made 3 extra plays at the end of the game that could've completely changed our season, but thank goodness, the committee came to their senses and put us in.

We deserved better, I felt overall. The refs were horrendous the entire night. That roughing the QB call, HORRIBLE. The fact they did not end the game with a single penalty against is atrocious. It made the entire night feel like we were playing SMU vs the ACC to be honest. But we didn't lose because of them, we lost because of an unreal 56-yarder after a pass play that we should've defended better.

No matter what happens vs Penn State, these boys showed us where this program is heading and I could not be more proud and could not be more excited for our future. It's just the beginning boys. We're ahead of schedule, imo, and just settle in for the fun that's coming.

if we take off the first 2 TD from short field its exactly as jason predicted 31-20

[EastStang]

The first TD had two linemen downfield. The second TD was after that bogus roughing penalty. So, it was bad. I too was proud of our guys grit and fight. I don't think you're wrong about us vs. the ACC, but my conspiratorial mind is much worse. If Clemson got in there was a good chance the ACC would have two teams in the CFP. If Clemson didn't get in, there would be 1 team us. So, did the powers that be in the conference whisper to the refs? Probably not, but boy, I could see the temptation for them to do so. No flags is in my view a tell. Also Clemson getting a 12 seed after beating us. They get a trip to Austin instead of us getting the 12 seed. I would love to play the Whorns this year, they want nothing to do with us. Lots of intrigue here. I don't think the committee realized that we have unfinished business with Penn State. We need to kick their butts. A buddy of mine is a U Minn grad and he saw their game with PSU. He said UM stinks and almost beat Penn State. So, we definitely, have a chance.

[mustang1992]

A buddy of mine is a U Minn grad and he saw their game with PSU. He said UM stinks and almost beat Penn State. So, we definitely, have a chance.

Agreed, they looked very average in that game. This game is definitely doable, but we CANNOT have any self-inflicted wounds like the last game or Duke!