Just don't get State coach Chuck Amato started about the new expectations on his undefeated, yet fairly untested, team.
"We had a staff meeting this morning and I said, 'Men, this can be fun,'" he said. "'Unless you take it the wrong way and you let stress kill you. That's not why we do this.' What this says now is that we have to coach our butts off and be sticklers for details."
The Wolfpack, now No. 12 in the nation, will look to move to 9-0 for the first time in school history and 4-0 in the ACC with a win against the Tigers (4-3, 2-2) in Death Valley.
To many observers, the game will be State's first real test, especially considering that its overtime win at Texas Tech remains its toughest challenge thus far.
But Amato and his players have said all season that they can only control the outcome of the games, not the teams they play. Last week against Duke, though, the Wolfpack limped to a 24-22 win in which the team couldn't get going heralded freshman tailback T.A. McLendon.
McLendon rushed for only 50 yards on 16 carries against the Blue Devils. If the Tigers are to keep State from piling up the points, they'll need to hold the precocious running back to numbers like those.
"This guy is having a really productive season," said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden of McLendon. "I think a lot of it is because of their ability to throw the football. Any time you have the ability to throw the football, then you can force the underneath coverage to respect that."
The Tigers have had trouble against the run this season, giving up 272 yards on the ground to Florida State in a 48-31 loss and 365 to Wake Forest in last week's 31-23 home win.
On the other hand, Clemson has been a middle-of-the-pack ACC team this season, trying to find consistency behind quarterback Willie Simmons. A win against State could give much-needed momentum -- and national attention -- to a Clemson team still trying to define itself.
