SWINNEY vs BOWDEN ROUND 2 - C.J. SPILLER

It's no secret that Clemson Jr. C.J. Spiller, voted first-team All-ACC as both a RB and Specialist in 2008, is one of the most talented and exciting players in all of college football. However, you may remember that Spiller was the target of some criticism during the 2007 season for his tendency to bounce outside or reverse field if he didn't immediately find daylight on a running play. C.J., or "Lightning" as he is known, would at times turn and use his blazing speed to try and outrun the defense to the edge instead of putting his head down and grinding out 2 or 3 yards running north and south yards like his backfield partner, "Thunder" RB James Davis is famous for. Speed versus power. The play would sometimes end up for a loss but other times it would turn into a big gain. Barry Sanders, whom you may have heard of, received the same exact criticism as Spiller during his NFL career in which he earned the league rushing title four separate times. The point is that sometimes great players with phenomenal speed, balance and pure talent just try to make something out of nothing and it doesn't always work out. What was vexing at times to us as fans was why he didn't get more touches, given the fact that he was such a playmaker. Sanders and Spiller are going to make up for that loss and then some if you keep getting them the ball.


When coach Swinney took over at the halfway point in the season, he seemed to understand this better than former coach Bowden did. Swinney stressed that he was going to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers. So, let's look at how C.J. Spiller was utilized and his stats. in the five division 1 games played under coach Swinney (he did not play against Ga. Tech due to injury) versus the four division 1 games under former coach Bowden (stats vs. FBS opponents Citadel and SC State were not considered). Stats on the left are C.J. under Swinney, stats on the right are C.J. under Bowden.


AVG. NUMBER OF RECEPTIONS PER GAME- 4.2 versus 1.75

AVG. RECEPTION YARDS PER GAME- 63.8 versus 15.9

AVG. YARDS PER RECEPTION- 15.2 versus 15.9

NUMBER OF TOTAL RECEIVING TD'S- 2 versus 1

AVG. NUMBER OF CARRIES PER GAME- 12.2 versus 7

AVG. NUMBER OF RUSHING YARDS PER GAME- 59.6 versus 44.0

AVG. RUSHING YARDS PER CARRY- 4.89 versus 6.29

NUMBER OF TOTAL RUSHING TD's- 2 under both

NUMBER OF PASSING TD's- 1 versus 0


A couple of things to keep in mind: One, these stats reflect mostly averages to compensate for the fact that the comparison is over five games with Swinney as coach versus four with Bowden. Second, it's worth considering that the offensive line issues were perhaps more pronounced under Bowden's tenure Third, C.J. came off the field and didn't return to the game against Wake due to injury. Although I was in Winston-Salem for the game, I do not recall how much time was left in the game but this must be considered. Still, it's clear that Swinney made good on his word because Spiller's catches and carries increased significantly and his avg. gains for both stayed fairly close. So, up for debate is whether the win-loss record of 1-3 in the four games played under Bowden would have been more like the 4-1 under Swinney if C.J. got the ball more. We'll never know but it's interesting to see the numbers after the fact.