Dabo Swinney is an unabashed optimist, but at some point, reality has to set in for Dabo.
Clemson might be years away from being relevant on the national scene again. Saturday was just more evidence of that.
At Saturday’s Pinstripe Bowl, depleted Penn State beat Clemson 22-10. In fairness, Clemson was down nearly 30 players, but they did have a multi-year starter at QB playing in Cade Klubnik. Penn State was playing a QB who started the year as a backup, and had an interim coach going. They were dealing with their own set of missing players.
There was motivation from Clemson. They played hard. They just aren’t very good anymore.
There were some good moments this season. Clemson did win 4 straight games after a 3-5 start. They won at Louisville and beat in-state rival South Carolina, but you can’t sugarcoat a 7-6 season. This is Clemson’s worst year since 2010, and next year doesn’t look like it will be much better.
Clemson loses NFL talent all over their roster. This was player-for-player the ACC’s most talented team outside of arguably Miami. You’ll see it on draft day.
You open the season at LSU in Lane Kiffin’s first year, and you have Miami is on the schedule. You have games at Cal, and at ACC Champion Duke. You never know what to expect from FSU, but it’s on the road. You’ve lost your last 2 home games against South Carolina.
You may be breaking in a new OC, too. That actually may not be a bad thing to see Clemson part ways with Garrett Riley.
Clemson looks like a team with a 9-3 ceiling, with a finish closer to 7 or 8 wins. If Clemson’s goal is to be nationally relevant, that’s not going to cut it, and it might be a while before we see them again at that level.
This program needs a full overhaul and an embrace of the portal to get there, and it remains to be seen if Dabo Swinney is willing to do that.
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