Clemson Is In Unfamiliar Territory
Just days after Clemson coach Dabo Swinney quotes “maybe we we should lose a couple more games and lighten the bandwagon”, Clemson does just that. They lose their third conference loss of the season to Miami in an embarrassing fashion. Perhaps Dabo got his wish? Does he want more losses this season to continue to lighten this “bandwagon”?
First, I want to quickly address this comment before I dive into the myriad of problems Clemson currently has with their program right now. Dabo has built this program to be considered elite and in the same breath of the Alabama’s and Ohio State’s of the sport. He built this through culture and his foundational inspiration of “Best is the Standard.” We all remember when Clemson was a run of the mill, maybe slightly above average team. But since Dabo has taken over, the standards have changed for this program. Not because the fans are demanding more but because Dabo has set the standard himself for this program. He is the one that has brought this program to a level very few thought were possible for a Clemson program. So why is he throwing shade at the fans and asking fans to lower their expectations? The same expectations and standards he set himself? As Ari Wasserman coins on his show Until Saturday, this is “loser talk.”
As for this season, there are a lot of problems with this team. That’s totally fine to have problems, so long as they can be addressed and can be overcome throughout the course of the season. This is not the case with Clemson and truthfully, a lot of this started before the first snap against Duke.
I am not a believer in pinning everything on the lack of use of the transfer portal from Dabo Swinney. There are several other problems and issues that have Clemson where they are now. That said, I was asking myself, if Dabo grabbed Keon Coleman out of the transfer portal this year, what would be their record? If Keon Coleman was in a orange Tigers uniform instead of the garnet Seminole uniform, would Clemson have three conference losses? Two of the three loses went into overtime. One of them, Keon Coleman caught the winning touchdown. In my opinion, Clemson would likely be a 6-1 team with just adding a difference maker like Keon Coleman to this team. That said, Keon Coleman does not make up for the rest of the problems Clemson has. They would be a very hollow 6-1, nonetheless, they would have all of their goals still ahead of them. The power of grabbing a difference maker in the portal can change the outcome of your season. I wonder if Dabo has realized this now?
But, like I said, the transfer portal is not the only area where you can highlight that has been misused. Dabo has taken criticism for several years in the maturity and experience level of his staff. He made a massive move in the offseason with the Garret Riley hire, but he still has a relatively inexperienced staff when compared to the CFB elites. Not having this experience means spending time grooming and developing these coaches, who are in turn, grooming and developing these players. These are tall tasks for a program who should be operating in rarified air.
The turnovers have been a death sentence for this Tigers team. This has cost them several games and has shown no improvement since the start of the season. They have lost ten fumbles this year. That’s good for worst in the country in FBS.
The Redzone has turned into the boogeyman for this offense. Clemson ranks 126th in Redzone scoring offense. That means there are only 7 offenses in the entire FBS that are worse. For this program, that is truly an unexplainable statistic. If they were even just in the top 50, this would likely be a 6-1 team.
The offensive line has not met pre-season expectations. You would think going against one of the best D-Line fronts in the sport everyday in practice would improve your skills but that has not been the case. Clemson was just absolutely dominated up front against Miami. They were not able to run the ball at all with Shipley having 44 yards on 15 carries. In total, after sack yards, Clemson amassed 31 rushing yards on 34 carries. They just got absolutely demolished up front.
The defense has been the only shining light for this team this year. They have looked fantastic. But with an offense that is untrustworthy, they have been unable to capitalize on points to help this defense out.
With so many problems staring this team in the face, where does this team stand for the rest of the season? Is Dabo ready to have uncomfortable conversations with himself and with the administration?
This is where the discomfort and unfamiliarity come in. Yes, Dabo has had 3 losses or more in his career as a head coach. However, this team and this program has not faced problems like this before. This is including Dabo. When Dabo has his three plus losses in the regular season, that did not come with the expectations and standards that he himself has built for this program. When his Tigers team had those seasons, no one was viewing them as an elite program in the sport. They are now. This is where it is unfamiliar for Dabo. He has not been in this situation where he has faced this much adversity with these high expectations. How does he react? What does he change? How does he adapt. These are uncomfortable questions he will have to seek answers for.
I think one of two things will happen. Dabo will radically change and adapt with the sport or he will leave the sport entirely. Operating with his structure in an ever-changing sport is a dinosaur model and we are seeing it rear its ugly head. I hope for the former and a new way of thinking will loom above the Clemson program as we wind down the season and start to prepare for 2024.
-Kevin Joy
