Clemson used to be one of the teams at the center of the conversation of collegiate football. They’ve since fallen some from that status a bit after the last few seasons. However, Greg McElroy doesn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing for the Tigers.
McElroy noted Clemson as a team that those in the sport aren’t talking enough about during a recent episode of ‘Always College Football’. He noted how, if we do discuss them, it usually involves discourse around Dabo Swinney. Still, with how they closed last year, there’s more to consider about them this season than just that angle.
“Moving on to a team that is flying way under the radar,” McElroy prefaced. “So much of the conversation around this team centers around their head coach. And so much around this team kind of centers around whether or not the way that this head coach has approached it is going to continue to be successful here in the modern era of college football.”
“You think about Clemson too? Clemson last year – really, really shaky in the first two months of the season. It wasn’t pretty. They were a .500 football team. The first six, seven, or eight games was not good. But, down the stretch, starting with the win against Notre Dame? They started to look a little bit more like the Clemson that we grew up with,” said McElroy. “Maybe we didn’t grow up with them but that’s the Clemson that I envision when I still think Clemson and Dabo Swinney.”
Clemson has still been great in this decade with a record of 40-12 (.769) during the 2020s. Those four years have one playoff appearance and two conference titles too. It’s just not comparable to their five-year span prior to that where they went 69-5 (.932), won five consecutive conference championships, and made the playoff in each season with four outings in the national title game and two trophies to show for it.
To make his point, McElroy stayed right in their conference in the ACC. He highlighted how two other teams in their league are getting more attention as of now with the Tigers just making their way toward next season.
“A lot of talk this offseason about Miami, tons of talk about Florida State – rightfully so. You can make a case that those two rosters are the best in the ACC. But don’t sleep on Clemson,” McElroy said.
McElroy thinks fairly highly of what Clemson can be in 2024 if their offense can match their defense. That’s why, for now, he sees it as a good thing that the Tigers keep things quiet until they potentially impress come kickoff.
“I think Clemson is a team that is flying under the radar in a really good way for Dabo Swinney and the Tigers,” said McElroy.
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