By Colby Lanham || Clemson Athletic Communications
The Clemson Football team has posted four straight 10-win seasons, four straight top-25 finishes and three straight bowl victories against top-tier Power 5 conference foes in LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma. This past season also marked the fourth straight year and the fifth time in Dabo Swinney’s six seasons as head coach that Clemson had a final higher AP ranking than their preseason ranking.
And yet, it seems Clemson still doesn’t receive the proper national respect to match those accolades. This begs the question: isn’t it about time to give the Tigers their proper due?
ESPN reporter Andrea Adelson thinks it’s time to leave the “Clemsoning” narrative behind once and for all. Adelson recently wrote an article regarding the Tigers’ string of success and how the Tigers’ product on the field speaks for itself and has been misinterpreted on the national level.
“Look at the actual results: Clemson’s only losses in 2014 were to teams that finished in the final top 10 of the AP and coaches polls (Florida State, Georgia and Georgia Tech). Go back the past three seasons, and Clemson’s only losses were to teams that finished in the final top 10 (Florida State and South Carolina in 2012 and 2013). It just so happens Clemson, Florida State and South Carolina have all been really good all at once. Failing to beat both consistently seems to be a harsh way of judging a team.
-Andrea Adelson, ESPN.com
With Clemson returning many pieces on offense (Watson, Scott, Gallman, Williams) and inking defensive coordinator Brent Venables to a contract extension, the Tigers are becoming a force to be reckoned with. Or, rather, they’ve been a force to be reckoned with. And it’s past time for people to take notice.
April 13, 2024
