A sampling of some national columns on Clemson

Sep 1, 2024, 12:03 PM

Saturday's Top 15 matchup brought out a number of national pundits to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and there were plenty of takes on the 34-3 drubbing of Clemson by No. 1 Georgia:

Yahoo: Ross Dellenger

Dabo makes $11 million a year. And, based on the market, is rightfully paid. He’s one of just three active college head coaches to have won a national title (the other is Mack Brown and the man across the sideline from him Saturday, Smart).

That’s an indictment, perhaps, on the current state of the game, an industry in transformation, a sport whose championship coaches have run from change (even Nick Saban acknowledged that). This sport is all together different today than it was just three years ago with the advent of NIL payments and it will be all together different in 10 months than it is today as athlete revenue sharing arrives.

Did Clemson lose Saturday because it has no transfers? Probably not. After all, the program has top-five talent if you believe composite team talent rankings from various sites. But you can’t hit on every high school player. While coaches shove many out the door and replace them with more groomed readymade transfers, Dabo sticks with his guys.

In a fitting scene Saturday, a few minutes into the third quarter, Georgia scored its first touchdown — an acrobatic catch on a fade pass in the corner of the end zone from Colbie Young.

He’s a transfer.

https://sports.yahoo.com/this-one-will-leave-a-mark--clemsons-season-opening-flop-against-georgia-brings-same-old-questions-for-dabo-swinney-211820488.html,

ESPN: David Hale

On the opposite sideline was Dabo Swinney, still fighting the good fight against things like the transfer portal or the steam engine, left to again consider whether his deep-rooted belief in doing things the Clemson way can still allow his program to keep pace with schools like Georgia. It wasn't just that the Tigers struggled. Lots of teams do that against the Bulldogs. It's that Cade Klubnik missed open receivers, Adam Randall and Cole Turner made egregious mistakes, the O-line couldn't open holes for Phil Mafah, and the defense ultimately collapsed under the pressure to be perfect. In other words, it looked so much like Clemson's 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. Swinney has stopped taking calls at his weekly radio show, but we can only imagine Tyler from Spartanburg is busy crafting a strongly worded email expressing his discontent.

The game wasn't so much a reminder of Georgia's brilliance as it was a referendum that Clemson simply isn't in this class any longer.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/gamedayfinal083124/college-football-week-1-highlights-top-plays-games-takeaways-2024

CBS: Brandon Marcello

Swinney was quick to point out that the story on the 2024 season will not be written until December, but it certainly has the same themes of Volumes 2021, 2022 and 2023. Clemson will contend in the ACC, just as it did after a 2-2 start last season, but the program isn't close to reaching the heights of the mid-2010s.

That's not to say Clemson is an also-ran, but is it truly a contender? The cracks are apparent in the portal era. On Saturday, Clemson suffered its worst loss since 2013 and failed to score a touchdown for only the fourth time in Swinney's career (214 games) -- two of those games against Georgia.

"I feel great about our team and leadership on this team. People may say, 'well he's just crazy, you just got your butt kicked,'" said Swinney. "A loss is a loss, I hate losing anytime, to anybody, anywhere. We work too hard, so it hurts. It's gonna leave a mark. This will be one I'll never forget, that's for sure, but I remember every loss."

Swinney has a firm grasp on the here and now, but questions abound about the big picture. Time will tell if Swinney taps into the portal before it swallows him.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/clemsons-lopsided-loss-to-georgia-provides-latest-indictment-on-dabo-swinney-shunning-transfer-portal-era/

AL.com: Joseph Goodman

The way things are changing, two years ago feels like 20.

During an interview before his season opener, Swinney told ESPN reporter Andrea Adelson that he doesn’t recruit players who want to talk about money upfront. Why be so self-righteous and obstinate? Swinney earns $11.5 million per year. He’s the second-highest paid coach in college football, but he doesn’t recruit players who want money?

It made Swinney sound like he no longer understands his job.

This is the first season for a 12-team playoff in college football, so Clemson isn’t buried under ash and bone just yet. But know this after Week 1. Dabo is the last living dinosaur after the ball of fiery destruction slammed into earth.

His kind had a great run. They ate a lot of snacks, and got really big, but the buffet is over.

https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2024/09/goodman-dabo-swinney-is-college-footballs-lonely-dinosaur.html

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A sampling of some national columns on Clemson

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Ouch.

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