Some Thursday Thoughts

Oct 31, 2019, 12:32 PM

Much has been said and written about the quality of the ACC teams this season. Few if any fans of these ACC teams are denying this fact but fans of schools in other conferences, as well as many in the media, fail to admit there are many patsies in other conferences. All too often we hear fans of schools in other conferences claim teams in the ACC don't get "beat up" physically or mentally as they do. This is a great leap to a conclusion that has no basis whatsoever. Just because a team may not be blessed with great talent nor execute at a high level on the playing field does not mean the tackles are less ferocious or the game is totally free of violence.

Currently, the Tigers are head and shoulders above other teams in the conference. As much as we would like to see improvement of the other teams, it is not Clemson's responsibility to make the other teams competitive. Schedules are made several years in advance and there is no way to accurately predict how strong our opponents will be prior to the game several years down the road..

Clemson's football program has reached an elite status. How we reached this status and how we hope to maintain this status is public knowledge. The entire program is steeped in character and culture that attracts top talent that is supportive of these features. Our coaching staff has developed and promotes a plan to enhance the talent level of every player on the roster and providing actual game time experience boosts morale and develops that talent.

If a recruit is interested in earning early playing time, the Clemson model provides that opportunity. The opportunity for early playing time at Clemson is not a recruiting tactic just to lure a highly rated prospect to the campus, it's a demonstrated fact.

The final proof of our being worthy of respect is our past performance in the final four. Four appearances in the final four and two national championships. This alone, speaks louder than the words we have heard so often, "Clemson hasn't played anybody", "Clemson has an easy schedule". "Clemson doesn't get beat up during the season". "Clemson didn't blow out their cupcake opponents", and the one hundred and one other excuses we have heard.

Clemson has played the best of the best and have seen their opponent retreat to their dressing rooms bearing scars inflicted by a talented Tiger team.

And, the best is yet to come.

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Gotta love ya, Joe.

My .02, if you don't mind:

Everything you said is true. I don't think I'm contradicting you but supplementing you to say that the ACC is having to raise its game, collectively and individually to compete on the national stage.
When the CFP was created, it required a good team (division champ) to defeat 3 high quality opponents in a row in order to become national champion.
This was far more difficult than our last championship in 81, or Ga Tech's in 91(?), or even the Miami championships under BCS.

The ACC has a strong history in college football, but still has the smallest stadiums, enrollments and endowments of all the Power 5 conferences. In short, the ACC has been overachieving for years, like running a contracting business out of a minivan while everyone else is driving F150s or 250s. The CFP has impaled several schools on the horns of a dilemma, namely "Go big" or "Go home."

To our brethren's credit, they are going big, but it takes time to add the layers, to build the necessary depth to produce a quality team on the field every single week. Recruiting and coaching budgets still trail the national average of P5 programs. Our Coastal friends prove weekly how difficult consistency is with shallow rosters.

Less than a decade ago, the SEC had a period of 'mediocrity' when everyone except Bama finished with 3 or more losses. Everybody wants to forget that, especially when several of those 3-loss teams were ranked at EoY.

Meanwhile, little ol' Clemson demonstrates the model for stability and efficient utilization of human and financial resources. A guy named Dabo runs a 200-300 person football department like a Fortune 500 company, demanding accountability of all his employees and closest friends alike. For years his staff had to deal with weak links and "he's the best we got, coach", which meant our coaches had to coach uphill. But not anymore. Now the Best is the Standard.

The machine is again running on all 12 cylinders. The engine has been tuned, and she purrs really ominously, just waiting for the driver to step on the gas.

We never found out how great that 2018 team was, because they overwhelmed every challenge.

It's about time to see just what this 2019 team is capable of.

After Wofford, of course.

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