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The Sooners own the Big 12, but are they Playoff worthy?
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Clemson’s onepoint victory against North Carolina was an anomaly. It was viewed as an indictment.
The Tigers played their worst game of the past two seasons. They were gashed inexplicably in the secondary. They were erratic offensively. They faltered in special teams.
But they survived. Detractors used that loss to question Clemson’s placement at the top of the major polls. The College Football Playoff selection committee ranked Clemson No. 5 in its initial standings.
It was precisely the snub Clemson needed.
It allowed Clemson to reinforce its underdog mentality. Clemson restored its focus and execution. Dominance ensued.
After the scare in Chapel Hill, Clemson outscored its next seven opponents by an average of 41.7 points. That includes the 38-3 victory the Tigers enjoyed last weekend against rival South Carolina.
Clemson overran the Gamecocks with superior talent, overpowered them with enviable depth and overwhelmed them with savvy schemes.
Clemson has done this to (almost) everybody. Clemson is playing at a championship level. It simply is not playing championship-level competition.
No one has mustered a credible challenge. Not Florida State, Louisville or Boston College. Not Wofford, North Carolina State or Wake Forest. And certainly not South Carolina.
The Gamecocks have a defense that could win the Southeastern Conference but an offense that would struggle in the Sun Belt Conference. Carolina’s best offensive player, receiver Bryan Edwards, missed the game because of an injury.
Considering the inconsistent quarterback play and puzzling play-calling, Edwards’ presence might not have made much of a difference.
Clemson does not need any assistance, but on its lone scoring drive, Carolina aided the Tigers by calling an inside run on 3rd-and-9. After a timeout. Clemson stuffed that play and forced a field goal.
Head coach Dabo Swinney specifically pointed to No. 4 Georgia, which lost this year to South Carolina, and said if his team lost to the Gamecocks, it would be out of the top four in the Playoff rankings. And he argued that the bias he sees against his team is why the Tigers have to be perfect.
“How important is this game? It’s huge from a national standpoint because obviously if we lose this game, they gon’ kick us out,” he said. “They don’t want us in there anyway. We would drop to (No.) 20, you know? Georgia loses to this very same team, and the very next day it’s, ‘How do we keep Georgia in it?’ We win to the team that beat South Carolina, and it’s, ‘How we get Clemson out?’ It’s the dadgumest thing.
“So it’s big because they can’t vote us out. We gotta go (undefeated), we gotta go 30-0. We ain’t got no choice because we don’t play nobody. So it’s big from a national standpoint, but it’s huge for this state and it’s huge for our program.”
Until teams can upgrade their rosters and revitalize their strategy, they better hope to catch Clemson early in the season. Even with such extraordinary depth and invaluable experience, every team needs time to mature. Players need time to recognize their roles. Coaching staffs need time to solidify their schemes. Both need time to build chemistry.
The North Carolina scare was the fifth game of this season. Last year, Syracuse threatened Clemson in the fifth game as well. Clemson survived that day with a four-point victory, then won the remaining 10 games by an average of 36.1 points. That included the 28-point rout of Alabama in the CFP national championship game.
The Tigers have already scaled this mountain. They know the route. They know the hazards. They simply needed time to find their footing. Now, they are ahead of last year’s pace. Soon, they could be chilling at the summit playing double-dutch with their climbing ropes.
Two other climbers are up there with them. No. 2 Ohio State has been impressive. No. 1 LSU has been exceptional. But at this point, Clemson could defeat both of them.
Clemson’s only inconsistency is punting, and it has masked that sufficiently with prolific offense. There are no holes in this team, even if some detractors argue there is a hole in its resume.
A near loss did not deter Clemson last year. It will not be a factor this December.
Clemson might be the best team in college football, and if the Tigers continue their dominance one more week, they will finally get the chance to prove it.