**** ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: You can now read the premium message boards at Gamecockcentral.com, Warchant.com, UGASports.com and other sites in the Rivals.com network. Click HERE to get access to their premium message boards!
A season of patience
By: Larry Williams
Kirk Herbstreit said something toward the end of Saturday night's broadcast that might've been a bit startling to some.
He and Chris Fowler were assessing the larger context of what happened in this Top 5 showdown, and Fowler used conventional wisdom in suggesting Clemson would roll right on through the rest of the ACC like it always does.
"That's why it's not an elimination game," Fowler said.
"I don't know if I agree with what you're saying," Herbstreit said. "They might be heavily favored. But I don't think it's just a throw-your-helmet-out-on-the-field kind of year for Clemson with this offense.
I think there's going to be some games, especially when they go on the road, with this offensive line, and this quarterback who has tremendous upside, still trying to find a running back..."
Fowler interrupted: "At N.C. State? At Syracuse on a Friday?"
"It could be anywhere," Herbstreit said. "With this offensive line right now? This offense? I know Georgia's great. But I don't know, man."
And therein lies one of the most interesting takeaways from a wild, wonderful and weird opening weekend of college football season.
Several Clemson football players are shown here Saturday night exiting the team locker room in Bank Of America Stadium. (US Presswire)
The return of full stadiums was enough to bring tears to your eyes as you were reminded of how much you missed the total flavor.
The sight of Clemson's lumbering offense was enough to bring tears to the eyes of orange-clad fans who came in expecting so much more.
Here in the moment, two days after the Tigers looked physically and mentally overwhelmed on that side of the ball, we know the offense has work to do and a lot of it.
But what does it all mean in the season-long scheme of things? Way too early to tell on that count.
One snapshot that comes to mind is the last time Clemson opened a season with rigorous opposition: 2016, at Auburn.
The offense was a bit out of sorts that evening on The Plains against a defense that was probably not in the ballpark of what Georgia presented Saturday night in Charlotte.
The Tigers walked away feeling extremely fortunate to win 19-13 over a team that finished with five losses. And we all know what happened at the end of that season against another team from the state of Alabama.
In no way is this an attempt to gloss over the issues present on the offensive side of the ball. Just saying: The first 60 minutes of a season often do not tell the full story of its ebbs and flows, progressions and regressions.
But Herbstreit did hit on a valid skepticism. Because what would've happened had Clemson opened its season this past weekend at, say, N.C. State? Or Virginia Tech? Or Florida State?
In the wake of the ACC's three high-profile losses, it's fashionable to dust off the pinata and laugh at the conference for its continued football struggles.
But let's ask ourselves something: Was North Carolina's offensive meltdown in Blacksburg really that much of a surprise given this was the first game after Sam Howell lost four excellent skill players from last year at running back and receiver? Wasn't a big shock to us.
And something else: Did anyone really expect much different from Alabama completely dismantling Miami?
To us, at least, the ACC's two most revelatory developments of the weekend were:
1) Clemson and its offense needing lots of work;
2) Virginia Tech, N.C. State and Florida State showing unmistakable signs of progress.
Say what you want about Mike Norvell and FSU's handling of last year's game with Clemson, but objectively there is zero question that it's a good thing for the ACC when the Seminoles are learning how to stay out of their own way.
Again, who knows what happens from this point forward. But Norvell's team showed against Notre Dame that the toxic culture within that program is being flushed. There were none of the selfish, look-at-me, after-the-whistle antics that have brought years of face-palms. That team is learning how to just settle down and play ball, and the newfound substance is a breath of fresh air no matter your allegiance.
Of course, Florida State and other ACC teams discovering competence and even formidability puts some Clemson fans in a conflicted spot because that makes for more difficult obstacles.
Undoubtedly you're now looking more warily at those trips to Raleigh, Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Or the home date with the Boston College team that was up 18 in Death Valley last year. And suddenly the Oct. 30 visit from the Seminoles has a bit more sizzle to it.
Some might favor the path of least resistance, but too often in recent years it's been the path of zero resistance when it comes to Clemson and the ACC.
The first weekend tells us that the mettle of Clemson -- and the patience of fans -- might be tested in ways we did not anticipate just a few days ago.
Maybe the Tigers turn around and walk all over a conference that proves once again to be bad, and in November and December the great debate is whether this one-loss conference champion really deserves a spot in the playoff.
Our early read is something different. Our feeling is a few solid ACC teams are going to make the Tigers earn it.
And that's not all a bad thing.
**** ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: You can now read the premium message boards at Gamecockcentral.com, Warchant.com, UGASports.com and other sites in the Rivals.com network. Click HERE to get access to their premium message boards!
A season of patience
By: Larry Williams
Kirk Herbstreit said something toward the end of Saturday night's broadcast that might've been a bit startling to some.
He and Chris Fowler were assessing the larger context of what happened in this Top 5 showdown, and Fowler used conventional wisdom in suggesting Clemson would roll right on through the rest of the ACC like it always does.
"That's why it's not an elimination game," Fowler said.
"I don't know if I agree with what you're saying," Herbstreit said. "They might be heavily favored. But I don't think it's just a throw-your-helmet-out-on-the-field kind of year for Clemson with this offense.
I think there's going to be some games, especially when they go on the road, with this offensive line, and this quarterback who has tremendous upside, still trying to find a running back..."
Fowler interrupted: "At N.C. State? At Syracuse on a Friday?"
"It could be anywhere," Herbstreit said. "With this offensive line right now? This offense? I know Georgia's great. But I don't know, man."
And therein lies one of the most interesting takeaways from a wild, wonderful and weird opening weekend of college football season.
Several Clemson football players are shown here Saturday night exiting the team locker room in Bank Of America Stadium. (US Presswire)
The return of full stadiums was enough to bring tears to your eyes as you were reminded of how much you missed the total flavor.
The sight of Clemson's lumbering offense was enough to bring tears to the eyes of orange-clad fans who came in expecting so much more.
Here in the moment, two days after the Tigers looked physically and mentally overwhelmed on that side of the ball, we know the offense has work to do and a lot of it.
But what does it all mean in the season-long scheme of things? Way too early to tell on that count.
One snapshot that comes to mind is the last time Clemson opened a season with rigorous opposition: 2016, at Auburn.
The offense was a bit out of sorts that evening on The Plains against a defense that was probably not in the ballpark of what Georgia presented Saturday night in Charlotte.
The Tigers walked away feeling extremely fortunate to win 19-13 over a team that finished with five losses. And we all know what happened at the end of that season against another team from the state of Alabama.
In no way is this an attempt to gloss over the issues present on the offensive side of the ball. Just saying: The first 60 minutes of a season often do not tell the full story of its ebbs and flows, progressions and regressions.
But Herbstreit did hit on a valid skepticism. Because what would've happened had Clemson opened its season this past weekend at, say, N.C. State? Or Virginia Tech? Or Florida State?
In the wake of the ACC's three high-profile losses, it's fashionable to dust off the pinata and laugh at the conference for its continued football struggles.
But let's ask ourselves something: Was North Carolina's offensive meltdown in Blacksburg really that much of a surprise given this was the first game after Sam Howell lost four excellent skill players from last year at running back and receiver? Wasn't a big shock to us.
And something else: Did anyone really expect much different from Alabama completely dismantling Miami?
To us, at least, the ACC's two most revelatory developments of the weekend were:
1) Clemson and its offense needing lots of work;
2) Virginia Tech, N.C. State and Florida State showing unmistakable signs of progress.
Say what you want about Mike Norvell and FSU's handling of last year's game with Clemson, but objectively there is zero question that it's a good thing for the ACC when the Seminoles are learning how to stay out of their own way.
Again, who knows what happens from this point forward. But Norvell's team showed against Notre Dame that the toxic culture within that program is being flushed. There were none of the selfish, look-at-me, after-the-whistle antics that have brought years of face-palms. That team is learning how to just settle down and play ball, and the newfound substance is a breath of fresh air no matter your allegiance.
Of course, Florida State and other ACC teams discovering competence and even formidability puts some Clemson fans in a conflicted spot because that makes for more difficult obstacles.
Undoubtedly you're now looking more warily at those trips to Raleigh, Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Or the home date with the Boston College team that was up 18 in Death Valley last year. And suddenly the Oct. 30 visit from the Seminoles has a bit more sizzle to it.
Some might favor the path of least resistance, but too often in recent years it's been the path of zero resistance when it comes to Clemson and the ACC.
The first weekend tells us that the mettle of Clemson -- and the patience of fans -- might be tested in ways we did not anticipate just a few days ago.
Maybe the Tigers turn around and walk all over a conference that proves once again to be bad, and in November and December the great debate is whether this one-loss conference champion really deserves a spot in the playoff.
Our early read is something different. Our feeling is a few solid ACC teams are going to make the Tigers earn it.
And that's not all a bad thing.
**** ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: You can now read the premium message boards at Gamecockcentral.com, Warchant.com, UGASports.com and other sites in the Rivals.com network. Click HERE to get access to their premium message boards!
