Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program have a lot of doubters heading into the 2024 college football season.
The Tigers have a wide range of outcomes this upcoming season. If the offense takes the next step, Clemson could be one of the top contenders in the country. The thing is, many don’t believe they will. There is a lot of doubt surrounding this program, but not from everyone.
ESPN analyst Greg McElroy is fully aware of Clemson’s capabilities and warns against sleeping on the Tigers.
A lot of talk this offseason about Miami, tons of talk about Florida State, rightfully so, you can make a case that those two rosters are the best in the ACC, but don’t sleep on Clemson,” McElroy said on his ESPN podcast, “because that defense is built like a championship unit at all three levels. And offensively, if they can get more consistency out of Cade Klubnik. more consistency out of the run game behind Phil Mafah, their new starting running back — he was situational last year and played a lot, him becoming now the bellcow will be even more effective for this Clemson team becoming more physical and more downhill in the run game.
Clemson is a polarizing team for sure, but even with all the media attention, McElroy believes they are flying under the radar.
I think Clemson is a team that is flying under the radar in a really good way for Dabo Swinney and the Tigers.
I agree with what McElroy is saying here. Flying under the radar is great for the Tigers, as it leads to people doubting them and taking them lightly. While there are no guarantees that teams themselves will do this, we’ve seen what Dabo Swinney teams are capable of as an underdog.