Andrea Adelson appeared on Sirius XM Thursday morning.
The ESPN analyst analyzed the current state of the ACC, where Clemson stands in the mix of things, and if she has any predictions going forward for a conference that’s undergone noticeable struggles through the season’s first six weeks.
“It’s been unexpected for me to watch what’s happened,” she said. “Not necessarily because Clemson is a little bit down, but because there’s really nobody beyond Wake Forest and maybe Boston College and N.C. State, who’s kind of stepped in and taken that mantle. When you’re in the ACC and you’re not in a basketball season, in football, you need your football powers to be really good and when your football powers aren’t really good, nobody thinks your conference is any good.
“With Miami down, Florida State obviously down, Clemson struggling a little bit and we don’t even know what to make of Virginia Tech at this point, which are probably the four most notable football powers in the ACC, everything does get all jumbled up and you start to wonder, well how strong is this conference and it looks like they’re gonna get shut out of the playoff this year for the first time in seven years and that is certainly tough for a league that continues to have to figure out who are we besides Clemson when Clemson is really good.”
While Clemson no longer controls its own destiny, there is still an attainable path that leads to Charlotte. Still, the Tigers will need some help from a Boston College team, who takes on N.C. State this weekend. Also, Clemson will need to take care of business the rest of the way, which also includes a Saturday, Nov. 20 showdown against Wake Forest at Memorial Stadium.
“Now, having said all that, I still think there’s a chance for Clemson to win the ACC,” Adelson said. “It’s a big game for them Friday night against Syracuse. If N.C. State drops a couple of games, Wake drops a couple of games, Clemson is going to be right there in the thick of it. Wake Forest has the most difficult games left in the ACC in the second half of the season. So the question for them is are they going to be able to maintain the momentum that they have played with?”
Adelson goes on to say that the ACC remains rather unpredictable at this moment and time and while she wouldn’t give any predictions the rest of the way, she seems to like Clemson’s chances at making the ACC Championship game.
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