Many other college football programs would gladly take what was perceived as a “down” year for Clemson in 2021.
But for the Tigers, their uncharacteristic season was considered a disappointment because the standards are so high for Dabo Swinney’s program that had won six straight ACC Championships and been to the College Football Playoff six years in a row until both of those streaks were snapped last season.
At the 2022 ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, Swinney spoke about last season’s struggles for his team that lost two of four games in the month of September and three of its first seven games before concluding the campaign with six consecutive wins to finish 10-3 and reach at least 10 wins for the 11th straight season.
“Adversity and disappointment is good for everyone, and you usually find out what you’re made of,” Swinney said. “Adversity either grinds you up or shines you up, and it truly depends on what you’re made of. And that team was sitting there 4-3 last year, and man, a lot of challenges, a lot of injuries, and we played our best football with our least personnel down the stretch and won six in a row and finished 10-3. We’re not going to win the championship every year. We went to six playoffs in a row, we didn’t make it to seven in a row. But if we can continue to be a consistent program year in and year out, then we’ll continue to have those special seasons.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, ESPN analyst Tom Luginbill was asked during a recent episode of College Football Live what his sense is regarding whether Clemson will be able to bounce back in 2022.
“That they didn’t crumble when they were 4-3 a year ago, because keep in mind – everybody in that locker room, everybody in that building, everybody in that community over the last decade has never experienced failure,” Luginbill said. “They’ve never experienced adversity, they’ve been constantly patted on the back. College Football Playoff appearances, national championships, ACC Championships, and that team grinded and they galvanized. And listen, was it perfect? No. They had injuries, they had youth, they were ineffective in the offensive line and quite honestly, they were ineffective at quarterback. But they were elite on defense a year ago, were able to win six straight games, including the bowl game, to get to 10 wins. So, the sky is not falling in Clemson.”
Luginbill went on to say he sees Clemson being in the hunt to make the College Football Playoff once again – if…
“The question’s going to be – we know they’re going to be good on defense, they’re going to be much improved in the offensive line, and those young players that played on the perimeter, including (running back) Will Shipley, if he can stay healthy, some of those wide receivers, they’re going to be talented – can the quarterback make the plays, whether that’s D.J. Uiagalelei, whether that is the freshman Cade Klubnik?” Luginbill said.
“The difference between D.J. last year and what they had with Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson is a lack of accuracy. He was not an innately accurate passer, and that wasn’t all his fault. But at the end of the day, they’ve got to get their explosive plays back on offense, they’ve got to be consistently accurate and make the routine plays that are there to be made in the passing game. If they do that, Clemson is a College Football Playoff contender.”
Dear Old Clemson’s first event is July 24. Now there is a new way to support Clemson student-athletes. Come out and meet the freshmen football players at this meet and greet autograph session. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
