Former SEC QB, current ESPN analyst doesn’t think Clemson has championship-caliber offense

This former SEC quarterback and current ESPN analyst is skeptical about Clemson and has his doubts about whether the Tigers are a good enough team to make the College Football Playoff. And he certainly doesn’t think Clemson can win a national title …

This former SEC quarterback and current ESPN analyst is skeptical about Clemson and has his doubts about whether the Tigers are a good enough team to make the College Football Playoff. And he certainly doesn’t think Clemson can win a national title on the strength of its defense alone.

Aaron Murray, the former Georgia quarterback who joined ESPN’s analyst roster this season, weighed in on whether Clemson is an elite team and said right now, he doesn’t think the Tigers’ defense — as dominant as it looks to be — would be enough for Clemson to take down teams like Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State.

“They’re the exact same team they were last year,” Murray said on SNAPS With Aaron and T-Bob. “The running game was average. I think the receivers are good, not great. This is gonna be a team that’s gonna have to win by just dominating on defense. The defense was superb. Can they win games with the defense? Yeah, they proved it last year. Can they win a championship with only the defense? No. You can’t be one-sided. It can get you far, but it can’t get you to a national championship.

“And right now, Clemson’s at the spot right now where they’re going to be good, they’re going to be a 10-win team, they’re going to be an 11-win team. I don’t know if that’s going to be good enough to get you into the playoffs. It’s definitely right now not good enough to beat Ohio State, Georgia or Alabama.”

As for DJ Uiagalelei, who went 19 of 32 passing for 210 yards with one passing touchdown and a rushing score in Clemson’s season-opening win over Georgia Tech on Monday night — the first game of what head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter have repeatedly said they believe will be a bounceback season for the Tigers’ signal-caller — Murray said “it looked like he took just a little baby step” from where he was last season.

“I’m actually a little bit down because I thought DJ U, from everything I heard in spring, took a massive leap,” Murray said. “It looked like he took just a little baby step honestly.”

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