A former SEC quarterback and current college football analyst recently discussed Clemson’s struggles this season and seems to believe that Dabo Swinney’s dynasty is over.
Aaron Murray, the former Georgia quarterback who is now a CBS Sports analyst, talked about the Tigers coming off their 27-17 loss at Pittsburgh last week during which quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei was benched for two series and replaced by Taisun Phommachanh.
“I think the Clemson ship has sailed,” Murray said this week on the Punt & Pass Podcast with former UGA punter Drew Butler. “I think both of us were pretty confident that Pittsburgh was going to win that football game. To me, it’s now Dabo is – I’m not saying cleaning house – but it’s almost open competition, even for D.J. U.”
Butler pointed out that Clemson (4-3, 3-2 ACC) is one of only two Power Five teams – along with 0-7 Arizona – that have yet to score 20 points in regulation against an FBS opponent this season.
Murray compared Clemson’s down year in 2021 to LSU’s down year a season ago — when Ed Orgeron’s team went 5-5 after winning the national championship in 2019 — but Murray implied that LSU had an excuse because it is in the SEC as opposed to Clemson playing in the ACC.
“The thing that worries me — obviously with Clemson, they’re not a good football team, they don’t have an offense — but they’re in the ACC,” Murray said. “It’s not like you’re talking about LSU here. LSU had that magical run in ‘19. Joe Burrow and everyone, they’re scoring all these points. They win a national championship, and then you have the COVID year and then they kind of go backwards. They’re 5-5 the next season, and you can say OK, well listen, they lost all those players, they lost coordinators, they’re in the SEC, they’re in the SEC West. Like, that’s fine.
“But the fact that Clemson, this is happening to them, the way they’ve recruited, the coaches that are on that staff, and it’s the ACC. It’s the ACC! This isn’t the SEC. Like, I just can’t believe the talent on that team, that they are where they are right now.”
Murray went on to add that he thinks Clemson is the perfect example of how star ratings and recruiting rankings don’t matter.
“Those stars don’t mean anything,” he said. “Until you go out there and prove it on the field and actually go and win some football games, those stars mean absolutely diddly squat as soon as you sign your letter of intent. And this is the perfect example right now of Clemson, because they have a bunch of four- and five-stars, and they’re a 4-3 football team in the ACC, same level as the Pac-12 right now.”
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