As many know, it has been an underwhelming start to the 2023 college football season for Dabo Swinney and the Tigers.
Clemson (2-2, 0-2 ACC) has suffered two losses on the season, with both coming in the conference. In week 1, the Tigers fell 28-7 to Duke in a shocking upset, and in Week 4, the team failed to take advantage of a big opportunity, losing to Florida State 31-24 in overtime.
Two losses sting, but the way they lost both games makes it worse. Clemson dominated the box score against both teams, but it wasn’t enough for the Tigers to win either game.
Week 5 awaits a matchup against an undefeated Syracuse team, with head and Orange head coach Dino Babers thinking very highly of the Tigers. During his press conference earlier this week, Babers stated how he believes Clemson is still a championship-caliber team.
“I think they’re (Clemson) still a championship-caliber team,” said the Syracuse head coach. “They were six or twelve inches from winning their game this week (against FSU); beat them in every statistical category. They beat Duke in every statistical category… This is what they are. This is a championship, big-time football team coming in.”
I’ve always been a fan of Babers, and reasons like this are why I consider him one of the better coaches in college football. Reading many people’s work from the Duke and Florida State games, it felt like many people didn’t watch the games, but rather reacted to the score and spewed.
Babers can clearly identify how talented this team is and what they bring to the table when playing against them. When this Clemson team puts things together, they are as dangerous as they come.
Week 5 should be a good battle.