Sometimes the truth is subtle and complicated, and it takes a long time to discover it as it evolves. Other times, the truth hits you in the face, right between the eyes, with the force of a hurricane.
Week 1 of the 2023 college football season was not subtle in conveying central, foundational messages about the nature of the business and the necessary aspects of the modern coach’s job description.
Clemson was on top of the world in 2018. The Tigers had won their second national championship in three seasons. Deshaun Watson gave way to Trevor Lawrence and the championships just kept coming. Clemson made the national championship game in three of the past four seasons and returned one more time under Lawrence a year later in 2019. Dabo Swinney was able to win big — very big — with home-grown recruits.
However, what began to change at that time in college football was the transfer portal and the liberalized transfer rules in the sport. Then came COVID-19 and the extra year of COVID eligibility which led to players not only taking the extra year offered to them, but wanting to make use of it by trying out different schools, different coaches, and getting different voices and perspectives before going into the NFL draft.
College football has changed a lot in the five years since Clemson ruled the roost. Dabo Swinney has not embraced the transfer portal. He has made no secret of his hatred for it. Monday night, Clemson did not have the talent needed to defeat Duke and coach Mike Elko, who is developing something special with the Blue Devils. Clemson lost as a 12-point favorite and will be a heavy underdog to Florida State on September 23. The Tigers are in huge trouble. If they lose that game, their season is basically done. They will have two conference losses and will be out of the College Football Playoff.
There are lessons here. Let’s look at the transfer portal message sent in Week 1 of the college football season, along with other highlights of the first full-scale weekend of the 2023 campaign: