The Clemson Tigers are fully aware that they are in a precarious position as they head deeper into the regulars season of college football year 2024.
They do not have that power anymore in as far as the flexibility of participating in the ACC Championship Game is concerned. The match should require assistance from other teams as the winner may very likely be decided through tiebreakers.
The Tigers are currently ranked second in the conference, tied in second place with the Miami Hurricanes having one humbled game each on their records. In front of them in the first place is the SMU Mustangs who at the moment have not lost a match in the conference.
Since none of that trio face each other, the tie breakers are going to come into play, unless the teams experience more defeats before the season is out.
That is going to be a situation to monitor going forward because all three teams will be looking at the scoreboard from here on. Who sees these teams as the teams that they are in the ACC by coaches?
Wrote one to ESPN’s college football insider Heather Dinich: she said she spoke to one who told her that the Tigers are still the team to beat.
‘When Clemson is on, I believe they are the best team around,’ the coach of the team added.
People had different feelings about Dabo Swinney’s group. Usually superior on that side of the ball, their or consistently up-and-down defensively has some coaches stunned that the Hurricanes and SMU are the two best squads.
‘Miami’s the most talented team we’ve played to date,’ one coach remarked as per Adam Rittenberg. “Their offense I can guarantee is probably by far better than anything else that we have come across.”
Another coach selected the Mustangs as the ACC’s best saying SMU might be the more complete team.
What could set the three apart could be coaching. In this respect, Swinney would help Clemson out immensely because he possesses far more championship stock in his illustrious career than Mario Cristobal and Rhett Lashlee.
Clearly this will be a race that will right up to the wire. Essentially, the Tigers are going to have to get lucky and, although sentiments made show that luck and a few hiccups, such as a brutal defeat by the Louisville Cardinals a few weeks ago, are not viewed as a problem.
Fortunately for Clemson, they have an offense this season to help compensate for their surprisingly weak defense. Another shining light for the team has been the play of quarterback Cade Klubnik and running back Phil Mafah who’ve been scoring big both on the field and when managing the team.
