SPORTS  |  LIFESTYLE  |  ATTITUDE  |  AUTHENTIC
YDKJ
  • HOME
  • About
  • Contact
  • Photos

College Football  |  Clemson coach ain't crazy, respect lacking for Tigers

1/1/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Clemson sophomore QB Deshaun Watson celebrates a touchdown in Thursday evening's Orange Bowl with his teammates. The top-ranked, but disrespected, Tigers rolled fourth-ranked and favored Oklahoma, 37-17.

BY THE NUMBERS

Picture
75
Clemson wins under Dabo Swinney

26
Losses under Swinney

7
Full seasons under Swinney
(Took over midway through 2008 season)

5
Bowl wins under Swinney

4
Division titles under Swinney

4
Bowl wins under Swinney over teams that have won national titles since 2000

3
Orange Bowl appearances under Swinney

2
Conference titles under Swinney

2
Orange Bowl victories under Swinney

1
National title game appearance under Swinney​

It does seem funny on the face of it.

Basking in the emotion of his team’s convincing Orange Bowl victory against favored Oklahoma in Thursday’s Game 1 of the College Football Playoff, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney made a point to emphasize, or overemphasize, just how much his Tigers are disrespected and not recognized for being as good as they are.

Ranked No. 1 in the nation for quite some time now, Clemson hardly comes across as a woebegone underdog that hasn’t been given it’s just due. You hear Swinney rant and rave, in a polite way, mind you, because, after all, the man is a Christian sort and isn’t prone to much verbal venom, and you think, what the heck is he talking about?

Truth be told, though, he is spot on. Yeah, his team tops the rankings and the ratings that determined seeding in the Football Bowl Subdivision’s simpleton four-team postseason bracket, but, really, truly, is it actually seen by the masses as one of the best teams in the country, never mind the best?

No, all season, Swinney and his Tigers have been fighting a perception battle because they’re not representing Notre Dame or an SEC university. They play in the ACC, which is pretty much regarded as the Little Sisters of the poor outfit among the Power-5 circuits. They somehow manage to make orange uniforms boring. They benefitted from a somewhat weaker Florida State posing little threat in conference this fall.

They just don’t elicit … well, they don’t elicit much of anything with the masses. They’re just there. You know, 9, 10 or even 11 wins a season, a bowl entrant and a spot in the final top 25 every season. Kinda ho-hum. Pretty much meh …

The fact Clemson came into this second edition of the FBS Final Four as No. 1 wasn’t a testament to respect. It was a condemnation of those calling the shots not having the guts to place the Tigers where they thought they deserved, but unable to do so because, well, you can’t have a Power-5 school be the only undefeated team in the country at that level and not be No. 1.

Reality is, Clemson was viewed as the weakest team of the four in the playoff, which is why it was viewed as a solid underdog against No. 4 Oklahoma. Yes, Oklahoma – a team that lost to 5-7 Texas earlier in the season, should have lost twice more, to Tennessee and Baylor, and, oh yeah, got smoked by the Tigers just a year prior in the Russell Athletic Bowl to the tune of 40-6.

Without Clemson’s best player, quarterback Deshaun Watson, even in the lineup then ... and in it for this one just a few weeks after a trip to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation.

Absolutely ridiculous.

That is the epitome of no respect, so every utterance out of Swinney’s mouth on the subject has merit, and when he starts rambling on about the Tigers being at the level of any elite program in the country, it might be a good idea to discard tired, old beliefs and recognize that he is right on the money.

Clemson hasn’t won less than 10 games since 2011. It’s been ranked in the final top 10 three times since then. It cranks out NFL draft choices with the best of them.

It also enters the national title game against Alabama at 14-0 … and certain to be a heavy underdog.

In perfect position to get the last laugh, if not actual respect.

​- Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com
​

​RELATED

​College Football Playoff kinda ... meh
Spare Temple any 'participation' honors
Houston, Herman earned it this season
Illinois seems to extend mediocrity with move
Flood Watch opened gates to change at Rutgers
​​
​How did anyone forget about Florida?
​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    NFL
    MLB
    NBA
    NHL
    NCAAFB
    ​NCAABB
    Eagles
    Phillies
    76ers
    Flyers
    Temple
    Villanova
    La Salle
    ​Saint Joe's
    ​Penn State

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Best of 2018

    Picture

    Best of 2017

    Picture

    Best of 2016

    Picture

    Best of 2015

    Picture

    RSS Feed

Picture
Your source for insight ... or insanity

GET TO KNOW YDKJ

ABOUT    |    CONTACT   |    BLOG    |    PRIVACY POLICY

​© COPYRIGHT 2018   YDKJ   |   Terms & Conditions
Picture