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Sports Illustrated Pre-Season ACC Rankings

rustywalkedaway said:
It will be interesting to see what Clemson can sustain. They had back to back great college quarterbacks. That is not sustainable. They had incredible coaching continuity, then they lost both coordinators at the same time. That was not sustainable. But they promoted from within, so maybe transitions are relatively smooth? And Dabo's streak of keeping guys committed ended. That was not sustainable. And Dabo doesn't want to play the portal or NIL games? Then I can't see how your program is sustainable, even over the next 2-3 years (unless you are a service academy).

I'd have to look back at their schedule and results to figure out if they could have been a playoff team, but that is largely a function of your record in a power 5 conference. I understand that means you are in the tournament, but that does not mean you would really contend for a championship. Oklahoma and Notre Dame are examples. I tend to think Clemson's best days are now behind them. And I know that, while Watson was spectacular, that D line was fantastic. And they have not had that level of defense since.
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Clemson still won the ACC and went to the playoffs with a very average Kelly Bryant in the 2017 season. If they would have gotten a Kelly Bryant type of quarterback performance last year, they would have done the same. They probably would have gotten beat in the playoff game but remember they played Georgia during the season and lost 10-3. Any type of decent quarterback play in that game, they might have beaten the Bulldogs. Their other two losses were to NC state and Pitt where they were only able to muster 215 and 315 total yards respectively. The defense was great and had to work twice as hard because the offense just couldn't stay on the field.

Long-term, I agree that they've lost too much from the coaching staff and Dabo's unwillingness to run his team like a modern program will eventually catch up to them. They're still more than talented enough to run through the ACC if the offense can cooperate but I don't know how much longer that will be the case.
 
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scrantoncane said:
Clemson defense will be lights out, again.

While it may be true that their best days are behind them (perennial playoff contender), they are still absolutely the favorite to win the ACC this year.
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I'm REALLY interested in seeing the defense. You go from Brent Venables to Wes Goodwin. That is a potential massive dropoff.

You go from a hall of fame caliber college DC to a guy who is going into his FIRST ever season as an actual position coach let alone coordinator...at any level. The guy has only been in off-field positions up until this year.

At least Brandon Streeter (OC) has previous OC experience and been the actual QB coach for the last 7ish years.

Dabo could have gone out and gotten most elite DCs out there and instead is betting the house on an absolute nobody. Now....it could pay off and Dabo could look like a genius but holy **** is that one **** of a risky move.
 
The coaching downgrade is significant, for sure. But with that kind of talent on defense, it might not matter.

Their DL is one of the best units in the nation, regardless of position. Trenton Simpson moving to OLB from nickel may be the best LB in the ACC. Just talent everywhere.

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I mentioned this on these boards before, but I heard from a Clemson source that they simply don’t have the funds/boosters to keep up in the NIL world. May take a few more years to really catch up to them, but we may look back at their reign as short like leprechauns.
 
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