Four imperfect Playoff teams, but only Clemson can achieve perfection
CHARLOTTE – On a “special night,” Dabo Swinney reflected on the speech he delivered 124 days ago, when he declared that the only road this Clemson team should take is into history.
Let’s go 15 for 15, Swinney said on Aug. 3, during the Tigers’ first preseason meeting – meaning, play 15 games and win 15 games, becoming the first member of Football Bowl Subdivision to run the table in the College Football Playoff era.
He told his team to dream big – “Why not us,” he asked – and aimed for the fences. Faith in all its forms has always been one of the trademarks of the Swinney era; confidence has been another.
“We’re just trying to embrace it all and make history,” wide receiver Deon Cain said. “That has been our goal since day one.”
Thirteen games down, two to go. Thirteen teams have taken a swing at Clemson, from Wofford through Notre Dame through, here on Saturday night, North Carolina. Some have come close; the Fighting Irish nearly won in Death Valley, in a game played in a near monsoon, and even the Tar Heels drew within a single possession before a controversial offside call with a minute left went in the Tigers’ favor. Many have tried, but none have succeeded.
“We’ve kind of seen it all this year,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “We had to come from behind, had the lead. You have a lot of things go your way, and come together.”
The Tigers are therefore a deserving top seed in the four-team Playoff field, if for no other reason than this: After three months of results, Clemson is the only unbeaten team left in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
There’s something to be said for perfection, just as there’s something to be fantastic to be found in a preseason guarantee that now stands two games short of completion. There’s more to be said of an undefeated team that has shown a series of flaws amid perfection – funks on offense, lapses on defense – and, with the Playoff ahead, looks very much like a great team but nothing like an unbeatable juggernaut.
“I don’t think we’ve played our best game,” Swinney told Paste BN Sports. “I think we’ve played some good games, but no, I think there’s more out there for this team. They know we can get better. We’ve had a lot of mistakes. We had some big busts in this game. There’s plenty of room for improvement.”
Yet Clemson’s flaws can be seen elsewhere, in other teams, and often increased in magnitude. In a season devoid of one unquestioned leader, greatness shouldn’t be required of the national champion – very good might be enough, and Clemson has as good a shot as any.
After all, the Tigers have an advantage: Clemson has Deshaun Watson, and others don’t. “It’s very rare that you have a championship team that doesn’t have a big-time player under center,” Swinney said. “You damn well better have a quarterback, especially in our offense.”
Clemson always believed, even on Aug. 3, when most pegged the Tigers as ACC frontrunners yet also as too young and inexperienced to escape the regular season unscathed. Fewer still pegged the Tigers as Playoff favorites, though it stood to reason that the ACC champion would factor into the postseason conversation.
There’s no doubt that this team is young: Clemson has 12 seniors on scholarship and starts underclassmen at several key spots, including Watson, a sophomore, at quarterback, and a true freshman at left tackle. In hindsight, maybe the blips of imperfection were only to be expected; having driven toward an unbeaten regular season, Clemson’s ability to escape pitfalls – and pounce on the missteps of others – may be the Tigers’ defining trait.
“We don’t have to play perfect to win,” Swinney said. “That’s what’s special about this team.”
Besides, nobody’s perfect. Should an opposing defense slow down running back Derrick Henry – admittedly a difficult proposition – Alabama’s middling quarterback play would leave the Crimson Tide’s offense unbalanced. Michigan State’s secondary could be revealed by either Watson or Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Looking for perfection? You’ll find it in Clemson’s record and nowhere else. But the young Tigers might just be the most complete team in college football, warts and all, and they stand alone as the team most likely to make history.
“I think the best is yet to come,” said Swinney. “I always think that. And that’s what I think great teams do, they always keep improving, they don’t get satisfied. This team has not been satisfied all year long.”
PHOTOS: CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK ACTION