CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Clemson football entered this week’s ACC Kickoff media event in a strange position.
By Clemson football standards, at least.
For six consecutive Julys, coach Dabo Swinney and company arrived in Charlotte as defending league champions and, twice, defending national champions.
But Clemson ended that impressive run last fall, surrendering the 2021 league title to Pittsburgh while also breaking a six-year College Football Playoff streak.
A 10-3 record is nothing to scoff at. But noticeable cracks in Clemson’s orange and white armor — especially on offense — have prompted different questions in 2022.
Is it still Clemson and everybody else?
The State caught up with two ESPN/ACC Network analysts to deduce as much. Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.
What’s your take on Clemson’s 2022 season?
Dalen Cuff, ACC Network studio analyst: Across the board, I think it’s a huge year, and not just for them: they’ve carried the banner for the conference for years now. My concern for them — and for the ACC — is you can’t go the way of Oregon and the Pac-12.
Oregon’s last time in the CFP was (2014). They were in BCS championship games prior to that. They fell off, and the Pac-12 became nationally irrelevant. I think the conference needs Clemson to return, to have a huge year this year and get back to where they are. Hopefully, other teams are moving up towards them — versus Clemson stepping down.
Not to take anything away from what N.C. State did last year or what Wake did last year, but you need to have teams in the national conversation. That has been Clemson for years. I think they can get back into that place … I think the conference and, obviously, Clemson and their fans need to see them return to their rightful place, which is in the national conversation
Kelly Gramlich, ACC Network studio analyst and former Clemson women’s basketball player: I think the first thing that comes to mind is a lot prove: to prove that they can get back on top. First and foremost, that starts with winning the ACC. It’s kind of a weird year when we’re at this event and Clemson’s not the reigning champion. Pittsburgh is still going to be a team you have to worry about and talk about. But I think that’s the big question.
The second biggest thing is the quarterback position. As Dabo has said, DJ (Uiagalelei) has to be better. You have to get more from the position. Is that DJ? Is it Cade (Klubnik)? Is it a combination of the two? Is it the wide receivers playing better and being healthy? I think that is actually one of the most important things.
But that’s really what I’m looking at: Is Clemson still the favorite? I’m intrigued to see if they get picked to win by all the media. And then, how’s the quarterback position going to improve?
Note: The media’s order-of-finish predictions are released Tuesday, July 26.
How good can this Clemson defense be?
Cuff: They’re going to be great. Wes (Durham) has made the comparison to them being Georgia of last year. I’m not saying that yet — I mean, Georgia’s team was bananas. Jermaine Johnson couldn’t get on the field and he was a first-round pick (at Florida State). Think about that.
But, I mean, there are a ton of studs on that (Clemson) team, and they’ll continue to develop. Health will be a big (concern), but I think you’re going to see a team that’s going to dominate the line of scrimmage, have ball-hawking linebackers and be able to defend in the secondary.
They’re great at all three levels. As the offense figures itself out and, hopefully, DJ steps forward into a more productive pattern, you can hang your hat on the defense. You can rely on the defense from Day One, essentially.
Gramlich: I don’t know if it’s Georgia lite. I think this defense could be the best in the country. It very well has a chance to be. A lot of it is staying healthy. A lot of it is replacing (Baylon) Spector and (James) Skalski and the old guys you had at linebacker and some of the guys in the secondary. But you’ve got Andrew Mukuba, the ACC Rookie of the Year who was a superstar at safety. And the D-line is perhaps the best in the country.
Can they stay healthy? Can a guy like (defensive tackle) Bryan Bresee come back and be as effective as he was pre-injury? I wouldn’t say they’re lite compared to anybody. I think this Clemson defense could be the very best in the country.
