Dabo Swinney did not have a great day last Saturday in Clemson, South Carolina. Entering the contest, the 11th-ranked Tigers were considered a good bet to make the A.C.C. Championship. After getting drubbed by Georgia in the opener, Clemson responded nicely by winning six straight games.
Louisville came into the contest unranked with a 5-3 mark. Louisville manhandled the Tigers. The most concerning stat line is that Clemson uncharacteristically gave up over 200 yards on the ground, Clemson’s blueprint for success this season has been owning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Expect Clemson to try and exploit a porous Virginia Tech run defense, much like Syracuse did last week.
With S.M.U having a clear shot to the title game, Clemson must win out to have a chance. With the bad loss against Georgia and a worse home defeat to Louisville, it’s unlikely the Tigers can garner an at-large bid to the 12-team playoff…