With the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes still undefeated and the LSU Tigers, Baylor Bears and TCU Horned Frogs also each perfect, there were some people that were surprised that it was Clemson ranked No. 1 when the College Football Playoff selection committee released its first rankings of the year.
However, the Tigers have consistently found ways to win games in different ways and they have played arguably their best football of the season over their past two wins. Surprised? Don’t be.
Watson Has Performed At A Heisman Level
In any other season there would probably be a lot more talk about Clemson’s sophomore quarterback DeShaun Watson as a potential Heisman trophy candidate but because of LSU running back Leonard Fournette’s dominance, it has been a little easier to overlook the Heisman-caliber numbers he has put up to this point.
Watson has completed 70.3% of his passes for 1,936 yards and 20 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions with just under 400 rushing yards and an additional four scores on the ground. Watson has been the complete package at the quarterback position for the Tigers all year. He has gotten better as the season has gone and you can expect another strong showing when the team needs him most this weekend against Florida State.
Defense Has Been Solid
As good of a job as Watson and the Clemson offense have done, there is also something to be said about the team’s defensive performance as they have been solid against both the run and pass. They’ve held opponents to an average of just 17.6 points per game to rank 18th in the nation in points allowed per game.
Scoring 58 points against Miami and then 56 points at North Carolina State will make it easier to forget how the defense has stepped up in big games – including a shutout win over the Hurricanes – and while they slipped a bit last week against the Wolfpack (41 points allowed), the Tigers’ defense has been strong every other week this year.
Excellent Job By Swinney
When a team is clicking on both offense and defense the way that Clemson has so far this season, a lot of the credit has to be given to the head coach for the job he has done overseeing such a complete effort on both sides of the football. There is no doubt that Dabo Swinney has been outstanding this season. Swinney has done a fantastic job managing game situations as well as motivating his players to consistently perform at such a high level.
Clemson might be undefeated but it hasn’t been smooth sailing. They’ve needed Swinney’s sharp mind in close games at Louisville and home to Notre Dame. He’s also had them prepared each and every week as we haven’t seen a letdown from them. Swinney isn’t mentioned in the same breath as guys like Les Miles and Nick Saban, but considering how good his recent Clemson teams have been, he deserves to be.
[related_post_one]
Schedule Sets Up Perfectly
With the offense firing on all cylinders, the defense stepping up in big games and Swinney making sure his team is consistently playing at a high level, there is no doubt that Clemson has the potential to challenge for a national title. However, another aspect of why they are No. 1 in the country has been the way their schedule has set up perfectly.
The Tigers had no problem beating up on weaker opponents earlier in the year but a close win over Louisville was the perfect prelude to a close win over Notre Dame. They were able to follow that up with some lopsided wins over Georgia Tech, Boston College, Miami and North Carolina State, and some of those teams have been Top 25 material this season. And next up is their showdown with No. 16 Florida State. All eyes will be on their clash with the Seminoles this weekend and if they survive that test, the path towards the College Football Playoff will be paved for them with winnable games against Syracuse, Wake Forest and South Carolina to close out the regular season.
