Now begins the litmus exams. Precise challenges. Two revealing video games that can make clear Clemson and inform us if this version is totally different from final 12 months’s disappointment.
First up is a visit to Winston-Salem to satisfy undefeated Wake Forest. Then N.C. State involves Loss of life Valley. After Clemson, Wake and State are the subsequent highest-ranked ACC groups led by completed quarterbacks Sam Hartman and Devin Leary, respectively.
The strain shall be on. As a result of mushy state of the ACC and Notre Dame’s deflated standing, Clemson nearly definitely has to go undefeated.
Clemson, it have to be famous, hasn’t misplaced a soccer sport in near 11 months. It has received 9 straight, a streak that's onerous to consider due to how far off the radar this program has strayed.
Whenever you set such a excessive bar, win two nationwide championships in three years and develop NFL quarterbacks and high prospects, extra can typically be manufactured from an off 12 months. Three losses look like six. Gradual begins result in overreactions.
That may change over the subsequent two weeks. Clemson can proclaim it's again. Maintain Wake Forest and N.C. State, remind everybody Dabo Swinney’s juggernaut intends to finish its playoff absence at one 12 months.
The Tigers have but to actually flex their muscle tissue regardless of the 3-0 document. It took them some time to tug away from woeful Georgia Tech. Furman and Louisiana Tech weren’t as lopsided as anticipated.
However Clemson nonetheless cruised to wins in every sport. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has carried out properly, throwing 5 touchdowns in comparison with one interception, maybe an indication the previous five-star recruit is able to make the leap everybody has been ready for. Working again Will Shipley seems to be like a difference-maker. The protection is loaded with next-level expertise up entrance.
An argument may be made that these shall be Clemson’s hardest remaining video games, until two-loss Notre Dame dramatically improves by the point the Tigers go to South Bend on Nov. 5. No crew within the nation has extra at stake the subsequent two Saturdays because the nationwide highlight returns to Clemson. The strain shall be on Swinney, Uiagalelei and the Tigers. Their playoff hopes rely on them breaking by.
Arrow pointing up for the Pac-12
Three weeks into the season, the Pac-12 has life. New-look USC has lived as much as the hype with three blowout victories. Oregon rebounded from its ugly Week 1 loss to Georgia by manhandling BYU, a loss which will say extra about Georgia’s prowess than the rest. And Washington might be a contender now that the Braziller Jinx has pale — I picked them to succeed in the playoff a 12 months in the past — dominating beforehand undefeated Michigan State behind Indiana switch quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Whereas it’s early, the league wants these sorts of optimistic outcomes, affect non-conference wins just like the aforementioned victories together with Washington State’s three-point win at Wisconsin every week in the past. The Pac-12 hasn’t been represented within the playoff since 2017 and shall be dropping two of its high manufacturers — USC and UCLA — to the Massive Ten beginning in 2024. Even having groups within the playoff combine into November can be an accomplishment. USC and Washington, who would solely meet within the convention title sport, have the potential to be a part of the talk.
An terrible match
Nebraska followers had been chanting for City Meyer throughout Fox’s “Massive Midday Kickoff” present that features the well-traveled coach and was on location for the Nebraska-Oklahoma contest. Then, CBS reported that Nebraska had reached out to Meyer about its head-coach opening, though it was unsure if the inquiry was about Meyer being within the job or the Massive Ten program merely on the lookout for his enter.
No. No, no and no. It’s a nasty concept for Nebraska. It’s a worse concept for Meyer, a three-time nationwide champion with the bags to match his on-field success. Simply no.
Nebraska, engaged on its sixth straight dropping season, wants a whole overhaul. It wants a younger coach the likes of Iowa State’s Matt Campbell or probably Matt Rhule, if he doesn’t keep on with the Panthers. Meyer may use some extra time to let the fiasco that was his one 12 months with the Jacksonville Jaguars breathe, the coach going 2-11 earlier than being let go amid a myriad of points. The colleges the 58-year-old Meyer ought to be — and sure — eying are Florida State and UCLA, huge applications he would probably elevate instantly. These make sense. Nebraska doesn't.
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