Growing up
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CLEMSON -- Last year's national championship trophy sits in the lobby of DaboLand thanks in large part to an offense that found the perfect gear at the perfect time.
A flurry of bad turnovers produced a shocking home loss to Pitt on the 12th day of November, and then it was over for opposing defenses after that.
Sixty-six combined playoff points against a big-boy Ohio State defense and a complete-monster Alabama defense are what define the 2016 offense. But that definition -- a potent offense discovering its full potential at the most crucial time -- does obscure some of the finer points from last year.
As in: Things were much tougher than expected for that group over some stretches. And it was legitimately surprising, given the wealth of talent, to see them not totally on track at times at Auburn, against Troy, against Georgia Tech, against N.C. State and even during some parts of Louisville and Florida State.
This was an offense that was getting used to having the target on its chest after a breakout 2015 season. This was a large group of guys who were headed to the NFL and who were learning to deal with the pressure that comes when you have large amounts of money riding on performance.
The context of last year is useful as we examine the 2017 offense through six games. The point is not to say a similar late-season breakout is coming for this group, because that would not be fair.
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