Lightening Up The Bandwagon
Dabo Swinney is stuck on 165 wins.
Maybe it's the curse of Frank Howard.
Or maybe it's the curse of what he said during the open date:
BECOME A SUBSCRIBER AT TIGERILLUSTRATED.com!
"Honestly, maybe we need to lose a few games and lighten up the bandwagon. Sometimes the bandwagon can get a little too full."
Clemson has lost two games since he uttered those words on his radio show to clap back at criticism from fans.
With the faithful irate over a 4-4 start and back-to-back losses in the same season for the first time in 12 years, there's plenty of room on the bandwagon now.
The misery got worse Saturday afternoon in a 24-17 defeat at N.C. State.
Clemson finally ended up on the CW Network, a slot devoted to nondescript teams.
That's about what the Tigers are right now, a fact reinforced with startling clarity when their offense never seemed like a real threat to score the game-tying touchdown on its final drive.
Clemson took over at its 8-yard line with 4:23 left.
The Tigers moved the ball a grand total of 35 yards over the next 4:09, and their last flail on fourth-and-19 ended when a leaping Tyler Brown couldn't come down with a heave from Cade Klubnik.
Clemson had actually reached the 50 in fairly swift fashion, and during a timeout with 1:15 left Swinney encouraged the offense to make a play.
The Tigers went backwards instead.
A pass to Troy Stellato produced no gain.
A run by Phil Mafah produced a yard and a first down on third-and-1.
A pass to Mafah gained 2 yards.
And then a sack of Klubnik lost 7 yards and put the Tigers in desperation mode.
Honestly it's probably overdoing it to make a lot of that final drive. Because it was clear long before then that this team, once again, piles up far too many breakdowns to expect to win.
Most of those breakdowns and gaffes are on offense. But two massive plays by N.C. State's Kevin Concepcion -- a 50-yard run early, and a 72-yard catch-and-sprint touchdown past Toriano Pride -- supplied ample evidence that the defense isn't without its warts.
And oh yeah, place-kicking is still an adventure with Jonathan Weitz missing a 43-yarder to end the first half and barely squeezing in a 19-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Once again, turnovers and the opponent's points off them were a major part of the story: Payton Wilson's pick-6 off the tipped ball accounted for a direct touchdown, and early the Wolfpack made Klubnik pay for his first interception off an airmailed ball to Jake Briningstool when Concepcion dashed 50 yards to the 9-yard line, followed by MJ Morris finding a wide-open Concepcion on third-and-goal for a 9-yard touchdown.
N.C. State wasn't perfect, as evidenced by two dropped passes on its final possession. And Wilson's absence after he left with a knee injury made it feel like the Wolfpack's defense was on its heels in the fourth quarter.
But the Wolfpack didn't turn it over.
And this Clemson season seems marked by one common strategy from opponents:
Wait patiently, taking care not to do anything stupid, and bet on the Tigers making the game-turning mistakes.
Pretty good odds on that these days.
Once upon a time, Dave Doeren seemed destined never to beat Clemson.
Join Tigerillustrated.com subscribers on The West Zone message board!
He'll probably never get over the missed field goal in 2016, and he'll probably always be haunted by the ways his team couldn't pull through a year later in Raleigh.
After losing his first seven tries against Swinney, Doeren has now won two of his last three.
And after spending State's open date familiarizing himself with Clemson's recent ways, he told his players Tuesday they'd beat the Tigers.
Never mind that the Wolfpack couldn't get out of its own way in its previous three ACC games, including a 24-3 loss at Duke its last time out.
Notre Dame is next for Clemson, and the Irish will probably take the same approach:
Just protect the football, don't do anything crazy and wait for the Tigers to melt.
Clemson fans are quite familiar with the recipe.
And the bandwagon is quite light now.
BIG SALE on officially-licensed Clemson apparel & gear at The Tiger Fan Shop HERE!
