I promise I am as frustrated as we all have been over the past 6 days after what happened in Atlanta. "Been there, done that" we all thought. However, the 2014 season is not over. Dabo talks about only having 7 days a year to gather in Death Valley, and we still get 2 of those over the next 9 days. Instead of looking at what we don't have, let's look at what we do:
*A senior class that includes Stephone Anthony, Grady Jarrett, Vic Beasley, Corey Crawford, Tony Steward, Robert Smith, DeShawn Williams, etc.
*A group with 39 wins so far in their careers. A win tomorrow ties them with the 1990 class with 40 wins. A win in the next game would give them 41. What better way to set the Clemson record for wins by a class than beating Carolina?
*The Playoff Committee valued us enough to keep us ranked at 22. While we would all certainly like to be higher, I'd rather see us ranked each week than not!
*In 2003 we lost at Wake, and then went on a 4-game tear... What if we do something like that over these next 3 games?
*Still have a chance at 10 wins, which would be 4 such seasons in a row. Has only been done once at Clemson.
*We all want Clemson to be a national power. To me that means being a consistent winner over a number of years. Getting to 10 wins would put us in the top-5 nationally in victories since 2011.
*We may not be competing for a playoff spot, but there is still a lot on the line over the next 2 games. I am excited for these seniors, and I hope they end their Death Valley careers in style (they are 24-2 at home so far).
Until we can beat them on a regular basis again, we're just another mediocre ACC team. We have to beat quality opponents and that they are, evn with their record this year.