WATCH: CFB analyst on where Clemson falls among elite in college football |
FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt was disappointed by what he saw out of the Tigers in the 31-14 Orange Bowl loss to No. 6 Tennessee.
"I thought this was going to be a springboard," Klatt said Wednesday. "I thought this was going to be the first game of next season for them. And with the momentum they were going to have when they bench DJ Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik goes out there -- a guy I really believe in by the way -- I thought that this was going to be the start of what could be considered a championship run next season. And it might turn out to be that, but they certainly didn't play well enough in crucial moments and obviously missing field goals is going to get you beat. You play a good team and play in a big environment like that in the (Orange) Bowl and you miss big field goals -- you're going to get beat." Klatt sees talent starting to even out in college football and doesn't see Clemson falling behind necessarily. "Dabo's got a little work cut out for him," Klatt said, "although I do think he is in a decent position. That's a good roster. I don't know if they're quite as talented as related to other teams around the country as far as where they were three or four years ago. Having said that, I do think that we're starting to see because of the transfer portal and NIL (Name/Image/Likeness third-party compensation) -- I do think that we're starting to see talent move around and spread out a little bit. Not a ton but a little bit. And because of that, maybe it doesn't affect Clemson quite as much that they aren't from a talent standpoint what they were four or five years ago."
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