Barrett Carter and Clemson are ready to enter "championship phase" in November

Barrett Carter and the Tigers look to make it a November to remember and a return trip to the Playoff.

Grayson Mann - Staff Writer - Wednesday, October 23 2024

Wes Goodwin told the media in July it was time for his defense to return to “Dynasty Mode.”

As the Tigers begin to ramp up to the season's final stretch, Barrett Carter announced it was time to get into Clemson’s “Championship phase.”

The Tigers are in the middle of their second open date of the season, which has come at the right time.

Clemson is on a six-game winning streak and riding plenty of momentum in November's gauntlet.

Compared to last year, all the goals for the Tigers are out there for them to take. They hold the most conference wins in the ACC and are projected as a College Football Playoff team by every major outlet.

Carter has certainly been here before. He remembers a Tiger team that rolled into November at 8-0, only for the wheels of that playoff wagon to fall off incredibly fast. Clemson finished 3-3, falling short of a successful finish in the Orange Bowl to Tennessee.

Carter’s mindset has shifted to November, but he is still focused on getting better every single day.

“Yeah, it's exciting,” Carter said. “Of course, we still have a long way to go. Coach (Dabo Swinney) always says they remember November, and we're going into our championship phase, so we still have to keep getting better every single day. But it's super exciting just knowing that we have all of our goals in front of us and that we still have a chance to fight for a spot to win this league, and whatever comes after that, we'll see. But it's exciting, to say the least. So you just got to keep getting better every single day.”

How does this team reach championship readiness, in his eyes? Carter says it goes back to addressing the issues in the film room, examining some of this defense's mistakes, and correcting them.

Overall, the Tiger defense has slowly improved in October. That can be attributed to an added focus and getting Peter Woods back into the lineup.

That added improvement has been seen in the rushing attack, with the Tigers only surrendering 59 yards per game in their last three matchups. Still, Clemson ranks only 45th in the country in rush defense.

Carter’s seen plenty of examples as to why on tape and knows if they address specific areas, there’s no telling where this defense can go.

“I would say just there's a lot of stuff,” Carter said. “Leveraging the football, tackles, staying in our gaps on defense, better man technique, better rush integrity, the list goes on. There are just some mental errors, some misaligned, so the list goes on. Those are probably the main takeaways that I've seen from our defense. We're doing a lot of good stuff. Nowhere where we should be as a defense. There is a long way to go, but I would probably say those are the main takeaways.”

Much like Carter believes the defense has a long road ahead to get to where they want to be, so does the team in November.

In total, the Tigers play five games in November. Excluding The Citadel, every team Clemson will square off against currently have winning records, including rival South Carolina.

As the calendar hits November, the second open date will have come and gone.

If you ask Carter, it is time to enter a new phase of Clemson’s progression back to the playoffs. There’s plenty of season left, but the goal the Tigers set in July is beginning to come into sight.

Now, Clemson has to do what their fall camp t-shirts echoed in the dog days of the summer: finish.