Re: TNET: Clemsons regression is inexplicable

TigerNet News® · 2025-09-15T11:00:01.833Z

Clemson’s regression is inexplicable Full Story »

Call me Nostradamus. My post from September 2021. Remember, Saban was still coaching then.( https://www.tigernet.com/clemson-forum/message/re-hard-pills-to-swallow-29381079#29381079 )

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There is a level of complacency that has crept into the program. It shows in the overall coaching and planning for big games against quality opponents. We've gotten blown out the last 3 years in these games. And if it wasn't for TL's scrambling ability we would have lost to OSU before getting worked by LSU.

The ACC's overall decline has masked our own recent decline We play a lot of cupcakes every year and traditional ACC powers (FSU, Miami and VaTech) have all been down too. It's allowed us to win 6 straight ACC titles, but also has set us up to get pushed around in the playoffs.

The best is NOT the standard here at Clemson. Between the coaches kids on the teams and the coddling of clearly overmatched and outdated coaches, the "best" has been achieved largely on the backs of a few truly awesome athletes and QB's in particular.

Alabama has clearly put distance between themselves and us over the last few years. How many coordinators coaches have come and gone at Alabama in the last 3 years, yet they are still winning and producing Heisman winners? For that one night in Santa Clara back in 2019 we were CLEARLY the better team. And while we went on from there to sign coaches to extensions, Alabama took some to the woodshed and reminded them that WINNING big games is what matters most to them.

Dabo can be both the best coach in the country while simultaneously being the program's biggest liability Between his clearly outdated stance on the transfer portal and his loyalty to ineffective coaches he has put the program on a lower trajectory that is could be. Don't get me wrong, he is still a net positive to Clemson on many levels, but what he once brought in terms of fresh ideas, new coaches and innovation years ago has started to turn into classic "coach speak", same-old, same-old and excuses.

IN Summation; we've become somewhat stale, lazy and complacent. It's on Dabo and the coaching staff to get us back on the right track in a college football world that is changing rapidly. As of now, it is unclear if they can pull it off.

IRONMAN3000

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Sep 15, 2025, 1:24 PM

Go back to February, MAT DRILLS, Strength and Conditioning Training, then the start of Spring Training. Ok, Dabo said at the start of camp that several players were injured, ok, he didn’t have enough to split the team for the spring game, hum sure right. Now, if you believe that with that depth chart of players 1st string to the practice squad that Dabo could not put a team together for the spring game wasn’t a sign, then we all need to cancel our subscription to College SI, Steel Magazine, College Football Today, CBS Sports, etc. Dabo only had eight players down on his starting roster, only eight, you telling me that a roster of 130 players at the time before the roster cuts to 105, Dabo could not develop and put a team together for development?, “BULL”! Folks, I think there is a deeper issue here and we aren’t being told exactly what the problem is, but obviously the results of that problem is on full display with a 1-2 (0-1 ACC) record. Understand, I have seen this before with Tommy Bowden, 2007 going into 2008, something wasn’t sitting right in that Clemson locker room. What happened, the crushing loss to Alabama to start the season, the nail in the unemployment board posting came when Clemson lost to Wake Forest, Bowden out Dabo in. Fast forward 2025, Spring Training full of promise, new players, opportunities for improvement and for players on the depth chart to step up in place of the exiting players and the players on IR to earn a spot on the roster as a starter. Did any of this happen, nope. The other odd thing was the spring game, not enough players, really, or was it we didn’t develop the bottom tier of the roster so we aren’t going to split the team. That was the warning light for me. ESPN blowing this team up, ACCN blowing this team up, CBS Sports, so on blowing this team up as a National Championship contender and possibly the Champions of 2025. Well, here we are, discussing how this team has fallen from grace. Has NIL ruined teams like Clemson, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, shall I go on, these are just a few examples of how NIL has made it hard to develop and recruit players. Gone are the days of playing for the school you grew up cheering for, gone are the days of loyalty to tradition, gone are the days when we as fans pulled hard for the players to succeed and make it to the NFL, gone are the days when players were students, yes those days are gone. Now, you got minor league NFL players who like the NFL can either play well or tank a season, and guess what they don’t give a crap about us as fans, the coaches, the band, these guys are out for self! It makes me sick, especially this transfer portal crap ESPN/Disney created and masterminded along side NIL to destroy the College Football experience. It’s no longer fun, not mentioning this expansion of the playoffs from four (which was working just fine) to this ridiculous 12 team crap! ESPN/Disney pushed this play for pay garbage, and if you’re like me don’t agree with alcohol consumption being sold/allowed in the seating area of Death Valley, you’re not alone, we can thank ESPN/Disney. Now our stadium looks and smells like Williams Brice, smells like a bar, bathroom floors drenched with beer pee, stalls smelling like vomit, fans complaining their kids have been exposed to an atmosphere that is not Clemson anymore and are seriously considering no longer buying tickets or season tickets. Do they care no, no because there are plenty of those fans who can’t wait to get those tickets so they can drink the Devil Juice, smuggle in a little extra in plastic containers of hand sanitizer, oh yeah I have seen that, talk about folks who need AA for real! They will replace us, and the families who wanted to have their children experience a game will now experience from home. Now, let’s bring this all together here, Clemson and College Football sold their souls and now, they’re going to pay the price. I believe in redemption, I believe that this can be fixed, and Clemson could be great again! Limit transfer eligibility for graduating seniors who have another year of eligibility going for a Masters degree, develop a new NIL College Scholarship program where players across the board get 5K stipend for their personal needs, room and board paid for, tuition, food expenses, and a clothing allowance to be included, this will not only clean up College Football but it will bring back the fun of college football. Now, alcohol at games, let’s fix that, I’m all for selling those who want a beer at halftime. BUT!, the stadiums need to set up a restaurant area where people can eat and drink one beer, yes I said eat! No more beer in the seat areas of the stadium, oh and upon entering the stadium if you are caught with any type of plastic bottle, Police test it and if CSI lab tester pops alcohol you will be fined and banned from sporting events for one year. Stiff penalties for folks who can go a day without getting stiff. Let’s make football fun again, and get back why folks loved college football. Oh let’s reduce the playoffs to eight teams and then leave it alone, ESPN/Disney! Now, Dabo fix what you can, and here’s to a 4-8 season.

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TNET: Clemson’s regression is inexplicable