North Carolina vs. Clemson: Are You Doubting the Tigers?

North Carolina is trending well right now as far as being a competitor against Clemson in Charlotte this Saturday. A lot of radio and television personalities are going to have to create a button for the phrase “If North Carolina beats Clemson” because of how the phrase is actually being used. It is by far the most anticipated matchup there is to offer Saturday, however, I can’t figure out why. I’m not here to bash North Carolina football but I am here to give my honest opinion about what I have seen this year.

Clemson is the ACC’s top competitor right now and as far as the playoff committee is concerned, Clemson is the best in the country. So why is there so much doubt that they will show up on saturday? Why is a team that is undefeated with ranked teams on its resume being doubted in place of a one loss team in the weakest division of the weakest conference in the power five? North Carolina is a poor man’s TCU and we all see how that turned out. An injured quarterback and a team that any top five defense is well capable of handling due to the poor defense put forth by TCU. The same thing goes for North Carolina.

They don’t have a defense capable of stopping Clemson’s offense unless they create turnovers. And with that being said, Clemson is not going to turn the ball over against North Carolina as they did against South Carolina.This is due to the fact that they are fresh off of a turnover ridden game and are more focused. The Gamecocks posed a threat and were able to create turnovers due to the rivalry aspect as well as being an unranked opponent on the road before Clemson’s biggest game of the year. Any team would have struggled if they were put in Clemson’s situation. Clemson is number one and every team is giving Clemson everything they have. North Carolina has no pressure and nobody watching them. Well, that definitely changes now.

More from Rubbing the Rock

North Carolina will be the one the nation is cheering to win on Saturday. North Carolina is going to have to put up points against a team that hasn’t allowed more than 41 points all year and then actually win the game. North Carolina will have to tackle Wayne Gallman and make him fumble the ball. North Carolina will have to stop Deon Cain, Germone Hopper, Jordan Leggette, Charone Peake, Hunter Renfrow, Artavis Scott, Stanton Seckinger, and most importantly; Deshaun Watson.

This is a task that nobody has been able to do at one time- ever. These players have never lost a game together. Since Deshaun Watson has arrived, Clemson is undefeated when he starts and finishes a game. Why will North Carolina be any different? I’m using a real life example here; why North Carolina?

Let me briefly use another well known Clemson game as a fair comparison. When Florida State arrived at Death Valley in 2013 and were being doubted they played the best game Florida State has ever played against Clemson. I think every person with sense picked Clemson. Everybody was completely wrong and Clemson made them look stupid. The fact is, this game is very similar but this time Clemson has the upper hand while UNC will play the role of Clemson.

Clemson will be the one dominating the line of scrimmage and getting to Williams. I think Williams will have a similar performance to that of Tajh Boyd when he played FSU in that game. Clemson was a hot team going up against a Championship bound, heisman led, well coached, undefeated team. And Clemson was embarrassed beyond belief.

More from Clemson Football

Will something similar to that actually happen saturday? I have no idea. All I have is numbers and some schedules and what I see is a pretty comfortable Clemson win.

Ironically, most of the same players from the historically abysmal 2014 UNC campaign are still playing and actually had a 3 game losing streak in place after week one. Then the competition settled, and they won eleven straight games. Nobody they beat is currently ranked. Not to mention it took overtime to beat a .500 Virginia Tech team. That doesn’t exactly fit into the equation of a hot, up and coming team.

If Clemson loses it may very well be a UNC logo next to a red “L” but we all know it should be an orange paw next to that red “L”. Clemson will make the playoff unless they lose to themselves.

What makes me feel better though is that Clemson has won 15 straight games including two top 10 teams as we speak with no overtimes needed. Why is Clemson being doubted? I know they played a mostly weak schedule for most of the season, but Clemson didn’t lose. For every North Carolina “statement” there is a better Clemson one.

Next: Clemson vs UNC: Game Announcers, TV Info, and More

Just because Clemson played lackadaisical for the end of season stretch doesn’t mean they aren’t the best team. Clemson’s season is a lot like their game plan every week. They start hot and as the game progresses and their lead builds, they tap the brakes and play conservative. This usually means that the defense will too. The opposing team will inch its way back and then all of a sudden Clemson has won and time has expired. What happened? Good coaching happened. Why run the score up? Why pile up points and put your receivers in vulnerable positions when you have a 15 point lead with eight minutes left? Dabo will play different this week. I have a funny feeling that the 2014 Deshaun Watson versus North Carolina stats may reappear again. This time Clemson won’t get just a statement win but they will get an ACC Championship trophy as well as a berth to the College Football Playoff. Then you can doubt Clemson- just not now.

Home/Clemson Football