Clemson football in rarified air as epic run continues

Clemson football in rarified air as epic run continues

It’s easy to talk about the fact that Clemson football wasn’t able to bring home a National Championship either of the last two years.

It’s also easy to get caught up on things that need to change in the program as we move forward so that the Tigers can continue to compete at the highest level.

We- as fans and analysts- do plenty of that and will continue to do so, but today we’re going to talk about something on the other side of the spectrum that Clemson football fans shouldn’t take lightly.

Under the leadership of Dabo Swinney, Clemson has been on an epic run. The Tigers have won six-straight ACC Championships and they’ve competed in six-straight CFB Playoffs. They’ve also competed in four National Title games and brought home two National Championships.

While the hope is always to win it all, we shouldn’t just take for granted the success we are seeing unfold right in front of our eyes.

Fifth Quarter Inc shared a statistic this past week marking the most consecutive top-5 finishes in the history of College Football. 

No. 1 on the list was none other than Florida State during that 1987-2000 run where the Seminoles were absolutely dominant and went on to win two National Titles during that time.

After that? we’ve got a tie with Miami (86-92), USC (02-08) and Oklahoma (52-58) all with seven-straight years in the top-five.

Who’s next? That would be Clemson football, who is currently on a six-year streak of top-five finishes

If Clemson finishes inside the top-five in 2021, the Tigers will be tied with three CFB dynasties for consecutive top-five finishes.

Just to illustrate how hard it is to win the National Championship, here’s how many those teams with seven-straight top-five finishes won:

• Miami: 3
• USC: 3 (one of which was vacated)
• Oklahoma: 2

We’ve never argued against the fact that the Tigers must continue to improve and stay ahead of the times. There were things within the program that were disappointing in both of these last two CFB Playoff runs that makes you believe that Clemson is going to have continue to build as a program to stay on top of the national landscape.

But we shouldn’t overlook the success that the Tigers have had, either.

This is rarified air. You’re talking about some of the top dynasties in the history of College Football. You’re also talking about some of the top dynasties in College Football (Alabama and Nebraska for example) who didn’t accomplish this feat.

If Clemson can pick up a third National Championship this year, the Tigers will almost have to be considered a dynasty unless you’re going to begin to discredit the runs of Miami and Southern Cal in the process.