Clemson football fans who are waiting for ‘love’ to come from ESPN or other national publications are likely going to be left disappointed on most accounts.
There is a growing sentiment among many national analysts as we inch closer to the 2021 season that Clemson is going to be more of a ‘pretender’ this year rather than a ‘contender.’
Two ESPN analysts recently gave their predictions for the season-opener against the Georgia Bulldogs and to no surprise, they both went the way of UGA.
Joey Galloway was asked about Clemson’s 11.5 win total and did not hesitate in saying he’d take the ‘under’ because the Tigers are going to lose to the Bulldogs to open the season. David Pollack said that he thought it would be a close game, but still favors Georgia in the matchup.
"[Clemson is] going to lose to Georgia."@Joey_Galloway and @davidpollack47 break down the Tigers' schedule in 2021 ⤵ pic.twitter.com/zazcxGItyD
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) August 4, 2021
Expect more national analysts to pick against Clemson football as we get closer to the season-opener
If you’re going to be upset every time that an analyst picks against Clemson this preseason, you’re likely to have a long August.
As we said above, many analysts aren’t sold on Clemson to be a legitimate contender and much of that is based off the Tigers’ performance against Ohio State back in January. In front of the eyes of the nation, Clemson fell flat.
The Tigers were dominated physically and their skill position players defensively didn’t match up with what Ohio State possessed.
When you combine that with the loss to LSU two years ago in the National Championship, you can see why some are beginning to question Clemson.
It’s not fair that the Tigers are held to such a high standard while Georgia– who consistently loses games it’s not supposed to or chokes on the biggest stage year-in and year-out– gets a pass, but that’s the world we live in.
People aren’t going to believe in Clemson football until the Tigers take the field and prove it.
Honestly, though, that might be better for this program. Dabo Swinney thrives in motivating his team and there’s no doubt that having media personalities question the Tigers at every turn will help this team be even more locked-in as they prepare for that game against the Bulldogs.