Clemson football: With nothing to lose, it’s time to open up the playbook

The Clemson football offense has underperformed in each of its first six games and now we’re sitting on the backside of a 2021 season that seems almost lost.

The Tigers currently hold a 4-2 record and they’ve been out of the running for the CFB Playoff basically since the late portion of September. Even worse than missing the playoff, there is a good chance that this team misses winning the ACC Atlantic Division unless N.C. State somehow finds a way to lose two conference games, the vast majority of which they’ll be favored in.

And now, as we head into Saturday, Clemson will be an underdog in ACC play for the first time since 2014 when the Tigers step foot on Heinz Field to face a ranked Pittsburgh team that is playing with tons of confidence and has one of the best offenses not just in the conference, but in the country.

With nothing to lose, it’s time for Clemson football to open up the playbook

Both Dabo Swinney and Tony Elliott have admitted this week that the offense is putting too much pressure on itself to go be perfect.

The question we have is why? What pressure should there be at this point? Yes, you’d still like to win-out and potentially win a conference championship and compete in a New Year’s Six Bowl, but honestly, the expectations are so low, why do they feel any pressure?

As the Tigers enter this week, there needs to be a change in the mindset of how this offense is preparing.

One of the best ways to combat pressure is to replace it with fun and right now, this offense isn’t having any fun.

Open the playbook up and let them loosen up. Tell them to stop thinking and run some creativity. Would it really hurt if Clemson mixed in a trick play or if the offense threw in some strange look just for the sake of having a little fun?

Oh, and by the way, we aren’t the only ones who feel this way:

If it doesn’t work, you can’t be much worse than you already are. But, who knows, maybe something starts to click and the offense finally finds its groove? Momentum and confidence can be dangerous things, you know.