Clemson Football: One Quick Thing – Don’t get carried away with expectations for the offense

It’s July. It’s a great time of year to be excited about Clemson Football, or any other college football team you enjoy watching.

Why not, right? Everyone is undefeated and has all the hope in the world. We can all see 12-0 around the corner in summer.

Fortunately for Tiger fans, such things aren’t unrealistic. Clemson was the first program of the CFP era to hit the 15-0 undefeated champion target. The Tigers have two championships since 2016 and a streak of six playoff appearances.

Two consecutive three-loss seasons have been disappointing but most fans are optimistic about Cade Klubnik taking the reins at quarterback and Garrett Riley taking charge as the play caller.

Some fans might be getting a little too optimistic.

This is the best time of the year to get excited but sometimes we put a little too much weight in that excitement. When the actual results don’t match the expectations created by the excitement, fans can be let down and came sometimes jump to the conclusion that things aren’t working.

At the risk of being Captain Bringdown, we should remember something: Clemson’s offense rarely comes out of the gate firing on all cylinders. Usually, it takes time for this team to figure itself out, and it hasn’t necessarily been dependent on who was in charge of the offense.

In 2011, when Chad Morris became the offensive coordinator, the Tigers looked feeble against Troy in the opener. When they left the field at halftime against FCS Wofford, the boo birds came out in Death Valley. The offense worked itself out and the Tigers shocked their fans and the nation by defeating defending champion Auburn and then Florida State, but it took a few games for the offense to click. They were learning a new system after all.

Going into 2016, national pundits expected Deshaun Watson and the Tiger offense to score 40+ points every game. They opened the season with 19 points against Auburn and won by six points against Troy. It was October before Tony Elliott’s offense scored 40+ points against an FBS opponent.

The 2019 offense also needed time before they were ready for championship mode. Talking heads like Greg McElroy said Trevor had regressed. It took almost half the season for the offense to play up to it’s potential, and even longer for the pundits to notice.

Clemson Football doesn’t start the season fast on offense in most years

There are more examples we can point at where the Clemson offense needed the first third or half of the season to iron out the wrinkles than examples of them playing their best ball in September.

Overall, this has been an advantage for the Tigers. They usually peak at the right time.

The flip side is that they won’t blow anyone’s mind in the first few weeks of the season, and there is more reason to believe that will be the case in 2023 than not.

We would all love it if Garrett Riley waves a magic wand and makes this a dominant offense when the Tigers open the season in Durham on Labor Day Monday. Riley has been good at his previous stops, so it’s reasonable to believe he will have success at Clemson….eventually.

When we consider Clemson’s history of slow starts on offense, coupled with the players trying to learn a new offensive system, the facts point toward conservative expectations to start the season.

Excitement is fun, but it can lead to getting carried away.