Clemson Football: Tigers can make a national statement against Duke

Clemson Football fans are waiting patiently to see their team take the field against the Duke Blue Devils on Labor Day evening.

Meanwhile, Clemson’s primary competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Florida State, will have the prime time stage tonight against the LSU Tigers.

LSU is understood by most to be a more formidable opponent than Duke. If FSU is victorious against the Bayou Bengals, they will have a lot of momentum as they steer toward the matchup with the Tigers in three weeks.

Clemson can’t control what happens in Orlando. They can control what happens in Durham, and they have a chance to show the nation that they will again be a contender for a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Typically the Tigers don’t start hot on offense. They usually take time at the beginning of the season to figure out their best options for players and play calls. It can sometimes take as much as five games before Clemson looks like what we expect Clemson to look like.

The past two seasons, Clemson hasn’t looked like Clemson very often.

The best way for Clemson Football to prove things have changed is to score early and often

If the Tigers want to put the nation on notice that things have changed in Clemson, they need to score points and score them early.

Nothing will stand out to college football observers around the nation than putting up a lot of points against the Blue Devil defense.

Casual fans immediately dismiss Duke because they’re Duke. Informed observers around the nation understand that Mike Elko is one of the best defensive coaches in the country.

Scoring at will against Duke won’t be possible for several teams this season. Clemson has the talent and coaching to pull it off, but it will only happen if their focus and efforts match the confidence they have shown through fall camp.

If that focus and effort has been there, Clemson has a chance to send a big message to the rest of the nation.