Dabo Swinney pushed all his chips into the middle of the table for this team, and this is what we got. Before we finally turn the page on Clemson's disastrous 51-10 Week 1 road loss at LSU, we need to look at this defeat as either a jumping-off point to try and get better, or a sign from the sport that wholesale changes need to come. It all has to start with Swinney finally being honest with himself.
When scanning the box score, LSU clearly dominated Clemson in many key areas. The Bayou Bengals outgained the Tigers by nearly 500 yards (644 to 145). LSU held the football for nearly a quarter longer than Clemson by winning the time of possession, 36:09 to 23:51. Lane Kiffin's team had more than quadruple the number of first downs of Swinney's team (38 to 8). It was ugly any way you slice it.
However, perhaps the most damning part of this pitiful loss is Swinney no longer has the luxury to "win the right way." FanSided's Josh Yourish dedicated a section of his Table for 12 article on the demise of Clemson. Not only did he highlight their transfer portal concerns, but questioned if they were still recruiting their kind of guys out of high school. Clemson recruits at only a top-15 level now.
The price to pay for Swinney remaining stubborn is Clemson no longer able to show up in big games.
Clemson's chances of making the College Football Playoff are nearly over
Clemson could rattle off 11-straight wins to force its way back into the College Football Playoff conversation. However, this egregiously bad data point versus LSU puts the Tigers behind the eight ball more so than Swinney would ever want to admit. Clemson needs to upset the Miami Hurricanes at home to get a quality win on its resume. That may be what is required to somehow get to Charlotte.
While the College Football Playoff Selection Committee will allow a team to get better as the season progresses, a 41-point loss to a serious national title contender would cause Clemson to lose every debate it could find itself in. Unless Clemson is somehow able to rekindle the magic from yesteryear, the only way the Tigers are making the playoffs now are as ACC champions. At least they have that...
The shame in it all is we still have a full season's worth of games left to be played. Yet, for many reasons, it already is starting to feel like season over for the Tigers. Clemson may be closer to an eight-win team than a playoff contender, but the Tigers' utter evisceration in the other Death Valley looked worse than even what the final score may indicate. This team still lost horribly by 41 points.
As far as what needs to happen now, we can only hope that Week 1 will serve as the wakeup call this program desperately needs. While Clemson cannot revamp its roster until next offseason, Swinney, his staff, and these players must try to find a way. There are players on this team that will get drafted high, but you don't win games with four-of-five high-end players. You win by having the better team.
Week 1's referendum reaffirmed all the reasons why so many pundits counted Clemson out this year.
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