While the Georgia Southern game is a great opportunity for the Clemson Tigers to get right heading into ACC play, this team is not without its concerns. During ESPN College GameDay, lead analyst Kirk Herbstreit had to answer his level of concern for Clemson during the rapid-fire dashboard segment. Despite his sons having played for Clemson, Herbstreit did not hold back when discussing the team.
“Clemson’s level of concern. On a scale of 1-10, I think it’s a 9,” Herbstreit said during ESPN College GameDay on Saturday morning. “They can’t run the ball. The offense doesn’t have any identity at all. So yeah, forgetting overreacting to it — I’m concerned about the schedule, and they’ve got to find an offense. Because I think the defense can hang around, but the offense has gotta get a lot better.”
Running the football is something Chad Morris was hired to do in coming back to Clemson. After only 26 carries for 40 yards and a garbage time touchdown, the concerns originally raised by Garrett Riley the previous two years have not gone away. Riley is thriving now at Missouri, while Clemson will face a daunting three-game stretch in ACC play: Home versus UNC, at Cal, and then at home versus Miami.
How concerned should we be about Clemson this season? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/1x4aAgbSUc
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 12, 2026
Clemson can improve its rushing attack, but must survive ACC schedule
Herbstreit being this concerned about Clemson this early into the season has more to do with its schedule than anything. One should expect for Clemson to improve its ground game when facing lesser competition. It may have been a disastrous showing at LSU, but the Bayou Bengals already look like a playoff team. Morris should be able to draw something up in Clemson's next three games.
If Clemson can approach 40 carries when taking on Georgia Southern, North Carolina, and Cal, then that would be something positive to build on heading into a David versus Goliath matchup with Miami. Should Clemson get to 3-2 over the next few weeks, then everything Dabo Swinney's team is playing for can still be achieved. All the team needs to do is go 7-1 in ACC play to maybe make it to Charlotte.
However, if the ground game proves to be barren once again during these three winnable games for the Tigers, it may be the longest year ever for Swinney and his staff. This may seem a tad reactionary, but if Clemson starts the season out 1-4 (0-3) with losses to LSU, North Carolina, Cal, and Miami, that could be the end of the line for Swinney at Clemson. His buyout is massive, but people will get angry.
Right now, Clemson cannot control who it plays on its schedule. However, it can do everything in its power to improve its rushing attack in trying to move forward. The best way the team can hold its own in ACC play is to win the time of possession by playing great defense and backing it up with a solid running game. Complementary football has to become the driving force for Clemson moving forward.
If running the football does not improve between now and the Miami game, Clemson will be in trouble.
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