Rant Sports 100 in 100 College Football Previews: No. 14 Clemson Tigers
The 2012 college football season is only a couple weeks away and the Rant Sports 100 in 100 is counting down to the number one team, today we take a look at the number 14 team on the list, the Clemson Tigers.
Clemson is coming off of one of its best seasons in recent history. The Tigers finished up last season with a 10-4 record and a win in the ACC Championship game. However, the happiness and excitement that followed winning the ACC was short lived as the Tigers were blown out of the water by West Virginia in the Orange Bowl.
Last year, like most other years, was supposed to be the time when Florida State reasserted its dominance over the ACC, but Clemson quickly dispelled that notion. The Tigers showed themselves to be the class of the conference early last season when they beat Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech in a three week stretch. Clemson faltered some late in the season, but were able to rally to become ACC champions.
Head coach Dabo Swinney will try to keep Clemson atop the ACC again in 2012.
Strengths:
Quarterback – Tajh Boyd was a superstar in 2011. Last season, as a sophomore, Boyd passed for 3,828 yards and 33 touchdowns. He added another five touchdowns on the ground. He was the best quarterback in the ACC last season and there is plenty of reason to believe he will be the best in 2012. Boyd was the main reason that Clemson had a top 25 offense last season and he is the reason that the Tigers will once again have an explosive offense this year.
Wide Receivers – Clemson has two legitimate Heisman contenders this year, the first is Boyd and the second is receiver Sammy Watkins. Last season Watkins caught 77 passes for 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was able to put up these numbers as a true freshman, so it is reasonable to believe that the sky is the limit for the young wide receiver.
Junior receiver DeAndre Hopkins will be lining up opposite Watkins. Last season Hopkins caught 72 passes for 978 yards and five touchdowns. Hopkins was overshadowed by his counterpart last year, but he was still an excellent receiver. It is a luxury for Clemson to have a receiver like Hopkins as a second option.
Weaknesses:
Defense – Clemson will have one weakness in 2012, but it’s a big one. The defense ranked 81st in the country last year in points allowed per game, the Tigers allowed 29.3 points per game in 2011. Clemson’s defense was embarrassed in last season’s Orange Bowl. West Virginia scored 70 points against them. The performance led to the dismissal of Kevin Steele as defensive coordinator.
Dabo Swinney hired Brent Venables to take over the defense and turn it around. Venables was Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator and had held that position since 2004. Last season the Sooners defense ranked 31st in the country in points allowed per game. He isn’t the best defensive coordinator in the country but Venables is a step up from Steele.
Venables has his work cut out for him with Clemson. The Tigers will once again rely on their offense to outscore their opponents in 2012.
Overall Prediction:
Clemson will be one of the top teams in the ACC again this year, but they will lose three games to Florida State, North Carolina State and South Carolina. If the defense can turn it around then the Tigers will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
