Clemson Tigers Seek Redemption Heading Into Showdown With Citadel Bulldogs

As the season comes to a close, the Clemson Tigers feel like they haven't reached their potential.

Nov 16, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney reacts against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers are heading into their penultimate game of the season against The Citadel Bulldogs. 

It has been a pretty good year for the Tigers, as they have a 8-2 record overall and finished 7-1 in the ACC this season. Even though Clemson has the most wins in the conference as of now, they still have to wait to see what happens with the Miami Hurricanes and SMU Mustangs in the remaining games of the season. 

As of now, the Tigers are, unfortunately, on the outside looking into the conference based on tie-breakers. If Clemson is going to make the College Football Playoff, their best chance is going to be to win the ACC, which makes things tricky. 

Despite the Tigers having a solid season overall, Dabo Swinney recently spoke about the team not having played their best football yet. Linebacker Barrett Carter reiterated the fact that Clemson, especially on the defensive side of the ball. 

“Coach Swinney is spot on, we have not played our best game at all,” Carter said to Jason Preister of The Clemson Insider. “We have shown flashes of it in bits and pieces but he knows what we can do. I know what we can do and we are nowhere close to playing our best ball yet. Fortunately, we still have time to prove that or to showcase that,” Carter added. “We just have to clean up the little stuff. We can’t get tired of doing the little stuff because that is what it’s going to come down to.”

The defense has certainly had some ups and downs this season with their points allowed, passing yards allowed, and rushing yards allowed all being in the middle of the road. 

After a couple of tough games for the defense against the Virginia Cavaliers and the Louisville Cardinals, in which they allowed a combined 64 points, Clemson followed it up by allowing 14 points to Virginia Tech and 20 points to the Pittsburgh Panthers. 

In the recent victory against the Panthers, edge rusher T.J. Parker had one of the best games of any defensive player in the nation with four sacks. 

While the game against The Citadel Bulldogs should be an easy win, the matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks will be a big test to end the season. 

With a lot of uncertainty regarding where they will fall in the conference and the CFP standings, time could be running out on the 2024 campaign to show what this defense is truly capable of.