Renowned Analyst Has Surprising Take on State of Clemson Tigers Offense

A popular analyst asked a very important question the Clemson Tigers must answer.

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) warms up before a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers have shown two completely different sides of themselves throughout the first two weeks of the 2024 college football season.

In Week 1, they had zero offense and were absolutely dismantled by the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Many started to panic about Dabo Swinney's team, but that panic was washed away in Week 2 when they dominated Appalachian State with an electrifying offensive showing that powered the Tigers to a 66-20 victory.

Following two completely different performances by Clemson, a renowned college football analyst Joel Klatt has asked a very important question on his recent episode of "The Joel Klatt Show."

“So which one is it? Clemson fans – let’s check in. Which one is it? You know what? Cautiously, I’m optimistic."

He went on to explain why.

"For the first time since last year, I can honestly say that this is kind of what I wanted to start to see last season when Garrett Riley became your offensive coordinator. I remember this because, in hindsight, it was probably the prediction that I was most off on before last season in 2023. This idea that Garrett Riley, coming from TCU after that national championship run with Max Duggan and going to Clemson, was going to improve Cade Klubnik and the offense, which had become very stagnant at Clemson. That was the thought. I thought to myself, you know what? I trust it, I think that Garrett is really good, I think Cade is talented, and I think this is going to work. Thought, you know what, Clemson is going to win the ACC. Then it didn't happen. It didn't happen at all."

How they perform the rest of the season will depend on which version of Cade Klubnik shows up.

If he comes with a confident mentality like he had last week against Appalachian State, Clemson could be very dangerous. On the other hand, if he comes in hesitant and second guessing himself like he did against Georgia, it could be a very long year.

All of that being said, there are major reasons for optimism.

Swinney and company looked strong last week. If they can carry that momentum forward, they could get hot and start stringing wins together.

It will be very interesting to see which version of the Tigers shows up next weekend against NC State.