Well-Known Analyst Delivers Brutal Clemson Tigers Assessment

The Clemson Tigers have received a brutal assessment from a well-known college football analyst.

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney on the field before a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Clemson Tigers headed into their Week 1 matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs with big hopes. An upset win to begin the year would have put them in a great position to make a run at the College Football Playoff.

At the very least, the Tigers wanted to make it a game. They would have had a strong argument even in a loss if they could have hung with the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.

Unfortunately, neither one of those things ended up happening. Instead, Clemson ended up losing by a final score of 34-3.

Following that brutal showing from the Tigers, ESPN analyst Booger McFarland has revealed a brutal assessment of Clemson.

He is seeing more of the same from the recent years of coming up short.

“It’s a couple issues for Clemson, and I’m afraid to say it’s the same ole thing. No creativity on offense. It’s been the same stale offense for four or five years. The quarterback, Cade Klubnik, no ability to push the football down the field. And if you’re a Clemson fan, you have to ask yourself, when are we going to change? When are we going to be able to be creative when we don’t have the explosive players that you’ve already heard of? Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins – when you don’t have those generational players, the creativity has to change. The defensive line was outstanding in the first half, but they just couldn’t hold up all game long when the offense doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain.”

Also, McFarland talked about Dabo Swinney's resistance of dipping into the transfer portal. That storyline has been talked about a lot recently and it was on full display against Georgia.

“It’s doing it Dabo’s way, and I think that’s what’s ruffled the Clemson faithful about how Dabo wants to do it. When it’s good, it’s going to be good. But every recruiting class is not going to hit on every player. So the transfer portal allows you to go in and if you need a wide receiver, if you need a safety, if you need some quarterback competition for Cade Klubnik, to bring someone in. Dabo chooses not to. Therefore, you’re going to have those lulls in the program, and I’m afraid right now, they have a little bit of a lull. No explosiveness on the outside. Defensively, the front is good, but where’s your guys on the second level, the linebackers and the safeties. They’ve struggled at Clemson to develop those guys for the last few years, and they’re still struggling.”

Right now, there are more questions than answers to the Tigers' problems. There don't appear to be many answers at all.

The offense has been horrific over the last few years.

Gone are the Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson days. Swinney has not proven he can win without players of that caliber.

Granted, it's too early to give up on Clemson this season. They've played just one game and it did come against the top-ranked team in college football.

Hopefully, they'll bounce back strong in Week 2 against Appalachian State. If they don't come out and have a dominant showing, it will be time to panic.