Clemsoning (verb): when a top-ranked college football team suffers a devastating loss against an unranked opponent.
Obviously, this term originates from those early 2010s Clemson teams who had plenty of bad losses against inferior opponents. The Tigers seemed to put this to rest after two national titles in 2016 and 2018. However, with the lack of postseason success in the past four years combined with a home loss to Louisville, it seems like the 2024 Tigers are giving fans every reason to resurrect this demeaning word.
I still believe Clemson is still one of the pillar programs in college football. I also still think that Dabo Swinney is one of the best recruiters in country and is able to attract both elite-level high school recruits and assistant coaches to his programs. However, and I know it gets brought up a lot, Coach Swinney has to adapt to this new landscape of college football.
The loss against Louisville last week is another reason to believe this. That game does not lead me believe that Dabo will use the portal or some other big change will come to fruition in the near future. Yet, every Clemson fan is wondering why their program has regressed in the past five years, and every single one of them can point to the transfer portal as a big reason to why the Tigers have.
Who is this 2024 Clemson team? They have an above average quarterback, Cade Klubnik, who feasts on bad teams and has yet to have a good game against an above average opponent. The Tigers boasts an NFL-caliber running back in Phil Mafah and multiple other pro-potential pass catchers. That begs the question of what is the issue? The issue is not with the offense, but rather the Clemson Defense.
Let’s take a look at where Clemson ranked in total defense since 2019.
2019: 5th
2020: 15th
2021: 2nd
2022: 22nd
2023: 32nd
2024: 68th
Source: sportsreference.com/cfb
The Tigers national rank in total defense has steadily declined since the loss of Defensive Coordinator Brent Veneables after the 2021 season. They also have not had a defensive player win a national individual award since 2019 (Isaiah Simmons, Butkus). Is this a coincidence that the Clemson Defense has declined significantly since Veneables’ departure and the age of the transfer portal has come about.
As for the defense, things were a lot better for both Clemson and Veneables when they were together. Though a reunion may not happen, a lot of problems can be solved by continuing to recruit the elite players that Clemson has. Before you yell at your screen or computer, I know Clemson has continued to do this. However, the rest of college football has also done this and executed at grabbing talent a lot better through the transfer portal.
Maybe it is simple after all: recruit great high school players, retain them at the highest rate you can, and improve through the portal. Georgia has done it. Alabama has had success with it. Michigan won a national championship following this formula. Ohio State has stayed relevant using the portal. Clemson is the only elite FBS program to not follow the blueprint laid out by other college football powerhouses.
This is why we have witnessed this great regression of Clemson Defenses. It was not all about Veneables or even the NFL talent on those great Clemson teams from 2015-2020. College Football has been able to get better as a whole, while Clemson has been stagnant. In this new age of college athletics, programs that do not adapt will not continue to have national success.
Here in 2024 and more specifically in Week 11, Clemson is not focused on any of that. The Tigers are locked in on having a bounce back game against a 5-4 Virginia Tech team. The Hokies have won three of their last four but are still a mediocre ACC team that Clemson should annihilate.
The Clemson Tigers are still one of the best programs in the country. They boast elite talent at almost every position, some of which has underperformed. They play in the maybe the weakest Power Four conference, so they should go at the very worst 11-1 every year. The standard at Clemson is still excellence and to compete for national championships. Though, the decline of the program is happening before our very eyes. This week is not a make-or-break game for the Tigers, but it can show us who the 2024 team is and how they respond to adversity.
Can the Clemson Football program ever put to rest the verb “Clemsoning?” Surely a win against Virginia Tech won’t do it. However, the response to an adverse place in this season can help Dabo Swinney’s case in showing that he still has his fastball. Most importantly though, an offseason adaptation to the modern landscape of college football could help the Tigers massively. It would help get Clemson Football back to where every fan wants and expects them to be: hoisting the College Football Playoff Trophy.
