2019 College Football Season Preview: Clemson Tigers
2019 College Football Season Preview: Clemson Tigers
In the weeks leading up to the season, I’ll be previewing some of the top programs in college football. Today I start with the defending national champion, Clemson University. All stats according to sports-reference.com.
2019 Coaches’ Poll Ranking: 1
2018 Final AP Ranking: 1
2018 Record: 15-0
Coach: Dabo Swinney
Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Summary: After a dominant season that ended with a 44-16 rout of Alabama, it is a story of two sides of the ball for Clemson this year. On one side, the offense that averaged over 500 yards per game returns its starting quarterback and Heisman hopeful Trevor Lawrence, leading rusher and fellow Heisman hopeful Travis Etienne, and leading receiver Justyn Ross. It also lost just one offensive lineman to the draft in tackle Mitch Hyatt. This offense should dominate, and has a decent shot of being the top offense in football. On the defense, however, there are going to be a multitude of new faces. Clemson lost nine, count ‘em, nine defensive players to the NFL, including five defensive linemen. Last year, Clemson allowed the fewest points per game in the nation. This year, though, they will have to bring along a lot of new players and could see trouble early as many new starters adjust to playing at the top level of college football. It will be interesting to watch how Dabo Swinney balances these two sides with very different experience levels.
Most Valuable Player: Trevor Lawrence With so many new faces on defense, Lawrence is going to have to once again lead Clemson from the offense. He controversially took the job from Kelly Bryant as a freshman, and went on to have over 3,000 yards passing as he led the team to a national championship. If he can win the Heisman trophy as an encore, Clemson could see a true dynasty born with another national championship and Lawrence would be forever loved as the main engine of that dynasty.
Biggest Game: Texas A&M Saturday, Sep. 7. Clemson doesn’t have a preseason top 10 game according to the coaches’ poll (the AP Poll hadn’t come out as of this writing), but Texas A&M is currently ranked at 11, and could easily be in the top 10 by the time of this game. Competition in the ACC is likely to be scarce, so this could be the highest-ranked opponent Clemson faces until the playoff. A loss likely wouldn’t end their playoff chances, but losing your only top-20 game is not a good way to get there. Especially if it comes down to a one-loss Clemson or a one-loss Big Ten Champion, maybe Michigan, who could have wins over Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. All four teams I just listed are currently in the top 20 according to the coaches’ poll. Fortunately, Texas A&M is hardly Michigan, and this game shouldn’t be difficult for the defending champs.
One Big Question: How will the defense rebuild? The nation’s top defense in points allowed last year lost nine players to the NFL, including five defensive linemen. A loss that heavy is almost inevitably going to lead to a certain level of drop-off as the new starters adjust to playing at the highest level. But how big will that adjustment be, and for how long? Oklahoma proved that a stellar offense can compensate for a terrible defense, but I don’t think Dabo Swinney has any intention of playing with a crutch like that. Oklahoma lost to Alabama, after all.
My Season Prediction:15-0 This team returns its top passer, rusher, and receiver to an offense that was already high-powered. They lost a lot on defense, particularly at defensive line, but Clemson was the top defense last year in points allowed, and I don’t see such a dramatic drop that it drags down an offense that should absolutely dominate. Clemson will likely have to fight inexperience and complacency more than their opponents, but something tells me Dabo Swinney has it under control. He might be the best coach in college football right now, and should lead his team to another championship in 2019.
-By: Alex Spieldenner