2020 Team Preview: Can Clemson Go The Distance Again?

The 2020 college football season is in doubt right now, but if the season is played, Clemson will be favored to reach the national championship game. The Tigers are very good at doing this. They have made the national title game in four of the past five seasons, failing only once in 2017. They made the College Football Playoff semifinals that year. There is one big change for the Tigers this season. That change could hurt them. However, another aspect of this team should minimize the harmful effects of that one change. We will explain below:

Offseason Changes

The big change for Clemson is that after several seasons as the co-offensive coordinator of the Tigers alongside Tony Elliott, Jeff Scott decided to leave the program and try his hand at being a head coach. Scott took the open job at South Florida after Charlie Strong was released by USF. It is an open question as to whether Scott or Elliott was the better co-coordinator. It could easily be the case that Elliott is better, which would mean Clemson will not suffer at all. Yet, it is not always easy to make these determinations. If it turns out that Scott was the brains of the operation, there could be a downturn in the productivity of the offense.

The other changes refer to players who were picked in the NFL Draft. Clemson’s best defensive player from last season, Isaiah Simmons, was a top-10 pick. A.J. Terrell was a top-20 pick. Wide receiver Tee Higgins was taken with the first pick of the second round. Tanner Muse was picked in the third round. Clemson lost a number of players in its secondary, plus Higgins at wide receiver. This year’s defense won’t be a faster defense than last season’s group.

The Tigers Will Succeed If…

Their defense can be merely average. The Clemson defense doesn’t have to be fantastic this season. The Clemson offense is absolutely loaded and should put up huge numbers of points. The key for the Tigers and the reason they are favored to make the national title game once again is that running back Travis Etienne stayed in school for his senior season instead of going pro, which most people expected him to do. Etienne and quarterback Trevor Lawrence create the best backfield in the United States. Clemson is going to be extremely hard to stop, even without Higgins. The defense just has to be adequate and avoid giving up too many huge plays. As long as the defense is a B-minus, this team should be fine all season.

The Tigers Will Fail If…

The loss of Jeff Scott turns out to be bigger than anticipated. This really shouldn’t be a problem, but sometimes, the loss of a specific coach turns out to have a surprisingly large domino effect on a roster, and how players respond to coaching. As long as Scott’s exit doesn’t carry a significant price, Clemson will be in good shape.

Prediction

The Lawrence-Etienne backfield will make Clemson’s offense an elite offense. As long as the Tigers avoid a really bad day at the office, they should return to the national championship game against Alabama or Ohio State.

Prediction: ACC Champion

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